CWD Member Interview – Nicki Edwards

 

Each Thursday we will be interviewing one of the members of Christian Writers Downunder – to find out a little bit more about them and their writing/editing goals.

Today interview: Nicki Edwards

Question 1: Tells us three things about who you are and where you come from. 

I’m a wife to Tim (29 years on Monday!) 

I’m a Mum to 4 adult kids (aged 20, 22, 24 and 26). 

I’m a nurse currently working in a very busy GP clinic. 

I’m from Geelong where I have lived for most of my life.

Question 2: Tell us about your writing (or editing/illustrating etc).  What do you write and why?

I write contemporary women’s romance. My books are sweet/clean romance stories featuring relatable heroes and heroines dealing with medical dramas in small town locations.

Question 3: Who has read your work? Who would you like to read it?

I’ve had a 99 year old lady in a nursing home read one of my books! Her daughter took a photo of her sitting up in her bed reading.  That was very cool. I’ve also had my friend’s daughters read my books and love them. I think anyone who enjoys a heartwarming story will enjoy my books. There’s no smut and the storylines are simple.

Question 4: Tell us something about your process. What challenges do you face? What helps you the most?

The biggest challenge I face is time. I’m currently working 4 days a week in a busy GP clinic getting ready for Covid vaccines. Prior to that I was working in the Emergency Department and ICU of hospitals in Geelong. 

In terms of my process for writing – I have to fit it in around whatever else I’m doing at the time. It’s not easy! What helps me the most is brainstorming tricky scenes and having encouraging writing buddies who remind me I can do this!

Question 5: What is your favourite Writing Craft Book and why? 

I don’t read writing craft books – sorry! (Am I allowed to admit that!). I also don’t listen to podcasts on writing either. I have a dozen or so craft books on my kindle but they’re all unread! The only ones that I have used in the past are the writing thesaurus books.

Question 6: If you were to give a shout-out to a CWD author, writer, editor or illustrator – who would they be?

Shout out to Andrea Grigg – she’s my biggest cheerleader (and she reads writing craft books then tells me what I need to know!). 

Question 7: What are your writing goals for 2021? How will you achieve them?

My goal this year is to finish the book that’s due and regroup and decide what’s next. I have lots of ideas but the reality is, with the covid vaccine coming, my work hours will increase and it’s likely I won’t have much writing time in 2021. But bring on 2022!

Question 8: How does your faith impact and shape your writing?

I like to think my faith is interwoven through all my books in subtle ways. I tend to ensure relationships are patched up with my characters seeking and receiving forgiveness from others. 

Personally, I feel God has shaped my writing from day one and He has lead me to write mainstream romance, not Christian romance. Every time I’ve put my toe in the water to investigate writing a Christian romance, I feel God gently tug me back and remind me what He has asked me to do.

About the Author

Nicki is a city girl with a country heart. Growing up on acreage outside Geelong in Victoria, Australia, Nicki spent her formative years riding horses, hand rearing lambs and pretending the neighbour's farm was her own. After spending three years in a regional town in New South Wales in her twenties, Nicki’s love of country towns and rural life was further developed.

​Nicki’s dream is to one day escape to the country with her husband Tim to live surrounded by horses. Unfortunately, until that happens, Nicki lives vicariously through the lives of the characters in the books she loves to read and write. But she recently got a horse, so hopefully the country escape won’t be far off.

A voracious reader, Nicki always wanted to be an author. After returning to university as a mature aged student to study nursing, Nicki juggled full time study, part time work and raising four small children to achieve her dream of becoming a nurse. But her other dream—the dream to write—never left, and in January 2015 Nicki had her first book published.

Nicki works as a nurse in a busy General Practice, which is where many of her stories and characters come to life. In between work and riding her horse, she writes. 

Nicki and Tim have four young adult children, two spoiled border collies (#mollyandindie) and an ancient Burmese cat (Roxy). Nicki’s latest love is Monty, a Thoroughbred who has his own Instagram page!

To stay up to date with her latest releases, please visit Nicki’s website: http://www.nickiedwardsauthor.com/ or find her on Facebook or Instagram where she spends far too much time!

CWD Member Interview - Meredith Resce

Each Thursday we will be interviewing one of the members of Christian Writers Downunder – to find out a little bit more about them and their writing/editing goals.

Today’s  interview is with Meredith Resce

 www.meredithresce.com

Question 1: Tells us three things about who you are and where you come from. 

