Kris Clink’s new book, Sissie Klein Is Completely Normal, published on November 9, 2021. Kris Clink is the author of Goodbye, Lark Lovejoy and Sissie Klein is Completely Normal, which have received praise from Bustle, Midwest Book Review, Kirkus Reviews, Women.com, Lone Star Literary, Brit + Co, Travel and Leisure Magazine, and Entertainment Weekly, among others. She’s a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA) and The Author’s Guild. Before becoming a novelist, she oversaw business development in medical environments and managed an office of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Since then, her work has been published in Moms Don’t Have Time to Write on Medium, diyMFA, Authority Magazine, Thrive Global, Women Writers Women’s Books, and Accent West Magazine. She is the host of Kris Clink’s Writing Table, a podcast about books and writing, where she interviews a variety of publishing professionals and authors from Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler) to Camille Pagán.
Calling the Texas Panhandle home for most of her life, Kris now lives in Kansas. She and her husband have filled their empty nest with two spoiled-rotten pups. When not writing, Kris is playing pickleball with friends or searching for an open karaoke mic and an understanding audience.
Synopsis of Sissie Klein Is Completely Normal from the publisher:
Sissie barely remembers the night that tore her from the carefree life she once knew in her Texas Hill Country home. Not long after the shocked teen is pushed into marriage, she’s rushed to the hospital where a catastrophic delivery seals her destiny.
Sissie’s baby Meg survives, and she’s determined to give her child the opportunities she forfeited. But some fates can’t be avoided. When Meg becomes a young woman, tragedy steals her father, leaving behind a legacy of deceit – and an orphaned toddler.
Kris answers some questions that I posed to her about Sissie Klein Is Completely Normal:
1. What kind of research did you have to do?
Research I had to do (not than anyone had to force me) was flyfishing. A good soundtrack plus a river full of trout equals a lovely afternoon of …yeah, I guess we can call it research.
2. What do you hope your readers take away from your book?
That girl who got pregnant in high school still has a life after her classmates graduate and move away.
3. What surprised you the most when writing this book?
I took a minor character (two scenes) from the first book in the Enchanted Rock series and asked why she would stay with a man who (from the outside) didn’t treat her well. In a sense, it was an exercise in how we judge one another. It’s easy to make decisions for someone when you’re not in their shoes. Strap on a pair, and you’re privy to an entirely different view.
4. Do you have any say in what your book cover looks like?
Yes. The publisher presented me with six choices. Since Sissie is part of a series, I considered the first cover and how they’d look when sitting on the same shelf. The one I chose was a fit.
5. What was your favorite part and least favorite part of the publishing journey?
My favorite part of the publishing journey is the writing community—the most supportive group of co-workers I’ve ever had. My least favorite? The lack of predictability. There are no rules for why one book is bought by a house, and another is rejected, and once a writer sends off a manuscript, there is no telling if it will hit the right agent or editor on the right day.
6. What are you reading now and what have you read recently that you loved?
I just finished and loved See Jane Snap by Bethany Crandell. I am currently reading Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano.
Order Sissie Klein Is Completely Normal from Bookshop.org here.
