Nicola has recently joined Talkback as a new member. A talented writer and novelist, Nicola has her first book published though New Generation Publishing. In this interview, Nicola shares with us her passion for writing and provides a deeper insight into how she has achieved this goal.
The book is called ‘Harmony’s Big Decision’ and can be bought in stores, online and on Kindle.
Young elf Harmony lived with humans for many years and fell in love with a human named Damien.
For the past few years Harmony has lived among the elves with her father and brother. Wanting to be closer to her family she tries her best to fit into elvish society. Along the way the one thing Harmony fears the most happens and she falls in love with an elf prince.
When Harmony’s father requests she leaves his house, she must decide between the elves or the humans. Will her love for Damien be strong enough for her to choose the humans, or will she choose the elf prince?
- What inspired you to write a novel Nicola?
I enjoyed reading books and found them a great place to escape to, so after struggling with bullying I decided to create a world of my own to escape to, which became Elveshire. I filled the world with everything I enjoyed, loved and made me happy.
- How long did it take to research your ideas?
My ideas didn’t take long to research as a lot of them come from the things around me, places, people, family stories and objects.
- Do you use a computer, or do you write by hand?
I am not a fan of technology so I prefer to write by hand, just like my favourite authors did centuries ago. It eventually has to be typed on the computer (not a job I enjoy), so that it can be sent to the publisher.
- How did you go about getting your novel published?
I looked up different publishing options on the internet and decided to go for self-publishing. I prefer it because it gives you a bit more freedom to write without tight deadlines to keep to. After narrowing it down to two companies I then had to choose which one to go with. In the end I decided on New Generation Publishing after someone my mum knew told us she had published a book with them.
- How long did it take you to write your novel?
It took me quite a while because, being my first novel, I was learning how to write a book at the same time as writing one. I would say it took a few years to get from the first draft that had no storyline to the final draft that got published.
- How did it feel to see your book in published form?
The day my copy of Harmony’s Big Decision came through the post was the best day of my life. All the torture I had been through at school didn’t seem so bad, because I had achieved something amazing from it. I have always enjoyed reading so to have a copy of my novel stood on my bookcase next to books by my favourite authors brings me great joy and happiness.
- Do you know how many copies have been sold?
So far, I have sold about 16 copies of my book. Being a new author it’s hard to sell copies of your book because people don’t know who you are. Just like with anything new it takes a while to build up a reputation that will encourage people to take an interest in your work.
- What advice would you tell people who want to write?
It’s hard in the beginning but the more you practise and as long as you keep going you can achieve great things at the end. I also found that there are many reasons to want to write, whether it be song writing, becoming a famous author or poet, or just as a bit of fun to escape a stressful day. No matter the reason, as long as you feel good afterwards then it is definitely worth doing.
- What other ideas have you got planned?
I am currently working on the sequel to Harmony’s Big Decision, then I have got a few ideas for more novels. I have got a war story loosely based on a family story, a werewolf story, a Christmas story, and a love story.
- How many hours do you think it took to fully complete the novel?
I reckon it took thousands of hours of work from research to complete novel. Mostly writing but then there was the reading through what I had written. One of the hardest parts that took me a while was choosing the image for the front cover. There was also a lot of correspondence with the publisher that took time.
Thank you to Nicola and Sue for this inspiring interview.
To support our member Nicola, her book ‘Harmony’s Big Decision’ can be bought through these links:
https://www.waterstones.com/book/harmonys-big-decision/nicola-martin/9781789552065
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Harmonys-Big-Decision-Nicola-Martin/dp/1789552079
