Interview with Fay Risner

Published 2013-09-13.
Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I spent my first fourteen years on a farm near Schell City, Missouri in the Ozarks. The rest of my life I've lived in the country thirty miles from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. For my Nurse Hal Among The Amish series, my experiences on the farm helped me write about Nurse Hal as she struggled to learn about taking care of animals, chickens and a garden so she will fit into the Amish way of life. Since I've always lived near a small town where everyone knows everyone else, it was easy to write my other series, Amazing Gracie Mysteries. That series takes place in early 1900's, and is about two elderly women in a retirement home that spend too much time watching the neighbors and can always find a mystery. Both series take place in Iowa so I can mention real places that are supposely near my characters fictional towns.
When did you first start writing?
I've written short stories since I was a teenager in high school. It took years to develop my skills to write books. An English teacher helped me for years. I credit her for keeping me writing and improving. She went from being my teacher to being one of my biggest fans. In 2002 while I was working at the local nursing home as a CNA I entered the State Health Care contest with a short story about a resident and in the photography contest at the same time. I won both contests that year. The nursing home board gave me a week's Writer's Work Shop at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I went from being surprised, to delighted, to very nervous. On the very first day, I realized I had come a long way already compared to many of the other students. Listening to the experts was a incredible learning experience for me and a confidence booster.
What's the story behind your latest book?
Emma's Gossamer Dreams is book 5 in the Nurse Hal series. Emma has turned seventeen. She becomes a school teacher and dates several boys. She is considered a good catch by men in the community because of her homemaking skills. Before long Emma is flustered by all the attention and finds it hard to pick just one boy. I write the stories with humor so sometimes you will be laughing out loud, and other parts you will find serious.

Just before I wrote that book I wrote book seven in my Amazing Gracie Mystery series titled Poor Defenseless Addie. That was my entry in the November 2012 NaNoWriMo contest, and by the deadline I went over the 50,000 word mark. Gracie Evans listens to gossip about a newcomer in town that no one likes. She and her friends keep an eye on him. His 92 year old mother is their friend Addie Masters. Gracie is afraid for Addie when she sees bruises on the old woman's hand. Suspecting elder abuse, Gracie wants to find a reason for the town marshal to arrest the man.
What motivated you to become an indie author?
The books I write aren't mainstream enough to be best sellers. After rejection slips, I had almost given up when I read about self publishing at Create Space Self Publishing. I'd heard enough stories to know that most authors lose their publishing fees because their books don't sell. I didn't feel I had much to lose if I became an Indie author and published my own books. Create Space makes it easy, and I love creating my own covers or using a cover off the sight if it fits the story line in my book. Of course, I set up a website, Facebook, Twitter and blogs in several places to advertise my books and now thirty books later, I'm still writing books.
How has Smashwords contributed to your success?
Smashwords increases my sales because there are so many places they sell books, and Smashwords is always coming up with other places to sell books with a whole new set of readers each time. I appreciate each new idea Mark Coker and his team comes up with to promote the books on this website like this interview.
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
I love being creative. Sometimes I start out with an idea and while I'm working on the story line something else pops into my head that fits into the story. Now that I've written several books about the same characters I've gotten to know them fairly well. It makes it easier to come up with new stories for them. The joy comes after each book is finished and I hold it in my hand. I think WoW! I did this. As soon as I put that book down, I'm back on the computer working on the next one and eager to get it done so I can see the finished book.
What do your fans mean to you?
Fans are terrific. When I first started selling my Amish paperback books, I put them on Ebay at the fixed price. I sold the books around the U.S. and Canada. Since I had buyers email addresses I let them know I appreciated that they bought my book. When they finished the book I asked if they could email me how they liked the story. I was delighted by all the responses I got back. Several years later, a good many of those buyers still email me about all the books they have bought from me, and I send them signed copies. Also, I'm on Facebook with some of them. Word of mouth is a great advertising tool. It has helped me get more readers that have ereading devices now. When I go anywhere with my books and set up, I find people are always interested in hearing how I came to write books. Once I've described the books story lines, I always have a good sales day.
What are you working on next?
The next Nurse Hal Among The Amish book. Noah's Courting Buggy. Noah is just fourteen, but he has completed his 8th grade school and is ready to experience life. Hal's parents come to visit. Her husband, John Lapp, takes his father-in-law to the salebarn. On a whim, Jim Lindstrom buys a fancy red seated courting buggy to drive around while he's visiting. Hal's mother isn't happy with the purchase. She refuses to let him take the buggy home so Jim gives it to Noah. That makes Hal and John unhappy. They weren't quite ready to see Noah able to be out on his own in a courting buggy.
Who are your favorite authors?
I like Nicholas Sparks for the type of books he writes. Mark Twain has been a favorite of mine since Santa Claus brought me Tom Sawyer when I was a child. I like Agatha Christie mysteries, too. For western, I like Louie L'Amour. My parents loved westerns so that's what I read growing up. However, now I read many different authors. In my family when one of us finishes a batch of books we pass them so I always have a stack of books to read. I prefer the wholesome type books and write mine that way. I've found there is a growing audience for Christian and wholesome, rated G books.
What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
The wheels in my brain are always turning when I'm working on a new book. Sometimes, I have trouble sleeping until I've played a scene out in my head. First thing the next morning I want to do is get on the computer and type my latest idea.

