Today I’m excited to introduce you all to the one and only Christy Nicholas, author of The Druid’s Brooch Series. She’s got the latest installment of the trilogy, Legacy of Luck, available for preorder NOW.
To Preorder Legacy of Luck Click Here!
- Have to hit the basics- tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you begin writing?
I’d always written trip reports from my travels, including useless details like what I drank in the pub and what rocks I tripped over. Eventually, I gathered them into a travel guide. After publishing two, I dove into novels and haven’t looked back since!
- Can you tell us a bit about your publishing process? Are you agented? Self-published?
I work with a small press publisher out of Ireland, Tirgearr Publishing. They’ve been invaluable in holding my hand through learning the process. They don’t require an agent, so in my opinion, it’s the best of both worlds.
- What were the benefits and challenges that you found along your journey? And do you have any words of advice for your fellow writers- things to do? Pitfalls to avoid?
Edit, edit and edit some more. It’s never perfect, but it can be almost perfect. Self-editing can only go so far, and professional editing is well worth the cost. As is a professional cover, which is the first thing anyone sees of your book. If the cover doesn’t draw them in, nothing will.
- Where are you from? How do you think this place has shaped you?
I’m a gypsy. I was conceived in England, gestated in Scotland, born in Denmark, raised in Detroit and Miami, and have lived as an adult in Florida, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and now New York. I’ve lived in heart of the city and in nowhere Amish country. I think his helps me see a variety of views, and the people I’ve met from all walks of life help me create believable, well-rounded characters. At least, I hope so!
- Do you write long hand first, or does it go straight into the computer?
Absolutely not! My hands would cramp. I type pretty fast, about 60 wpm, but even so, my thoughts often run faster than my fingers. Longhand would drive me batty pretty quickly.
- Where do you find your sources of inspiration? Does your muse vary from project to project or do you find the well-spring is fairly consistent?
I think it’s fairly consistent when she’s ‘on.’ I can push it when she’s sleeping, but when she wakes up, that’s when my typing is too slow for my brain. I’ve done a 13,000 word day before, and my fingers ached afterwards. But it’s an almost drug-induced haze when it happens.
- Have you learned anything from your readers? Or had a response that especially touched you?
Absolutely. I love it when I get feedback from those who have read my books, good or bad. I learned that I had too many extraneous characters in one book, or that I got too bogged down in travel from another. An artist of any type must constantly be learning, or else what’s the point? You’d just be regurgitating prior levels of art.
- What makes you laugh? What makes you cry? How do these things affect your writing, specifically your characters? How do bits of yourself bleed through on to the page?
I have a terrible love of puns J. I also love ridiculous situations, especially in serious ones. Like a rude sound during a romantic moment, for instance. These happen in real life all the time, so I try to incorporate them in my writing. Seldom is any real-life scene ‘perfect.’ Anything makes me cry. Commercials, cute kittens, pithy quotes. I’m a push-over.
- If you could be a fairy godmother for one night- what three people living or dead would you visit and what would you bestow upon them?
First, my husband. I’d give him excellent health, and let him be free of pain. Then I think I’d visit a friend of mine with MS, Susan, and do the same. Then I think I’d go to Bernie Sanders and make him twenty years younger so he could win the presidential election next round!
- If you could choose between undoing any single act in the past or preventing one in the future which would you choose and why?
I would undo a rather terrible decision I made in my past. I think I’m less likely to make bad decisions in the future, as I’m more mature and less head-strong now. At least, that’s the theory!
- Favorite author as a child? And favorite author as an adult? Do these two have anything in common?
Anne McCaffrey. I always wanted a dragon, and had many dreams of finding a dragon egg, impressing the creature, and flying into school to the shocked looks of all my classmates and teachers. As an adult, Diana Gabaldon. She writes believable, three-dimensional characters that works towards being heroes despite their flaws, which is an inspiration to many.
- Can we ask what projects you have currently in the works? Where can readers find you, both virtually and in the 3D world?
I’ve got Legacy of Luck, book 3 in The Druid’s Brooch series, coming out on January 11, 2017. It’s on pre-order now, and you can find various formats on my publisher’s page at http://www.tirgearrpublishing.com/authors/Nicholas_Christy/legacy-of-luck.htm
I’ve another coming out on March 8, 2017, The Enchanted Swans. It’s a novelization of the Irish fairy tale, Children of Lir. I’m really excited about this one, as the cover artist did such a fantastic job. I can’t wait to reveal it to everyone!
Other places to find me:
http://www.tirgearrpublishing.com/authors/Nicholas_Christy/index.htm
http://www.greendragonartist.com
http://www.facebook.com/greendragonauthor
http://twitter.com/greendragon9
This post was written by Erika Gardner. She’s a native Californian, lifelong lover of fantastical adventures, and a dedicated Whovian. If you enjoyed it, please sign up to receive updates on www.erikagardner.com Or you can follow Erika on Twitter @Erika_Gardner, “Like” her Facebook page Erika Gardner- Writer and Storyteller.Or check out her contributions to the BBB Blog.