Kristine Ochu | Writers' Voices

Former log-rolling champion, avid hiker, explorer, motivational speaker, and author, Kristine Ochu, joins us to talk about her international best-selling novel, Campfire Confessions. “So the story is about, you know, three best friends with three big secrets. Their lives seem perfect, but of course, you know that’s deceiving, appearances, right? …So when Annie’s secret is exposed first… she ends up in the hospital after this accidental overdose…they’ve been on the river for a couple of hours, and she’s on there with her best friends Josephine, nicknamed Jo, and Sandra, and Sandra and Jo are trying to get Annie to open up and share what happened and why she was feeling depressed and they want to help her and support her and so it’s a process of getting her to open up.”

Before writing her book, Ochu liked the idea of developing a story that was funny, uplifting and engaging for women and that became the motivation behind Campfire Confessions. “The world just kept getting more and more serious, you know COVID hitting and just…the things that we’ve had in our country and other countries around the world, and part of it was it was fun and entertaining that you could escape into a unique setting, but at the same time I really wanted these women to have these inner struggles that, I believe, women and men, struggle with such as learning how to embrace self love…learning how to forgive themselves and others and so I wanted to weave that within the story, and also put some action-adventure in there so it would be, you know, different.”

For many authors, incorporating comedy into novels can be quite challenging, but Ochu was able to include it seamlessly in her book. How was she able to accomplish this? “One, I think I have a good sense of humor… I can play off of someone else’s sentences and get some witty banter going…but I think because I had some really unique girlfriends in my life that were very funny and when we would get together we could… just play off each other and make fun of ourselves and tease each other. I also have three sisters so when we get together there’s a lot of teasing and nothing ever hurtful…I really think I took a lot of that.” Ochu also discussed the importance of female relationships and the benefits of fostering and nurturing those friendships. One of the ways she promotes this is by participating in and hosting virtual book clubs and other events where women can reach out to other women, find new friends, and learn how to build on those friendships. “I think every woman has a different experience at that and it’s kind of nice no matter where you might find it in your life, that maybe if you find it in your 50’s or 60’s or 70’s, it’s still so rewarding.”