A Chat With Nicola May plus A Giveaway!

Nicola May is the author of The Bow Wow Club, the story of a woman finding love again after the death of her husband. You can see my review here and Nicola has kindly agreed to answer a few of my questions.

When did you realise you wanted to become a writer?
I sort of fell into it really. I was dared to run a half marathon way back in 1996 and started to write a humourous training diary. People read it and thought it was good. I was quite into astrology at the time and also had been on a few disastrous dates so the idea for Star Fish was born. Main plot being that Amy can’t find love and decides to date each sign of the zodiac to try and find her ‘sole mate’.

Can you tell us a little about your journey to publication?
In a word - long! Basically, an agent took me on back in 1996 and tried to get me published traditionally with both Star Fish and Working it Out to no avail. After a life changing incident in 2010, I thought what the heck; I’ll have a go myself. So I found myself a local book printer, a designer and an editor and Working it Out hit the shelves in May 2010. I haven’t looked back since.

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Never give up. Don’t talk about writing, just write.

The Bow Wow Club is a follow up of your previous novel, Working it Out. Why did you decide to revisit Ruby?
Ruby is just so fun and gutsy. Readers quite often tell me how much they love her. She is easy to write as I guess there is a lot of her in me. I also hope she comes across as a ‘real’ character that everyone can relate to. She’s not fluffy or flaky. She makes mistakes like the rest of us. Also her band of friends is very likeable and again such good fun to write.

Who was your favourite character to write in The Bow Wow Club?
I adore Ruby my heroine for the above reasons. However, Simon Dye who runs The Bow Wow Club, is possibly my favourite new character to write. He has a lot of layers and flaws. You will see him being bold & brash but underneath he is sensitive and kind. He is also hilariously funny. Watch out for his comments on Fanny the wonder dog!

What has been your greatest experience of being a published writer?
Winning my award at the Festival of Romance for The School Gates last year was a great feeling. It’s getting easier now but when I first self-published, the stigma was evident. This, however, with the ever evolving digital book industry is changing for the better. A good book is a good book, fact! To this end I am delighted that The Folio Prize is now open to self-published authors as well as those from traditional publishing houses.

What was the first book you bought yourself?
I can’t remember exactly but I’m sure it would have been by Enid Blyton. I still have my Famous Five, Noddy and Secret Seven collections.

And what was the last book you read?
When I’m writing I find it hard to find the time read too. When I eventually get on holiday, I literally eat books! The last book I read was The Thread by Victoria Hislop. 

Finally, what are you working on at the moment?
Once I have recovered from the whirlwind of launching The Bow Wow Club on May 14th, I am going to start the sequel to The School Gates. Plot ideas are already flowing around my mind.

 

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Thank you for answering my questions, Nicola.

 

The Bow Wow Club is available now and you can win a signed copy by filling out the form below and leaving a comment, answering the following question:

 

In The Bow Wow Club, Ruby is distraught when her wedding ring is stolen. What is your most prized possession that you would hate to lose?

 

You can earn extra entries in the giveaway but these are optional.

The giveaway ends at midnight on Sunday 26th May and the winner will picked at random and announced on the blog on Tuesday 28th May.

 

UK only please

 

Good luck!

 

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