Episode 44
Nancy Christie Shares her Thoughts on Living the Writing Life
Nancy Christie has been living the writing life for more years than she can remember. Her writing background, like so many other writers, has been a hodgepodge of freelance work (newspaper, magazine, and corporate clients), short stories, and fiction and nonfiction books. And again, like so many other writers, she finds it challenging to balance income-producing work with what she really wants to write, which right now are the books in her Midlife Moxie Novel Series and more short stories for her fourth collection, The Language of Love, due out in 2025.
In her early years, she juggled motherhood and writing, then much later, caregiving and writing. And now, it’s book marketing—and writing. The central through line for her is always fiction writing—whether she only gets half an hour a day or can manage an entire weekend.
As for her novel series, she sees herself as the poster child for midlife reinvention. It wasn’t until she was forty that she had her first short story published, and she was fifty when her first book was published. Ten years later, her first short fiction collection came out and now, at the tender age of sixty-nine, she’s released her first novel, Reinventing Rita. And she plans to continue living this writing life as long as she can.
You can learn more about Nancy on her website, www.nancychristie.com, where you can find links to her books, her Living the Writing Life podcast, and her Midlife Moxie Novel Series on YouTube and sign up for her newsletters. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Get your copy of Reinventing Rita at your favorite bookseller, at https://store.bookbaby.com/book/reinventing-rita,
or support your local bookstore & this podcast by getting your copy of Reinventing Rita at https://bookshop.org/a/
A little about today's host-
Author and musical composer Kathleen Basi is mother to three boys and one chromosomally-gifted daughter. Her debut novel, A SONG FOR THE ROAD, follows a musician on an unconventional road trip. Bestselling author Kerry Anne King writes, “In a novel filled with music, heartbreak, and surprising laughter, Basi takes us on a journey that encompasses both unimaginable loss and the powerful resilience of the human heart.”
Meaty, earnest, occasionally humorous, and ultimately uplifting, Kathleen’s fiction highlights the best within ourselves and each other. She writes monthly reflections on life, writing and beauty on her newsletter. Subscribe at https://kathleenbasi.substack.com/.
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Learn more about our hosts, the guests we've had, and their books -
Transcript
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Kathleen Basi [:Welcome to Author Express. Thanks for checking us out. This is the podcast where you give us 15 minutes of your time, and we give you a chance to hear the voice behind the pages and get to know some of your favorite writers in a new light. I'm one of your hosts, Kathleen Basi. I'm an award-winning musical composer, a feature writer, essayist, and, of course, storyteller. Let me tell you a little bit about today's guest.
Kathleen Basi [:Nancy Christie is the award-winning author of six books, including her most recent, Reinventing Rita, the first in her Midlife Moxie novel series. She's been writing since the second grade. She had to learn how to print and spell first and says she plans to continue until they rest the pen or keyboard from her hands. Reviewers have said that her short story collections, Traveling Left of Center and Other Stories, and Peripheral Visions and Other Stories, present interesting characters and how they deal with less-than-ideal circumstances of their lives. That according to the U.S. Review of Books. They give a tantalizing peek into the difficulties of the human condition, says second Run Reviews. But for her debut novel, she chose to take a more lighthearted approach and write about women facing personal and career challenges at midlife who must find their inner moxie if they want to pursue their dreams. Nancy's other books include Two Books for Writers and an inspirational book, and her third collection, Mistletoe Magic and Other Holiday Tales, will be released December 2023. Nancy is also the host of the Living the Writing Life podcast, and she's the founder of the annual Celebrate Short Fiction Day. Welcome, world's busiest writer.
Nancy Christie [:Thank you so much for having me. I'm really looking forward to it. It's so nice to be on this side of the microphone.
Kathleen Basi [:Yeah. Well, let's start. Tell us just a little bit about your podcast. We'll give you a chance to plug yourself.
Nancy Christie [:Okay. Well, I'd never planned on doing a podcast, but like so much in my writing life, I never planned on doing other things along those lines. But it actually came out because of COVID. My second collection was coming out May of 2020. As you can imagine, all the plans I had didn't materialize, and I knew there was a ton of other authors in the same situation. So, I had been on somebody else's podcast, on Casey's podcast, and I thought, oh, I could do that. I'll just have authors on a podcast. Having no idea how to do a podcast at all.
Kathleen Basi [:That's gutsy. I mean, talk about moxie.
Nancy Christie [:Yeah. I'm telling you; but I couldn't have done it without Casey. He was just wonderful. He answered all my questions, even all the stupid ones, and I started doing it. But you know what? I love interviewing authors. I love talking about what brings us to this whole life of being an author, and I've been very blessed with the ones who've been on it. So, it's been a labor of love since I started it.