However, my life is not just as an author. My husband and I have lived on the same acreage for over twenty years. While we both worked, my moments at the computer were hard to come by, but now we are both retired and loving our time in the country. We've always had sheep, goats and chickens to take care of and well as a large garden. An acre and a half hayfield is at the front of our property so three times a summer we make hay to feed the livestock. I love flowers and have many bushes and beds to weed. The garden thrives under my husband's green thumb. I can and freeze the vegetables and the fruit from our orchard; apples, pears, cherries, peaches and plums.
Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
The first book I wrote was Open A Window-Alzheimer's Caregiver Handbook. It still sells well today. I was a Certified Nurse Aide at the local nursing home for many years, working with patients that had Alzheimer's. Then my father was dianosed with the disease. Caring for people with the disease taught me so much about Alzheimers that family members of patients were always asking me questions. The nursing home administrator called me the facility's Alzheimer's expert. So I wrote a guide book for caregivers so they understood how to take care of people that were losing their minds. I took the manuscript pages in book form to a local printer and had them printed up and stapled together. Later when I published my own books I published Open A Window. You can find that ebook on Smashwords.
Smashwords Interviews are created by the profiled author or publisher.

Latest books by This Author

Who Is The Amish Stranger
Price: $10.00 USD. Words: 58,810. Language: English. Published: August 6, 2023 . Categories: Fiction » Christian » Amish & Mennonite, Fiction » Romance » Later in Life
An Amish stranger keeps driving around in Nurse Hal's Amish community of Wickenburg, Iowa. Everyone is nervous and worried about who the man wants to find. John and Daniel Lapp are rabbit hunting when Daniel finds a dead, newborn baby in the timber. So this book has two mysteries in one.
Joy's Barn Wedding
Price: $9.99 USD. Words: 69,000. Language: English. Published: July 16, 2022 . Categories: Essay » Literature
Eli and Joy are planning a wedding, but find Amish weddings have to be prepared in a short space of time. So many problems - the barn hasn't been cleaned for a hundred years and needs paint. Joy has to sew her dress but she can't sew. She is supposed to cook Eli a meal, but she can't cook. Eli's worried about Daniel Lapp coming home. Will Joy and Daniel rekindle their old attraction?
Eli Yutzy Came Home
Price: $9.99 USD. Words: 70,430. Language: English. Published: June 16, 2021 . Categories: Fiction » Women's fiction » General
Eli Yutzy worries on his long journey home from Bloomfield, Iowa. He tried to convince himself he wouldn't miss any part of being an Englisher. Now that he had sold his car and bought this Amish buggy and horse, he had misgiving thoughts. He lit a cigarette while he wondered if he was doing the right thing. He was crossing back over for his mamm's funeral.
Sheep On The Right Goats On The Left
Price: $9.99 USD. Words: 84,380. Language: English. Published: June 10, 2021 . Categories: Nonfiction » Biography » Personal memoir
Fay Risner brings the readers up to date with her stories. True stories about her sheep and goats, chickens, dogs, cats, and wildlife. These stories are sometimes scary and other times humorous or sad.
Memories Of My Animals Large And Small
Price: $9.99 USD. Words: 71,970. Language: English. Published: May 18, 2021 . Categories: Nonfiction » Biography » Woman biographies, Nonfiction » Biography » Woman biographies
Fay Risner has been a fan of Dr. James Herriot's ever since she read his Yorkshire Dales, England series. For over forty-five years, Fay jotted down notes about tending her livestock. Some of the stories in her book are heartwarming. Others are sad, and still others are humorous.
Locked Rock Review Gossip Column Murders
Price: $9.99 USD. Words: 36,900. Language: English. Published: October 5, 2020 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » Cozy
Someone is murdering women who are mention in the Locked Rock, Iowa newspaper gossip column. A mouse trap drummer in town makes Gracie Evan's suspicious, but she hasn't any proof. Following the drummer to see where he goes gives her and the other Moser women more of an eye full than they wanted.
Mrs. Pestkey's Cat Knew -Renee Brown Mystery series
Series: Wedgewood, Minn. Police Detective Renee Brown Mystery. Price: $6.50 USD. Words: 20,160. Language: English. Published: November 18, 2019 . Categories: Fiction » Women's fiction » General, Fiction » Women's fiction » General
Renee Brown drags herself out of a sound sleep to answer a call from the police dispatcher. She's wanted at the home of her mother's best friend, Marceil Pestkey, to save the elderly woman from a burglar. Police officer Jeff Briceson was already on scene and needed her as backup. Sounds like a routine 911 call except the victim swings a mean baseball bat.
You Have Got To Love Adalheida Wasser
Price: $9.99 USD. Words: 49,540. Language: English. Published: August 13, 2019 . Categories: Fiction » Christian » Amish & Mennonite, Fiction » Women's fiction » General
The Amish Wise Woman is in trouble when the land hungry deacon decides to have her committed to a nursing home. Joy Petermeyer becomes her hired hand and friend. Nurse Hal, Joy and a neighboring farmer/lawyer rally Adalheida Wasser's friends to defend her at a competency hearing.
The Grieving Widder Woman
Series: Amazing Gracie Mysteries. Price: $9.99 USD. Words: 43,970. Language: English. Published: March 6, 2019 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » Cozy, Fiction » Mystery & detective » Women Sleuths
Florence Moffatt's husband has disappeared from Locked Rock, Iowa. The stories about Elmer's death are varied. Gracie thinks Florence and her new boyfriend may have killed her husband so they could get married. Gracie Evans decides to investigate The Grieving Widder Woman.
Bender Creek Bridge's Troubled Waters
Series: Nurse Hal Among The Amish. Price: $9.99 USD. Words: 47,980. Language: English. Published: June 23, 2018 . Categories: Fiction » Women's fiction » General, Fiction » Christian » Amish & Mennonite
An overnight camping trip ends tragically, and Joy's romance with Jimmie Miller is halted by his stepfather. This turns into the worst summer of Joy's life.
View their profile to see all of their books