Author Interview: Christina Sinisi

Hi! I’m a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, writing stories about families, both the broken and blessed. My work includes a semi-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest and the American Title IV Contest in which I appeared in the top ten in the Romantic Times magazine but didn’t win. My published books include The Christmas Confusion and the upcoming Sweet Summer, the first two books in the Summer Creek Series, as well as Christmas On Ocracoke. By day, I am a psychology professor and live in the Lowcountry of South Carolina with my husband, Kyle, and two children, Scott and Lindsey, and cat Chessie Mae.
 
What is your book about?  Reeling from the upheaval of a failed marriage, Annie Hanahan is desperate for a new start—and when she inherits a cottage on Ocracoke Island, she may finally get it. Without a second thought, she packs up and leaves everything behind: her first name, her job, and her ex-husband. But when she arrives in the Outer Banks, she finds the island—and her promised refuge—ravaged by Hurricane Dorian.  As a contractor who has given so much of his time to helping Ocracoke recover, it surprises no one when Trey Kingsley offers to help the beautiful newcomer, but something is holding her back. Life keeps throwing them together, though, or perhaps God’s hand is giving them a nudge. Will a little bit of divine intervention be enough for a Merry Christmas on Ocracoke?
 
Why did you write it? My sister and her husband bought a vacation home on Hatteras Island. The Outer Banks had always been on my bucket list to visit, but this past year was my first time to go. Then, while we were there for New Year’s, we took a day trip to Ocracoke Island. It was like visiting a different world. Plus, the mountains of debris and the boarded-up shops that came as a result of Hurricane Dorian touched my heart and I wanted to write a story for them.
  
If you had a pet unicorn, what color would it be and what would you name it? Silver and Phoenix Star after one of the horses we owned when I was a teenager.
 
Do you need background noise when you write? No. For me, writing is so much a part of who I am that I can seemingly write anywhere, anytime, under any conditions. Sometimes, I play music and sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I’m at the kitchen table and sometimes I’m at my desk. I just want to write.
 
What's your writing process like? I’ve been writing most of my life so this also doesn’t have one answer. Right now, I do GMC charts for my main characters and storyboard the whole plot before I start. Then, I only really look at those as guides and just write.
 
If your book was to be made into a movie, who would you want to play your Hero and Heroine? I write my stories with real people as inspiration. Both of these characters were inspired by alumni from the college where I teach. I’d love for those students to play the characters!
 
Favorites:
Bible verse: Jeremiah 29:11. I know it’s typical and often taken out of context, but it keeps coming up. When my daughter started college, I started a tradition of putting post-it notes with little messages and verses on them. This was one of them. When we took her for orientation, that verse was on the meet-and-greet table when she visited a local church. Just now, I tried to google another verse and this one was the first I found under hope.
 
Book: Just one? Impossible. Right now, my favorite author is Rachel Hauck. That’s as far as I can go—can’t pick just one.
 
Cartoon: I don’t watch them. But Mallard Fillmore is my favorite comic if that counts.
 
Cereal: Kashi Coconut granola. Don’t get me wrong—I’m not always healthy, but at least I can start off well.
 
Color: Gray—but only because of early morning right before sunrise. Otherwise, I love every color. Makes it hard to decorate but it’s true.
 
Movie: It’s a Wonderful Life.
 
Song: “When I Get Where I’m Going” by Brad Paisley, but really I’m not one for favorites. I could just as easily have said, “I Can Only Imagine” by MercyMe or “Amazing Grace”. Then there’s all the traditional country songs—I love Patsy Cline, for example. So many beautiful songs out there! God’s blessings are rich!
 
Where can we find you online?
 Website/Blog: https://www.christinasinisi.com/ 
 Social Networking Sites:
Twitter: @ChristinaSinisi
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Christina-Sinisi-Author-105861987440664/?modal=admin_todo_tour
Instagram: @csinisi123
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/csinisi/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/101218889-christina-sinisi

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