Kathleen Basi [:That's wonderful. Well, as an author, thank you. And now let's do the official thing, and I'm going to start by asking you tell me the most interesting thing about where you are from.
Nancy Christie [:That's a hard one to answer, simply because even though I have lived in this town my entire life, I was born here, I've lived in Youngstown, like, forever, even though I'm now, like, in a suburb, but basically Youngstown. But the thing is, I tend to be a not joiner. I tend to stay in my house, right? But I do have to say, I think what makes Youngstown and the surrounding area so interesting is we have such a wide range of nationalities. Okay. Like, I'm Slovak, Hungarian, so I grew up only thinking that everybody's grandparents spoke with an accent, right? But it makes it so much more interesting because you are exposed to so much more. Certainly, the food end of it. And I love to eat, so it gives me an opportunity to really enjoy it. But also, just how people came here, both from decades ago, pre-World War I, all the way up to the people who are coming here now and knowing how difficult it was for them and the challenges that they faced. So, that has certainly influenced my writing because my writing is about the challenges people face, not only just the economic or the relationship challenges, but the broader ones, the cultural challenges. Yeah. That's what makes Youngstown interesting to me. It's not one thing, it's not just plain old same old people. It's diversity.
Kathleen Basi [:Yeah. Well, that's really cool. What I'd like to know is, given the topic that you are working on with your books, what's something that you wish you could have understood more deeply when you were 20 years old? Since you're talking about women at finding their moxie at midlife, what's something that's changed since you were 20?
Nancy Christie [:Oh, gosh. And way back. That was a long time ago. A really long time ago. In some ways, we are coming almost back to a full circle, which is not a good thing because back when I graduated from high school, okay, I will date myself, 1972. If women went to college, it was generally, okay, you went to college, you got a degree, but, you know, you're really going to get married, have kids. And there wasn't as many opportunities back then. It was certainly legitimate to deny a woman a job because she was a single mother and had a child. Okay. So, I think the one thing, looking back, if I could talk to my 20-year-old self is, whatever happens, you can still do it. You can still be a writer. You can still pursue your dream and do other things, too, as you may need to. Just believe in yourself. You know, I think women tend to put ourselves last, and I think that still holds true even now, it's still the idea that, okay, whatever I want to do, yeah, it's legitimate and everything, but I got to do everything else first. I got to take care of other people first. And I think sometimes we do ourselves a grave disservice and we do our children a grave disservice because we are teaching our daughters, it's okay to put your dream off. We are teaching our sons; you are more important than your sister.
Kathleen Basi [:I think about that a lot because I have three boys and one daughter. And I do think that my boys are learning about girlhood, not so much because of their sister, but because they see me pursuing my dreams while also chauffeuring them everywhere. They're all very aware of my writing, so I'm grateful for that. My first is just launched. He's off to college. And I'm just thrilled with what I see of him as a human being.
Nancy Christie [:Oh, that's wonderful.
Kathleen Basi [:Hopefully he won't listen to this and be like, oh, I can't believe you're talking about me on a podcast.
Nancy Christie [:But, no. And I think that is good. And I think just because you've got a sister doesn't mean you can't do the household chores or just because you have a sister doesn't mean your sports are more important than whatever she's pursuing. You know, equality here.
Kathleen Basi [:Well, and interestingly, when I was growing up, I was one of four girls on a farm and we only had one bathroom and so it was like completely the opposite. And so, all of my sisters and I had to learn like part of learning to drive was first of all, we learned on a clutch, on a tractor, in fact, and then graduated to a car with a clutch. And we had to learn to change the oil and change a tire before we were allowed to actually drive anywhere. My boys don't even know how to do that because we just take it to the shop because when you live on a farm, you have all the equipment. You can put it up on the risers and take care of it. So, anyway, it's interesting that those things go both directions, whether it's all boys or all girls.
Nancy Christie [:That's true. That is true.
Kathleen Basi [:So, let's talk about some of these powerful women that you've written. The first one. It's called Reinventing Rita. So, are you aiming this specifically at readers of a certain age or who are you hoping to connect with this book?
Nancy Christie [:Well, my target reader, I would say, would be women who are in their late 40s and older because that is kind of like the midlife stage. Although I think midlife can run all the way up past 60, approaching 70 only because I'm looking at midlife, that particular category, not so much as an age, as a stage. A stage where we are going into something different. Okay. Whether we wanted to or not. So, in that respect, I am targeting it towards women who are going through a major life change, and it could be anything. It could be economic, it could be relationship, it could be whatever. But it's the idea that, just because you're a certain age doesn't mean you can't do something, okay? Your age should not define what you can pursue. And, you know, they always say, write what you know. Well, I'm writing what I know. And the thing is, I was a late starter. My first book didn't come out until I was 50. So, it's like nobody said you can't do it just because you are that age. And they make a big push about, what is it, the top ten, under 20 or whatever it is. It's like, hey, what about us?
