Nina Kentsis
Nina Kentsis is a novelist and award-winning screenwriter. Her stories explore young adult themes through the eyes of smart teenage girls plunged into new worlds. Her debut novel, "Acts of Lovingkindness," was published in April, 2025. Nina holds a BA from Duke University and an MBA from Columbia University. She grew up on the South shore of Long Island and now lives in New York City with her husband and two children.
Marina Raydun: Growing up on Long Island, how did that environment shape the way you use language in Acts of Lovingkindness, which is set on Long Island?
Nina Kentsis: “Acts of Lovingkindness” draws on my own coming-of-age experience, so setting the book on Long Island made perfect sense to me. I don’t think of myself as having a very thick Long Island accent, but my children think I do! I think there are certain speech patterns that emerge from someone who grew up on Long Island when I did, and some of those may have made it into the characters of the novel—some of the long sentences, the interrupting, the “like” (although that is definitely an 80s/90s universal).
MR: Do you have a favorite genre to read, and did it influence your approach to your own writing?
NK: I don’t have a favorite genre to read. I read very widely, and I read a lot, and I often re-read favorites. When I’m writing a story, I like to read books in that genre or with a similar story, to get an idea of how other people approach the subject.
MR: Were there any authors or specific books that shaped your writing style or storytelling in your novel?
NK: I had a long list of books that I read while writing “Acts of Lovingkindness” and I winnowed it down to a much smaller list to include in the back of the novel. I had a hard time finding “comps” for this novel, or books in the genre that were similar enough that I could say something like, “‘Acts of Lovingkindness’ is like X meets Y” like you might say “‘Fourth Wing’ is like “Harry Potter” meets ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ with dragons.” I would say the three books I think most capture some of the vibes of “Acts of Lovingkindness” are “Today Tonight Tomorrow,” by Rachel Lynn Solomon; “Saint Anything,” by Sarah Dessen; and “You’d Be Home Now,” by Kathleen Glasgow.
MR: When writing your novel, did you outline the story carefully or let it evolve organically?
NK: Because this book is loosely based on my own life, and I had an idea of how I wanted the story to play out, I did not outline the book. I started the sequel to “Acts of Lovingkindness,” which is called “Your Mileage May Vary,” and did not outline it, and I wish that I had. I always outline for screenplays.
MR: If Acts of Lovingkindness were adapted into a movie, which actors would you cast as the main characters?
NK: I am not sure! I do not have my finger on the pulse of teen stardom, even though I watch a lot of teen-oriented TV shows. It’s also difficult since this is based on my own life, so it’s almost like casting actors to play your friends, or versions of them.
MR: You’ve written screenplays as well—how did that experience inform the way you approached your novel?
NK: As I mentioned above, I always outline a screenplay because the structure is much less forgiving than that of a novel. “Acts of Lovingkindness” started out as a screenplay and I turned it into a novel because the story was so much in Francie’s head, which is hard to write into a screenplay. There is also not that much action in the novel, and in screenplays, there usually needs to be some action. But I think writing screenplays did give me an idea of character, and how to think deeply about the characters and understand them very well before beginning to write the book.
MR: What inspired you to start writing novels to begin with? Why transition from screenplay writing to writing prose? And why did you choose this particular story to do that?
NK: I wrote short stories for many years in high school and college, so the first transition was to writing screenplays. I wrote screenplays for so many years, even though, sadly, none of them has ever been produced, that I did not think I could go back to prose. I had tried a few times to write short stories, and I couldn’t get into that mindset. “Acts of Lovingkindness” started out as a screenplay. A screenwriter friend of mine suggested doing National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and I decided to turn the screenplay into a novel since it was so interior and also since it is set in the 1990s, and a period piece (!!) would be harder to get made anyway.
MR: How did you balance humor, emotional depth, and cultural detail in your book?
NK: There are a lot of Jewish elements to the book, starting with the title, which comes from Pirkei Avot, a book of Jewish teachings. The first drafts of the novel were even more heavily Jewish, and some people (my sister) suggested dialing that back a lot. I think that Francie’s Jewish background and her volunteering work in her synagogue fit well into the story of a teenager trying to be her best self, and not always succeeding. By having Francie learn about acts of lovingkindness, I could have the reader learn as well without making it too obvious. Francie is a keen observer, and some of the things she observes don’t always make sense to her, so there’s some humor in that. And as for emotional depth: she’s a teenager! That is nothing but emotion! But I wanted to show how she grows throughout the story through her responses to others and in how she takes action to bring about change in her family.
MR: Are there particular scenes or characters in your novel that you found especially challenging or rewarding to write?
NK: Some of the sex scenes were tough to write! They had to be realistic and age-appropriate and not too graphic. I think I struck a good balance. The scenes with Francie and her friends just hanging out together were the most fun, because they draw on my own recollections of those times. Looking back on your writing journey,
MR: Is there a moment or experience from your early life that directly shaped the story in your book?
NK: The whole book draws on a lot of my life experiences, so I can’t really isolate one. But having my older brother leave home at age 15, when I was 10, without knowing if or when he would be able to move back into the house, was very formative. And various family members’ reactions to my brother’s later actions shaped my entire childhood, since they effectively cut my sister and me off from half of our family for eight – ten years.
To learn more about Nina Kentsis, please visit the following:
https://www.amazon.com/Acts-Lovingkindness-Nina-Kentsis/dp/B0DYGKPMGK/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0