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Denice Kronau

I write about women I’d love to be friends with. Strong, funny, kind and smart women. I hope the people who have inspired me all my life see themselves in my characters, both women and men. Like so many people, my writing is based on my own life experiences, and I find joy in sharing those through a story. I love history and always want it to be a minor character in all my books. I read all the time—to relax, to escape and to have a mental health break from today’s sensory bombardment. If my writing can bring you to a happy place, I am so grateful and never take your readership for granted.
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Denice Kronau Q&A

Discover more about Denice Kronau and her literary journey through these frequently asked questions.

Your biography shows a long career working in multi-national corporations. How did you get started writing?
I’ve read voraciously since I was a kid. When my mother told me to go outside and play, I would take my book outside and find a place to read. The urge to tell stories came from my love of reading. As an adult, I traveled all the time for work, mostly internationally. Because of this, I was often away for extended periods of time and on weekends. I could only go to so many museums–I needed hobbies that were portable–I started writing.
What was your inspiration for the themes of the Star series?

My husband and I have been visiting Nantucket since the mid-90s. It is so rich in history, which I love. History was one of my favorite subjects when I was in school, and I took more history courses when I was in college. Nantucket was the center of whaling in the late 1700s and early 1800s and in 2004 an idea started percolating in my mind about a sea captain in olden times who was a Wall Street mogul in modern times. But then I thought: why does it have to be a man? And so, Abigail and Abby were born. It was ten years from thinking of the concept until I published The World is Decorated with Stars, the first book in the Stars series.

The main characters are strong women, was there anyone in particular who inspired these characters?
I’ve done a lot of research about Nantucket and its people. There are so many interesting women and luckily, a lot of information about them. Throughout history, Nantucket has been very forward-thinking on many social topics, including that of women in leadership. Men could be gone up to five years on whaling ships, so women stayed home and kept the home fires burning, so to speak. They ran more than their households; they also ran businesses. And, like so many people, I am lucky enough to have women in my life who inspire me every day. I hope they see themselves in my characters.
You also wrote a non-fiction book about being happy at work, how did that come about?

In 2005 I was burnt-out from years of traveling for work and work itself was hard. I took a six-month sabbatical and during that time I realized that I had loved what I did, I just couldn’t sustain the way I did it. I started writing about the things I liked about work and in doing so, effectively fell in love with work all over again. I started writing blogs about being happy at work for my website and the Huffington Post, which eventually turned into my book: “Falling in Love With Work, a Practical Guide to Reigniting Your Passion for Your Career.”

Talk to us about how you write.
I write on a computer, unless I’m traveling and then I write long-hand. After many years of traveling with a laptop, I don’t anymore. I don’t have a set time to write, and I try to write at least a couple of hours a day. Some days, the story isn’t there, so I don’t write.
Will there be more books in the Star series?
As of now, there is a third book in the works. Let’s see if I’m inspired further after book three is finished.
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