Kennewick court reporter decides to pen her own novel

KENNEWICK -- Renee Munoz describes herself as a voracious reader.

The average 320-page novel she consumes in three to 3 1/2 hours, while a 500-page book takes maybe five hours.

"I'm a very quick reader so I burn through books faster than most people," she said. But the "fiction genre junkie" admits that isn't too difficult when quite often she looks to a book for pure escapism.

After exhausting all the published titles of her favorite authors, Munoz -- a court reporter for Judge Bruce Spanner in Benton-Franklin Superior Court -- decided to write a book she would like to read. That was five years ago before the paranormal wave hit.

This weekend, Munoz's first novel, Moonlight Bleu, was officially released under the pen name Renee Rearden.

The 314-page paranormal romance book published by Crescent Moon Press has been for sale on Amazon.com since Aug. 2, though Munoz didn't know until a few weeks ago when she was on the website looking for another book and her's popped up. She thought it was for pre-orders, but was pleasantly surprised when she went through the purchase process and was told the book would arrive Aug. 27.

Once delivered, reality set in as she cracked open the paperback, smelled the "fresh printed book" and read the first couple of lines.

"Those are the words I wrote," she recalled. "That's when it hit me, this is really true."

Munoz has been a court reporter for 20 years, taking a record of judicial proceedings. She spent five years in California before moving to the Tri-Cities, where she worked with Judge Dennis Yule for 13 years before his retirement.

Her passion for the written word started at an early age. Munoz, 41, said she taught herself to read before kindergarten by listening to stories on 45-rpm records while following along with the book.

She took creative writing classes in high school and college, but really loved the law and set out to pursue a career in the legal field. She signed up twice for law school but each time backed out when she learned she was pregnant. Munoz and her husband went on to have four daughters, and by then she realized it just wasn't meant to be.

But Munoz kept reading. She used to go through a book a day, starting at breakfast, picking it up again during the lunch hour and finishing it in the evening. She is a fan of both local and chain book stores and the library, and over the years has built up an "amazing library" for her girls, who now range in from almost 14 to 22. She also has a 2 1/2-year-old grandson.

"Reading I think is so important. It teaches you so many things about life ... and exposes you to so much else," said Munoz of Kennewick. "Each author brings to the craft of writing their personal experience and that's one step removed from an outside perspective. It gives you a way of identifying with somebody else. We're all different people but we all live life and and all experience life."

Her favorite authors include John Sandford, Dean Koontz, Stephen King and Margaret George.

Her husband always supported Munoz's interest in writing and about 10 years ago gave her a three-hour "pass" to use on Saturdays while he watched the kids. When she started on her novel five years ago, she would also squeeze in writing time early in the morning before the girls woke up and at random times throughout the day.

Munoz says she has an active form of imagination and has always been fascinated by anything to do with the psychic phenomenon. So when she set out to write Moonlight Bleu, she researched psychic abilities and all forms of healing in order to make the novel credible and believable.

After spending 12 to 15 months writing the first draft, she met a woman at a Seattle conference in 2006 who became her critique partner. Cathy Perkins of Richland and Munoz now meet weekly at the library to swap chapters and discuss plot and characterization.

"She is a phenomenal writer and excellent editor," Munoz said of Perkins. "She really taught me structure, how to write a story, and she's a fantastic teacher."

Moonlight Bleu tells the story of Saari Mitchell, a nurse and an immortal psychic who is trying to find out where her mysterious abilities come from and make peace with them. As a serial killer is terrorizing the city, she meets Dehlis Guidry and Brogan Vincent, both of whom she realizes are her soul mates and she must keep from getting killed "so she can let go of the past and embrace her future."

The first customer review on Amazon was written by Cari Domas, a legal secretary in the Franklin County Prosecutor's Office. Domas admits she hasn't quite finished the book on her Kindle, but so far loves it.

"This is a great book and personally knowing the author makes it even better! I cannot wait to read the next book by her and hope it is another with these characters!" she wrote.

The second book in the series, tentatively titled Crimson Sunrise, is in the editing phase and should go to the publishing house in November for further editing, and Munoz has started writing the third book, Shrouded Daylight. She has five or six plotted, but says she will keep writing in the series as long as people want it and there are stories to be told.

Munoz already held a book release party at the Benton County Justice Centers with courthouse employees. She went to extremes that morning to pick up her shipment from UPS before it went out on the delivery truck just so she would have books to sign for her friends.

"It was very low key and just fun, because work is kind of like my second family," she said of the party, as tears welled up in her eyes.

She will have a book signing for Moonlight Bleu at The Bookworm in Richland from noon to 3 p.m. Sept. 18. She also will appear at Borders in Yakima from 1 to 3 p.m. Oct. 9.

Munoz is trying to schedule appearances at other Tri-City locations.

For more information, go to reneerearden.com. People can sign up on the site for a contest, with a winner to be randomly chosen tonight for a free copy of the book, either in ebook or print version. The remaining entries will be held until the end of September for another free book drawing.

Renee Rearden can also be found on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.

This story was originally published September 6, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Kennewick court reporter decides to pen her own novel."