Kathleen Basi [:Right. Right. When you got started, you just never looked back. Holy cow, what an output.
Nancy Christie [:Well, you have to look at it this way, too, now. And the thing is, I define my writing in two ways. I have my work writing, which is how I make a living. Since the mid-80s, pre-computer, I have been a freelance writer. I wrote for magazines, write for clients, whatever. That's the income source. Still doing it even now. And I never really thought about writing a book. And then the first book, The Gifts of Change, came out, so that was in 2004. And that book is special because it was inspired by my mom's cancer diagnosis. But there's nothing in the book about her cancer. But it was about looking at things that are occurring in your life, seeing what lessons you can draw from them, right? And then it was ten years before I did another book, so I wasn't exactly Speedy Gonzalez here when it came to producing books. But I did realize that if I was going to continue to write books at my age, I can't just do it every ten years. I mean, at that rate, I'd be, like, in my grave before I got them all written. So, that's when I started kind of escalating my output. And I'm still copywriting, but yeah, I mean, it's been a lot of fun. It was just a little nerve wracking in the beginning, but a lot of fun. It was weird to become an author when you were a copywriter and a magazine writer, because I was used to interviewing people. I was not the flip side of it.
Kathleen Basi [:Right.
Nancy Christie [:Yeah. I had to get over a whole lot of stage fright and the impostor syndrome, but I made it.
Kathleen Basi [:Yeah. Well, good for you. I was going to ask you a question about the writing process and everything, and you kind of have told us that already, so let's ask. Where's the best place for people to find you online?
Nancy Christie [:The easiest way to find me is just go to my website, www.nancychristie.com. I don't know if you'll have it in the show notes, but just in case.
Kathleen Basi [:Yes, we will.
Nancy Christie [:Okay. So, I don't even have to spell my name out. I mean, everything is there. I am a huge proponent of people having websites only because I find authors. I come across authors names, want to interview them, and they don't have a freaking website. But yeah, so everything's there. I mean, links to my books, my bio, links to the podcast episodes, anything your little heart desires, and probably more than anyone would even care about when they read about me. But that's where I am. That's my home.
Kathleen Basi [:That's right. Well, it's always gratifying when somebody actually does reach out through the website. I have to say. So, and now both of us will get pummeled with people reaching out to our websites, right?
Nancy Christie [:Right.
Kathleen Basi [:Well, great. So, in closing today, I want to ask you what book or story is inspiring you the most these days?
Nancy Christie [:Well, I'll tell you what. There was one. It's not so much these days, but one that has never left my nightstand, that periodically I go back to. It's an old book, but you can still get copies of it. It's the Writer on Her Work. Volume One edited by Janet Sternburg. This is a compilation of essays and in this particular case, journal entries from women authors. So, the one that had the biggest impact on me that I read when my kids were still growing up, I really wasn't writing. It was before I got into freelancing. And I had always written fiction, short stories, just never did anything with them, right?
Kathleen Basi [:Right.
Nancy Christie [:And thinking at some point, well, maybe someday, the infamous someday, we'll get around to a thing. Anyways, the one that inspired me the most is the entry called, Creating Oneself from Scratch. And they're entries from the journals of Michelle Murray, who died at age 41 from cancer. And when I read it, all those times ago and like I said, I had put off writing, and she was at a stage where she was starting to write her books, write her different things. Diagnosed with cancer. And this was way before breast cancer was as treatable as it is now. So, reading her words was really a life changing moment for me because it told me, you never know how much time you have.
Kathleen Basi [:Right. Don't waste the time.
Nancy Christie [:Exactly. Exactly. I mean, the whole section is just full of yellow highlights. And I kept telling myself that, when I would start putting things off, it would be like, you don't know. You don't know how much time you have. Do it now. Do it now. And I really credit her words, those journal entries, with pushing me to start little by little, doing things with my own writing and have hung onto it ever since then. I mean, pages are falling out. I'm taping them back in. But, yeah, that was such an incredible push for me, and I needed to hear that.
Kathleen Basi [:Well, that's a great message to end on today. So, thank you so much for being with us today, Nancy Christie.
Nancy Christie [:I have loved being on.
Kathleen Basi [:All right, we will look forward to having you on the next time. Thanks for joining us today. We hope you'll take a second to give us some stars or a review on your favorite podcasting platform. We'll be back next Wednesday, and in the meantime, follow us on Instagram, @AuthorExpresspodcast to see who's coming up next. Don't forget, keep it express, but keep it interesting.
