Riss M. Neilson: Keep Believing in Yourself
Riss M. Neilson is a magna cum laude graduate of Rhode Island College, where she won the English department’s Jean Garrigue Award, which was judged by novelist Nick White. Her debut young adult novel, Deep in Providence, was a 2022 finalist for the New England Book Awards, and her forthcoming novel I’m Not Supposed to be in the Dark is set to publish in 2023. She is from Providence and lives for the city’s art and culture scene. When she’s not writing, she’s watching anime or playing video games with her two children. Find her on Twitter and Instagram.
Riss M. Neilson
Photo by Jadin Gagnon 2023
In this interview, Riss discusses the surprising emotional experience she had writing her debut adult romance novel, A Love Like the Sun, her hope for readers, and more!
Name: Riss M. Neilson
Literary agent: Jess Regel- Helm Literary
Book title: A Love Like the Sun
Publisher: Penguin Random House- Berkley
Release date: June 11, 2024
Genre/category: Romance, Women’s Fiction
Previous titles: Deep in Providence, A Love Like the Sun
Elevator pitch: Two best friends fake-date in order to save the heroine’s small business from closing its doors only to realize they have very real feelings for each other.
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What prompted you to write this book?
I was diagnosed with stage three Chronic Kidney Disease in 2022 and I had a lot of fears afterwards when it came to the idea of dating and finding love with a chronic illness. Laniah, the heroine in my novel, has a very similar story, and Issac, the hero, loves her thoroughly. Writing this book was therapy for me, and now I’m so happy to add to the books in the world about main characters who think they might be hard to love.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
I wrote it summer 2022, it sold that winter, and publication was set for summer 2024. There weren’t any changes to the idea, but my editor did help me with the idea for vignettes that I included in the book. They are beautiful short snippets from the past that give us insight into the love story between Laniah’s parents that shaped my main character’s views on relationships. It was so special getting to write two love stories in one book.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
I was pleasantly surprised that the art team decided to take the idea my agent and I had for the cover. We found a photo of a flower field during golden hour that was flipped on its side, and we thought it was such a pretty way to capture the feelings Laniah and Issac have for each other throughout the novel. We were blown away with what the artist and designer were able to pull from the photo to create A Love Like the Sun’s stunning cover.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
I was surprised with how much I sobbed over this love story. Each time I started a new draft, I’d need a box of tissues beside me because I’d find myself crying over my keyboard. The emotional connection was like a compass guiding me while writing the love scenes in this book. I followed that to what I feel like is the most emotional happily ever after I could give the characters.
I was also surprised by my ability to have a lot of chapters without fail for my books. They’re very short chapters and it’s a short book by word count standards, but I found myself stumped as to how I managed to do that yet again lol.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
I hope readers feel warm and hopeful when they discover the deep emotional core of A Love Like the Sun. And if it’s OK, I’d love to leave my dedication here because I think it can apply to this question too
“For anyone who has ever felt hard to love,
to the lovers with wide open hearts and the ones who like to keep theirs close,
to anyone who has ever been afraid to ask for what they need,
and for myself.
It’s not easy being brave, but I believe in us.”
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
A brilliant mentor of mine once told me that “the first 50 pages will only be the first 50 pages if you don’t keep putting the words down,” and that’s what helps me finish each of my novels now. That’s advice for new writers, if I can cheat and add something for my fellow authors, I’d say to keep believing in yourself and your stories, they matter to someone.
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