Hello. Well I am one of those country girls who has lived in the city since I got married 35 years ago. But you know what they say: you can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl. My place of origin, where I always drift back to, is Melrose, Southern Flinders Ranges South Australia. My parents still live on the farm there, so that is the place I still call home. However, I have not lived there since 1983. I’ve lived in Adelaide for 22 years in stints broken up by 6 years in Geelong, Victoria, 1 year in Bristol UK and 6 years in Melbourne, Victoria. Though I hate moving and hate being away from family, those years spent in other states and overseas has served to broaden my horizon, and I’ve found lots of places to connect with new story ideas. 

I’ve been married since 1983, have three children and two grandchildren. My husband and I have served in Christian ministry for the majority of those 36 years. My focus in ministry has been music, drama, writing and sharing the gospel through teaching and preaching—and most importantly, I have loved connecting with and encouraging people.

Personally, I love sport – playing and watching (though I stopped playing Basket Ball last year as I was getting too slow). But I’m a football (Adelaide Crows AFL) and cricket (Adelaide Strikers and Australian Cricket Team) fan. I hate shopping unless it is a bookshop, stationary shop or kitchenware’s shop. Clothes shopping makes me break out in hives (metaphorically speaking).

Question 2: Tell us about your writing.  What do you write and why?

I prefer to write fiction. I’ve tried a number of genres. The most successful has been the historical romance Christian Fiction I originally published. I’ve also tried fantasy allegory, murder mystery, crime drama thriller, contemporary romance, and a couple of non-fiction titles. The market has changed dramatically in the twenty years since I was first published, and currently, I am writing contemporary romance for the Christian Fiction market, and am hoping to break into a new market in the US.

Question 3: Who has read your work? Who would you like to read it?

 

Over the years I’ve had people of all sorts of shapes and sizes who have become fans, particularly of my ‘Heart of Green Valley’ series.   I still get requests for the one book in the series that is out of print, as folks are still discovering them and enjoying the stories.

I’ve had readers from all age groups – teens through to ninety plus. That series has been my best selling series by far.

With my change in direction, I would like to broaden my reading audience. So far it has been mainly Australian, New Zealand and English readers. However, I am aware that if I am able to gain access to the American audience, I have to change from Australian spelling and language to US spelling and language, and that is a scary prospect.

Question 4: Tell us something about your process. What challenges do you face? What helps you the most?

Getting ideas is the easiest part of the process. Turning the ideas tap off would be helpful if I knew how, so as a result, I have more story ideas than I can manage to develop. Writing is a fun process. It used to absorb and drive me twenty years ago. Now I need to be disciplined about making time to write, but I always enjoy the way the story develops, and particularly like reading it after I finished. 

My main challenges are finding time, and working against the injuries that develop from a static lifestyle. I have to get more active as writing is hurting me. Doing the recommended stretches is great, when I remember.

Question 5: What is your favourite Writing Craft Book and why? 

Can’t say I have one, though recently I was recommended:

 “The Word Loss Diet”

And “Understanding Show Don’t Tell (and really getting it)”

They provided some help on some recurring writing faults.

Question 6: If you were to give a shout-out to a CWD author, writer, editor or illustrator – who would they be?

Editor – Iola Goulton (I never feel totally settled until Iola has cast her discerning eye over a manuscript. She’s brutal, but the product is always so much better for her honest edits.)

Writers – Paula Vince (my first Australian Christian Fiction writing buddy); Amanda Deed and Rose Dee (we collaborated on a title ‘TheGreenfield Legacy’, which I believe is an excellent piece of writing); AndreaGrigg, Narelle Atkins (we contributed to a Christmas Book set that turned out to be a lot of fun)

Question 7: What are your writing goals for 2019? How will you achieve them?

I am planning to finish the ‘Luella Linely: License to Meddle’ series. This trilogy is based on popular Regency Author, Luella Linley and her busy attempts to match make her adult children. Her novel characters are much easier to manipulate.

Ideally I would like to find a US publisher to take this series, and so I will need to think American, which may prove a challenge, given I am very Australian, and quite proud of it.

Question 8: How does your faith impact and shape your writing?

My faith underpins my writing in the sense that I believe God has given me the ability to communicate through writing, particularly through writing fiction. I love sharing about God, faith, hope, healing, salvation and deliverance, but I do not like to have my characters behaving in an odd way, so they don’t usually express any religious ideals unless the situation calls for it.  Much like the way I move through life. I am open to God at all times, but I don’t go all super-spiritual, religious jargon in everyday situations. Neither do my characters. My motto for my writing has long been: to encourage and inspire.