Nicole Colville Interview

Its a pleasure to have Nicole Colville be the first author on my new blog. With a few of her books ready to be opened on my kindle, I asked if you would mind answering me a few questions and she was more than happy to oblige.

Be sure to check the links for her Hidden Series.

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What is it that inspires you to write?

Writing the Hidden Series has been a wonderful experience for me, but I only wrote these books by accident.  I never set out to publish them; they were a way to keep me entertained.  To allow me to read my own stories about the men I loved and desired.  About places I would like to go and people I would like to meet.  It has been lovely to find out so many other people share that love.

At the age of thirty three I became ill, after being diagnosed with Chrons I had a sabbatical off work.  I found myself unable to concentrate on even watching TV, and when I failed at being able to lose myself in my beloved books I was heartbroken.  So I began to write.  It was this that inspired me at first and then after I found other people enjoyed what I had written it has been them that inspires me to continue on.

Your Current works are the Hidden series, can you tell me what they are about – without giving away too much of course?

OMG, I would have to write another book lol.  Ok, the books are about adults overcoming issues in their past so they can live the life they want to lead right now.  Each character has their own complicated issues to work through.  Some are psychological, some are traumatic events which happened in their childhood, others have the day to day issues we all deal with. Does he love me? Am I with the right person?  Why can’t I find the one?  What the hell am I doing with my life?  The men in my books may do extraordinary things, but ultimately they are all human.  No matter how much money you have, or how brilliant you are in your career, we all have fears; we all have a past that haunts us.  We’re all the same scared, unconfident people searching for the same thing.  A person to share our life with and someone who understands our needs and desires.

How did the idea come to you, and was it always a planned series?

It came to me in a dream.  I was in a desert, surrounded by celestial angels with harps, there was a bright light, (I think from God, but I’m not sure) and a burning bush spoke to me and told me I had to write it. J True story.

Ok, that may be a lie, just may though. Writing the Hidden Series has been a wonderful experience for me, but I only wrote these books by accident. At the age of thirty three I became ill, I had to take three months off work after being diagnosed with Chrons, which is a truly horrible incurable disease, but enough of that.  I had a sabbatical off work.  I found myself unable to concentrate on even watching TV, and when I failed at being able to lose myself in my beloved books I was heartbroken.  So I began to write.

Did I plan it as a series?  Hmmm, I guess I always knew there would be more than one book, so yes.  But I didn’t see how many books there would be.  I also didn’t see how they would intertwine and work together to create such a complicated tapestry.  If I had sat down and planned this out I would have given up before I started. I have no idea how I weave these things together, hence the burning bush. LOL

As an author of the M/M genre, what is it that drew you to writing about a homosexual relationship rather than a hetrosexual one? 

The sex.

Oh, Ok, not just the sex.  I always get asked why I chose to write m/m rather than m/f, being a straight married woman it confuses friends.  But I’ve found out there are more female writers in this genre than men???  Well, we like men too you know, and two men are almost always better than one. 😉

Seriously though, I didn’t sit down and think, ‘I’ll write a gay erotic series’  I decided to write about relationships and all of the angst, tension and desire that comes with them.  It was just a character decision that led me to m/m. My original draft was a m/m and m/f mix.  I just found my gay character more interesting, so I followed him, which led to the men in his life telling their story.

Other than the pairing, what kind of readers would enjoy your series?

I’ve recently published a short story called Hidden Child.  It’s my first non-erotic work and follows the childhood of one of my main characters, Jamie, and his life with his mentally ill mother. Through this I have acquired new readers, new to erotic and new to m/m.  I consider my erotic work to be very graphic and seeing virgin readers buy them frightened me to death. But I discussed what they liked about the books, and yes, some did say they skipped the sex parts, *looks shocked* but that they loved the character development and the mystery involved in them.

Writing from the first person point of view has allowed me to hide a lot from the reader; I give them the opportunity to see the characters lying to you.  You have to choose what to believe and what not to believe.  And also which character is telling you the truth.  Different people see totally different things in my work, which is what I wanted.  Three people can read the same paragraph and all see something different happening.  But only one is right.  It’s up the reader how much they see. It’s a puzzle, one that you don’t see clearly until the end of book three, Hidden Passion.

You self published your work, how did you get into self publishing and what advise would you give others looking to try this for themselves?

I decided to self-publish knowing nothing about the whole publishing thingy.  A friend mentioned Amazon self-publishing to me and I loved the idea, even though I had no idea what the hell I was doing. So I read up on it and checked out a few books that had been self-published and I thought they were great. You have a freedom that’s not available in most publishing houses.  I write what I want, take as long or as little time doing it, develop my own covers, market my own work.  But the most brilliant thing about it is that I work for myself, well for the men in books really.  I’m far too impatient to wait a year for my book to come out, I want it NOW.

I was a complete novice to the writing world, I wasn’t involved in any groups or circle of friends who I could talk to about my work.  It’s only since publishing my work that I have found these groups.  In a way I’m glad I didn’t, because I write so differently to most people that the feedback I would have gotten would have put me off. But now I have more confidence in my work I am able to deal with that better.

