Author Nina Foxx of Leon Springs. Courtesy photo

“I like my characters to go to real places, like the River Walk,” said Foxx, who resides in one of those nebulous neighborhoods where Leon Springs blends into Boerne.

Like most of her novels, the name of her most recent tome comes from something someone said during a casual conversation. The title of this book is derived from a quip made by her sister, who has been married 40 years and counting.

“They live in Baltimore, but he works in New York,” Foxx said. “When they first started doing that, 13 years ago, I’d just gotten married and I said, ‘How can you do that? Don’t you miss him?’ And she looks at me and says, ‘No girl needs a husband seven days a week.’”

The story is about three independent women who have different outlooks on relationships. She describes the novel as being “Desperate Housewives” meets girlfriends.

The plot of the book took root after Foxx read an article about how African Americans aren’t getting married. A psychologist by training, she says she was offended by the tone of the piece, so she retaliated in novel form.

“That’s not really true. Women of all races are choosing to get married later. They no longer need to be rescued by knights in shining armor. They can take care of themselves,” Foxx said. “People have non-traditional marriages or non-traditional relationships and they don’t count those as marriages.”

Her production company, Foxx Tale Productions, recently produced a play, based on her novel, “Marrying Up,” which debuted locally in San Antonio at the Carver Community Cultural Center Feb. 2 and 3, in conjunction with Black History Month. Foxx says it’s her goal to debut a play in San Antonio in February every year.

“She worked passionately to get her novel ‘Marrying Up’ produced into a stage play,” said Pam Walker Williams, manager of the Nina Foxx Web site. “I was really surprised when Nina made a cameo appearance in her stage play and thought, who better to bring one of these roles to life than the woman who created them?”

The lines in “Marrying Up” had the audience in stitches, even though the author says she didn’t think she was penning comedies. Still, her last three novels were nominated for Open Book Award for Comedy Fiction.

“I think it’s the way my characters talked that was funny. I keep saying I wasn’t trying to be funny. I was really serious when I wrote that. I think it’s the rapport the characters had. Men get it. I have a large following with men,” Foxx said. “Women absolutely get it. You know, the rapport you have in everyday life with your girlfriends.”

Foxx is currently writing a novel for teens entitled, “Drama in the Amen Girls’ Chorus.”

“I looked at all of the books that I thought were successful in the genre and they all had those words inside of them. Drama. Chorus. Amen. I came up with a name that used all of those words,” Foxx said. “I pitched it to my agent and she liked it.”

Foxx currently has two other proposals in the works. One features some of the characters from “No One Needs a Husband Seven Days a Week” and the other is based on a character from “Just Short of Crazy.”

A practicing psychologist, Foxx has recently returned to her former profession and is doing some consulting in industrial psychology.

“Anything that will take me out of the country,” she said. “I recently got back from Brazil.”

One of the projects she completed this year concerned a cross-cultural study of marketing methods in emerging markets, which also took her to China and Japan. She plans to do an Australia leg of the project.

“That type of thing is interesting to me,” she said. “I get paid for using what I know.”

Novelist. Playwright. Consultant. Mother. Wife. Girlfriend. How does she manage it all?

“I don’t sleep,” she jokes when asked about her everyday juggling skills. “I’m reasonably disciplined and I’m focused. I take my kids to school. I have a routine. I work out. As I work out, I write from A to B. If there’s an errand to run, I make myself some afternoon time to get it. My kids come home and we do homework. They go to sleep. Then, like anyone else, I pay my bills. I do editing.”

Walker Williams says she doesn’t know anyone who is more dedicated to the craft of writing.

“Nina already has two graduate degrees, with one being a PhD. Yet, last year, she enrolled back in school to get an MFA in literature. That definitely is what I call dedication,” Walker Williams said. “She not only produces a blog for her readers, but also a video blog. She’s full of ideas of how to keep connected with her readers, and it really pays off.”

For more information on Foxx and her novels, visit www.ninafoxx.com.