Christine Nolfi has been spinning dreams since childhood
Christine Nolfi’s debut novel Treasure Me enjoys bestseller status
Christine Nolfi has been spinning dreams since childhood. Christine Nolfi is known for the award-winning (and bestselling) Liberty Series about the eccentric and heartwarming people in a small town. Recently she's gone from independent novelist to hybrid with a two-book deal with Amazon Publishing. Her new series will debut February 2017. Her debut Treasure Me is among the “highly recommended” novels by The Midwest Book Review. In fact, it is not only a Next Generation Indie Awards finalist but also enjoys bestseller status. Christine can be found active on Twitter and her website. Join her mailing list here.
Welcome, Christine Nolfi.
Your real and pen name? Christine Nolfi
Nolfi's Kids
Some of your best memories of childhood? Often what we perceive as life’s greatest burdens become the greatest strengths. I was born with a handicap (corrected later by surgery) that made running difficult. I learned to climb trees and sit in the branches weaving stories to the music of birdsong. Other children on the street were enchanted by the storytelling spell—I had them convinced I could fly, and those elves left treasure hidden throughout the neighborhood we must only search to find.What languages do you speak and write? I’m embarrassed to admit I’m only proficient in my native tongue, English. I would like to pick up several other languages beginning with French.
What career did you plan during your education days? Writing stories has always been a draw. After college, I worked as a freelance writer then opened a small PR firm. After adopting my four children from the Philippines, I began writing novels in earnest. My children are now busy twenty-somethings, and I write full time.
What is the biggest source of inspiration in life? People. The ability of the human heart to grow, and give unconditionally. The beauty of distinct cultures, and the rich history of the world’s stories.
Nolfi's writing companion - Lucy
What hurts you most in this world? Hatred, bigotry, xenophobia—the banes of humanity, which inhibit the evolution of the world soul. At the moment, I’m also embarrassed for all the citizens of my country. As we move toward the next U.S. presidential election, the rhetoric coming out of the Republican campaign is disgusting. I hope the rest of the world understands that the men clawing for the prize do not speak for the average American.
What is your favorite genre and why? I write women’s fiction, metaphysical and closer-to-literary. I’m drawn to stories based in reality woven with a suggestion of the remarkable. Book after book, I strive to provide readers with a rich emotional experience. Less obvious—although certainly as important—is the cultural blend of characters featured in my novels. Black, white, Asian, Hispanic—my stories depict the true world in which we live.
Sample Works:
Second Chance Grill, book one of the Liberty Series: Dr. Mary Chance needs a sabbatical from medicine to grieve the loss of her closest friend. But when she inherits a struggling restaurant in Liberty, Ohio she isn’t prepared for Blossom Perini. Mary can’t resist falling for the amusing preteen—or the girl’s father. The bond they forge will transform all their lives and set in motion an outpouring of love that spreads across America.
Heavenscribe Part One: Zobie Marsh hides the fearsome talent of prophecy. Young, poor and grieving the loss of her beloved Black Gram, she leaves home suddenly to avoid the advances of her mother’s latest boyfriend. Her decision to travel to South Carolina sets in motion Heavenscribe, a spiritual transformation devised by angels to aid a dying world.
Third Series The debut will appear under the Lake Union imprint February 2017.
What are your future plans? I’ll continue writing installments in both the Liberty and Heavenscribe series while developing the new series for the Women’s Fiction imprint at Amazon, Lake Union. Details of the deal will appear in an April issue of Publishers Weekly.
What motivates you to write? The extraordinary moments in seemingly ordinary lives.
Is a high level of imagination important for a writer? Tough question. The ability to walk out of your skin and immerse your imagination in the life of another certainly helps. Equally important? The ability to persevere, and to judge early drafts with love. The part of one’s soul where imagination resides is very much like a child. Treat yourself and your work tenderly. Doing so greatly improves the odds of success.
Your dream destination on earth? A month in India. Another month in Italy. Wait. May I also have a month to tour South America? Afterward, I’d love to visit Africa, the Middle East, China, Australia…
Your zodiac / Sun sign? I was born with an Aquarian sun and Virgo ascendant. At this phase in my life, I’m more Aries, Gemini, and Sagittarius with a psychic Scorpio underpinning. According to my astrologer, I’ve entered the “destiny phase” of my life, which will include much publishing, public speaking and transfer of my work to film. I hope she’s correct!
What comes to mind when you think of India? Spirituality; one of the cradles of civilization. I’ve always been drawn to metaphysical subjects, as well as history.
Nolfie's office
What is the force that drives you? Love, and the desire to illuminate.
I’ve led a very fortunate life—especially in terms of taking instinctive leaps, including the one that led me to adopt a sibling group from a developing country. My children were abandoned in the jungle; it’s a miracle they were found by missionaries before they perished. Healing four malnourished, seriously ill children was a game changer in terms of who I became after the experience.
I should also mention that spending four days in an impoverished part of the Philippines was also a catalyst, which continues to embroider my books. On those dusty streets, I met more people with a true sense of joy than I’ve ever known in the materialistic United States. If each of the world’s “haves” could spend a day with the “have-nots” I suspect we’d birth enough compassion to create paradise on earth.
What three words come to mind for each? Technology: equality, tumult, connection Life: sharing, learning, nurturing God: light, love, truth Humanity: one, whole, heart Terrorism: tears, adolescence, change Racism: shadow, fear, heartbreak Childhood Abuse: currents, circles, ignorance Love: growth, seed, eternity Parenting: gift, love, lighting the path Old age: power, becoming, giving
What is the last thing you do before going to sleep? I can’t disengage from the Day World without reciting the ancient Indian mantra, So Hum. This is a nightly ritual, which clears the chattering monkey from my head and allows connection to the higher conscious available in the Sleep World.
Link to YouTube interview with E-book Hounds
Where to reach Christine:
Website
Goodreads author page
Amazon-India Author Page
Facebook Author Page