The best advice I can give to anyone who will self-publish is regarding who you decide to work with to help you proof read and edit your work.  You need to find someone who you can trust and who understands your work.  Writing m/m put a lot of people off, then the erotic side put more people off. Since finding m/m groups I have been able to find people who I trust and who can help me improve as a writer.  So make friends, but always remember to believe in your own work because sometimes you will be the only one who does.

Do you have an future aspirations, and if so, what would these be – what can we expect to see from you?

I see myself continuing with the Hidden series for at least four more full length novels, and a few short stories thrown in for Christmas and Valentine’s Day.  Then I would like to move on and with something completely different.  So far my men have been sport stars and billionaires and I want to write about an average Joe.  I want to base a new book trilogy in Leeds, my home town.  So many stories are written about Manchester and London, but Leeds is an amazing place to live.  It has a great gay community and i would want to get people involved by talking about where they go, what they enjoy in Leeds.  I also want a Leeds boy for my covers. It would be an excuse to drool over semi naked pictures. But it would highlight Leeds and the community in a way which hasn’t been done in a m/m book yet.

You’re on a remote beach and you see a gay couple having a little too much fun together, they don’t see you. Which of the following would you do? 1. Walk away and not embarrass the pair by letting them know you see them? 2. Go over and remind them they are in public and should know better? 3. Watch the whole thing while updating your Facebook to let your online friends know all about it?

Look, I didn’t even have to think about this one.  Three all the way.  Maybe not Facebooking, but that’s because I would too busy……checking my fingernails.  😀

Is there an author in the world whose career you wish you had?

I guess every author wants as many people as possible to read their work, and would I like my work to reach the level E L Woods has reached? Yes.  Do I think it will ever happen?  No.  LOL.

I try not to think about what I don’t have and concentrate on what I do have.  I always aim for more and in my positive mind I see my work becoming better known, but I’m so new to this world, I know it will take time.

You have the power to make one change in the world, what would it be and why?

Everyone would be friends.  We would still all be different and have different beliefs, religions, sexual preferences etc., but we would all be understanding and supportive of those differences. We’d celebrate them and not condone them or judge them.  Difference is what makes us all unique and wonderful. A world where we would all be the same would be boring.  We don’t all have to say or think the same things, but just accepting that we are all human and no matter who or what we believe in or love doesn’t change that in any way. Respect each other.  Care for each other.  What you give out is always paid back.

Important Links

The Hidden Series on Facebook – www.facebook.com/The.Hidden.Series.Nicole.Colville

Nicole Colville Facebook – www.facebook.com/nicole.colville.the.hidden.series

Nicole’s Amazon profile – www.amazon.com/Nicole-Colville/e/B00C75T3R2

The Hidden Series!

Hidden Truths – The Hidden Series – Book One

“A bittersweet love story.”            “Complex characters.”              “A rollercoaster of a ride, with so many twists & turns I felt dizzy.”             “Addictive.”

A popular new erotic series from Nicole Colville.  Follow The Hidden Series from the beginning in Hidden Truths.  The first of six books currently available on Amazon.

Brief Summary:

Jamie Burton, an OCD compulsive, controlled, cold, openly gay English Skier, falls for the outgoing, beautiful, sexually confused Italian Moto GP bike racer, Valerio Capelli.  Despite both of them ignoring their obvious attraction for each other they can’t hold back the passion they both experience when they meet.  Jamie doesn’t want a relationship, at the age of twenty two he’s never felt anything close to love for another person, but Valerio is helping Jamie break all his rules, and for the first time Jamie begins to think about a future with the sexy Italian.

Moving forward means both of the men looking back into their painful pasts.  Both have hidden the truth for so long.  Both can help heal the other.  But to heal they have to share their secrets.  Slowly Valerio begins to see Jamie lies about his past, even to himself.  Does Jamie really not see the truth of his own life, or is he lying to Valerio?

Amazon.Com Link: www.amazon.com/dp/B00C6QEH4Q

Amazon UK Link: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00C6QEH4Q

Hidden Child – non-erotica

Or I have  non-erotic book for those of you who are unsure about my work.

Hidden Child – The Hidden Series. By Nicole Colville

Summary:

To hide the pain, he forgot his past.

Jameson Connor lives in rural Ireland with his loving Grandparents and his beautiful Mummy, Calista.

Jamie tells his story in the words of a child. He is four when he begins to understand that his mummy isn’t like other mummies, and people treat him differently for being her son.

See the world through the words of a child, a painful and confused heartbroken child who doesn’t understand why his mummy changes so suddenly; he doesn’t understand where good mummy goes or why bad mummy comes to stay. All he knows is that his mummy loves him, she doesn’t want to hurt him, she wants to protect him. But when protection turns to obsession Jamie isn’t safe.

Split between two separated parents in different countries and stuck in the middle of a messy legal battle for custody, Jamie is torn between his love for both his Mummy and Daddy.

Amazon.com Link – http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FGHQTY8
Amazon UK Link – http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00FGHQTY8