Interview with author Nicole Peeler

     It's no secret that one of my very favorite series these days is the Jane True series written by the wonderfully funny, and smutty, Nicole Peeler. I was introduced to her first book over at the Kelley Armstrong discussion board book club. I enjoyed that first book, Tempest Rising, and looked forward to the second one, Tracking the Tempest.  Well, I loved that book, it's one of the very few books I've given a 5 star rating on goodreads. I laughed so hard I was breathless and I talked it up on Twitter. Nicole is on Twitter also (@NicolePeeler) and is even funnier, smuttier, and more potty-mouthed than in her books. I knew that I had to interview Nicole. This interview doesn't do her justice, but maybe it will whet your appetite and encourage you to seek her books out if you aren't reading them already.

     First, some info about Nicole. Over the summer she moved to Pittsburg (in Pennsylvania in the US) to teach at Seton Hill University's Master of Fine Arts program in Writing Popular Fiction. When not teaching or writing, she enjoys cooking and eating, traveling, and spending time with her friends and families.

     Nicole can be found all over the web. In addition to Twitter, she's on facebook, has a website, and blogs at The League of Reluctant Adults or you can email her at IHeartSelkies AT gmail DOT com.

                                                             The Jane True books:

And now for the interview.  :)

BEA: Nicole, thank you for coming by and chatting with me. Maybe next time Jane, Anyan, and some of the others could visit also.

BEA: Why writing? Would you continue to write if you were no longer published?

NICOLE: I’ve always written, and I’ve always loved words, but I’d never really written fiction. To be honest, I don’t know if I would write fiction if I weren’t publishing it. But I would never stop writing. I’d probably go back to writing academic work. But who knows?

BEA: What is your favorite part of writing?

NICOLE: I think it’s being able to tell the stories I’ve always wanted to read.

BEA: What is your least favorite part?

NICOLE: How things get dropped from above into your lap, and need to be turned around in a few weeks.  I love my publishing company, and I know this is normal, but it’s hard when you have a pretty intense day job.

**as an example - during the week between Christmas and New Year's Day, Nicole tweeted about her work on revisions for book 4 that she was aiming to turn in for Jan. 2nd - Bea**

BEA: Was there someone who was, or is, particularly helpful to you?


NICOLE: I’ve had so many mentors, so many amazing teachers, and so many incredible friends. Too many to name, here. I can tell you there’s no way I could ever have done any of this alone.

BEA: Why urban fantasy?

NICOLE: I love the fact it’s so “real” and so fantastic, all at the same time. I can have my character deal with “real woman” issues, like sexual safety, at the same time that she’s worrying about being with a vampire. It’s fun, but it also allows me to say some things I think need to be said. ;-)


BEA: If you could be a character in a book, which one would it be, and what part would you play? (Romantic lead, sidekick, etc)


NICOLE: I’d definitely be the vulgar sidekick. I’d be like Grizelda in my books, saying really raunchy stuff in the background like some perverted peanut gallery. ;-)

BEA: Do you prefer paper books or ebooks? Why?

NICOLE: I’ve just come to ebooks, and I do love them. Don’t get me wrong, at heart I’m a paper book girl. But I’ve moved so much, and had to give up so many books over the years, it’s heartbreaking. With ebooks, they can always move with me.

BEA: Do you write by hand, on a typewriter, or on a computer? If on the computer, do you use any particular software program to help you?

NICOLE: I write on a computer, just using word or pages.

BEA: I saw on twitter that you were participating in NaNoWriMo. Why? What is useful or valuable about it? 

NICOLE: I didn't really do NaNo, but I signed up and I sponsored NaNo at my university with another professor. I think it’s a great way to get people writing, and to realize how much time they do have to write, if they just make that time. But I’m not really a NaNo gal. I have to write a lot, already, and I really have to edit. I can’t not edit as I go along. I tried with NaNo, and it was interesting, but there’s no way I can’t not edit.

BEA: How many books are currently planned for the Jane True series? Is there a possibility of a spin- off?

NICOLE: I’ve got six books planned for Jane, but only six. That said, I would love to do a spin-off, and already have it quite developed.



**yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - Bea**

BEA: Why a selkie for your lead character?

NICOLE: I picked a selkie because Jane could be magical, but not bad ass. No one expects a selkie to be a ninja. ;-) And I wanted Jane to be more “human” than some urban fantasy heroines out there.

**I love this about Jane; it's also one of the things that I like about Mercy in the Mercy Thompson books by Patricia Briggs. I really like that they are more human, more relatable than some of the kick-ass, do-it-all heroines out there - Bea** 

BEA: What else do you want to write?


NICOLE: I want to write this spin off, and then I’m not sure. It’s still so early in my career, and I’m only now coming to terms with being a writer. It’ll take me a little while longer to start thinking about what else I want to do, in terms of story lines.


BEA: Who are some of your favorite authors?


NICOLE: I have so many: Philip Roth, Iris Murdoch, Muriel Spark, Sarah Waters, Mercedes Lackey, Charles de Lint… the list could go on and on. ;-)

BEA: You’ve traveled a lot, what do you like about traveling? What is your favorite place and why?

NICOLE: I think it’s really important to travel. It’s challenging, and it makes people see the world differently. I’ve lived abroad for many years, and the experience really made me who I am, today. As for my favorite places, I feel very at home in London, but I absolutely adore Istanbul.

BEA: You are active on twitter and several blogs. Where else are you active online and why do choose to use social media? Do you think it is necessary now for an author?

NICOLE: I think it’s absolutely necessary for writers to be media-savvy. Publishing houses expect us to do a lot of our own promo, nowadays, and the internet is the cheapest and most accessible way to do this. As for why I chose social media, it was all things my publisher told me to do when I started. Before I sold my book, I didn’t even have a Facebook page.

Nicole, thanks again for stopping by and taking the time to talk with me. I know that Tempest's Legacy will do well for you and I'm already itching for the next book, Eye of the Tempest.