When Kerry Kriseman’s husband decided to run for local office over a bottle of wine with a friend in 1999, she had no idea that conversation would launch a 22-year journey through eight campaigns and eventually lead to her powerful memoir, “Accidental First Lady: On the Front Lines and Behind the Scenes of Local Politics.”
In this revealing episode of Jolene’s Books and Writers Talk, Kerry shares the untold story of what it means to be the person beside the politician—navigating public scrutiny, sustaining a marriage, raising children, and maintaining personal identity while supporting a political career that spanned from the pre-social media era through 2022.
More Than Just Arm Candy
Kerry’s book challenges persistent stereotypes about political spouses, particularly women. “One thing that remained consistent through so many people was that I was nothing more than just keeping the home fires burning, propping up my husband,” Kerry explains. Even during the final years of her husband’s eight-year tenure as mayor of St. Petersburg, Florida, community members assumed she volunteered at her workplace rather than holding a paid position.
Her memoir showcases resilience through real-life challenges that happened during those 22 years—a house fire, two cancer diagnoses, health scares, and the everyday work of raising children, all while under public scrutiny.
The Publishing Journey
Kerry published through St. Petersburg Press, a hybrid publisher that vets manuscripts and focuses on locally themed stories from local authors. However, she learned a crucial lesson about author marketing that she now shares with aspiring writers: start building your audience before your book launches.
“I kept my book almost a secret because my husband was still in office when it was coming out, and I didn’t want my book to be the subject of a news story,” Kerry admits. When her book released, a local author and former reporter reached out to help her navigate author marketing. Kerry taught herself the rest and now presents webinars and workshops for her publisher’s new authors.
The Hardest Scene to Write
Every writer faces challenging scenes, and for Kerry, it was capturing the stress of potentially canceling their 25th-anniversary trip to Italy when a formidable opponent entered a political race. The challenge wasn’t just the decision itself—it was conveying the emotional weight without sounding privileged or pretentious.
“This was something we had saved for, planned for,” Kerry explains. “I was almost 50 years old. I’d never been to Europe.” Writing about personal struggles when you’ve chosen a public life requires careful balance, and Kerry managed to capture both the genuine emotion and the awareness that they’d made these choices themselves.
What’s Next
Kerry is exploring two new writing projects: a children’s book and a memoir about 15 years of raising guide and service dogs for an accredited Florida organization. For the dog memoir, she’s still developing her approach. “People know that’s what we’ve been doing for many years, but I don’t want it to simply be a recounting year by year. That’s not necessarily a story.”
Learning from the Masters
When asked which author she’d spend a day with, Kerry chose Elena Ferrante, the pseudonymous author of “My Brilliant Friend.” As a nonfiction writer contemplating fiction, Kerry finds the dialogue and storytelling in Ferrante’s work particularly compelling. She also drew inspiration from the television series “This Is Us,” praising how stories spanning different decades remain interwoven without losing intent or interest.
Kerry’s writing process emphasizes a clean workspace and clear mind, often taking walks to generate ideas. During chemotherapy, when she didn’t feel up to the brain work of writing, she focused on querying agents—a practical approach that kept her manuscript moving forward.
Dinner Party Dreams
In a fun closing question, Kerry revealed her dream dinner guests: Jimmy Buffett (for his underappreciated poetry and writing talent), Michelle Obama (for shared experiences as political spouses and mothers), and God (for the ultimate conversation about life’s big questions).
Kerry’s story reminds us that behind every political figure stands a partner with their own story, struggles, and strength. “Accidental First Lady“ offers that rare perspective—nonpolitical, deeply personal, and authentically human.
Keep Up With the Author
Website: https://www.kerrykriseman.com/
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/KerryKrisemanAuthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kerry.kriseman
X: https://x.com/KKriseman
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerry-kriseman-53814b153/
Amazon Profile: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B09SY8LW3N
View Our Entire Video Interview on Southern Dragon Publishing’s YouTube Channel
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