About Nicole Taft:
I have been writing forever. Fairy tales have always fascinated me, and fantasy is my true love when it comes to writing – though I’m not above playing in science fiction and other genres as well. I’ve moved throughout the country most of my life, before eventually going to college and ultimately to Seton Hill University where I received my Masters in Writing Popular Fiction (yes, that’s a thing!). I love chocolate, adore soundtracks, miss the mountains of Colorado, and work at a bookstore helping other authors fulfill their dreams.

What inspires you to write?
Little things, really. It could be a quote or a single scene in a movie or a song on the radio that sparks an entire idea. I love going off into my own world and imagining everything that could happen there. But when it comes to inspiration, it’s almost always something small, something simple, that spirals into a whole new giant concept.

Tell us about your writing process.
I’m very old school in that I use notebooks and pencils for my writing. I’ve been pantsing more than usual these days, but for the most part I’m an outliner. I’ll get an idea. Stew around in it for a while and flesh out scenes in my head and places I want to go with it. I often start the book and then get to a point where I need to pause and write down things that need to happen. It’s usually pretty basic – just a bulleted list of what needs to go on. Sometimes it can be a single line of “gets into fight with brother” while other times it could be an entire paragraph detailing a scene that’s important to the story so I don’t forget it.

For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I listen. Always listen. It’s exceedingly rare that I talk to them. Even then it’s usually just me making a comment to myself like, “Wow. He is *such* a jerk.” Otherwise if I find I need to flesh them out a little more or just want to play with them, I’ll simply have the characters interact with each other and just have a whole lot of dialogue going on.

What advice would you give other writers?
Write even when you think what you’re putting out is crappy. Sometimes you just have to muscle through garbage to get to the good stuff. Likewise, rejection sucks, but it happens to everyone. It’s going to happen a lot. Cry about it if you have to, but in the end you’ll need to get over it and keep going.

How did you decide how to publish your books?
The first book out there with my name on it is Blood for Wolves – but that book is nowhere near being my first one. I eventually decided to self-publish my work after getting rejections, agent nibbles, and more rejections. I realize this isn’t exactly what anyone would recommend any writer do but…I wanted to see what self-publishing was like. What it was all about. How it all worked and I wanted to know it intimately. So I did tons and tons of research, made my choices, and now am working with them. I do still want to get published via agent and publisher some day, though. My advice in the end: no matter what route you choose, DO YOUR RESEARCH.

What do you think about the future of book publishing?
It’s still going to be there. People will use their Nooks and Kindles and other readers. People will still come into bookstores and buy books. I work in a bookstore, so I know that even people who own ereaders will still come in and buy physical books. It’s going to be fine. People will always want to read, so no matter what direction it takes when it comes to format, it’s still going to be around.

What do you use?: Professional Cover Designer, Beta Readers

What genres do you write?: Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction

What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print

Website(s)
Nicole Taft Home Page Link
Link To Nicole Taft Page On Amazon
Link to Author Page on Smashwords

Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.