A Conversation with Author Cat Nicolaou

A Conversation with Author Tom Williams The Mad Fighting Fitzgerald

A Conversation with Author Cat Nicolaou

Today in the Library we have Cat Nicolaou, who has dropped in to say hello and to share some insights into her life as an author.

You are very welcome Cat, please introduce yourself:

I live on a small island in Greece with my family and many pets and I am 36 years old. I have had my own business since 2000.

Did you read much as a child? Are you an avid reader now? Do you prefer books in your own genre or are you happy to explore others?

Although my mum has always been an avid reader and tried to make me read when I was a child, I must admit I didn’t read a lot back then. I started reading regularly when I was in my early twenties and I have never stopped since. I do love romance novels but I read all genres if a book intrigues me.

Are you self-published or traditionally published?

I am a self-published author. My debut was a romance novella “When Time Comes”, which came out in 2015, and this year I published a short story collection “Life, Love and Death”. “When Time Comes” has been translated into Spanish and Italian as well. Both books are on Amazon Select now.

Which genre do you write in and why?

I started out as a romance writer because I am an old school romantic myself, but my second book was far from being a romance. Though my books will always have a romance element, I think I will experiment with genres for a while.

Who has been the biggest influence on your writing?

My mum thinks I write like Barbara Cartland, because she used to read her books when she was young, but I consider Jane Austen to be my idol as a writer.

Has your country of origin/culture influenced your writing?

Yes, definitely! My first published book was entirely set on a Greek island and lots of my future projects will also be. Besides that, however, I do find myself attributing traits to my characters that only Greek people possess, even if my characters are not from my country. It is something I always have to look out for.

What part of the writing process do you find most difficult? How do you overcome it?

Writing itself, of course. For two reasons, first of all, I write books in English though it is not my mother tongue and that makes my writing progress very slow, because I have to think twice of what I am writing, and secondly, I tend to overload myself with work, which in turn blocks my creativity. How do I overcome my writer’s block? A stroll by the beach always helps. Looking at the sea clears my mind and I feel my creative juices flow again.

Do you have a favourite time of day to write?

I am a night owl. I cannot concentrate enough to write during daytime. Usually, I start my writing session right after midnight and I keep going till dawn.

What is the best thing about being an author? And the flipside – what is the worst?

I think the best thing about being an author is the ability to create new worlds out of nowhere; that suddenly the ‘voices’ in your head take a form and become ‘real’ people with problems like yourself and you desperately want to make them happy.

I think the worst part comes once you finish your first draft. Writers go through real agony after that. Besides the load of work we have to do in order to publish and promote our books, it can be a real drain to wait and see if people will actually like what you have produced.

Is social media an essential chore or something you enjoy? Which forum do you prefer?

I am a chatty person, so I do enjoy spending time on social media and meeting new people. I quite like twitter as a medium, though my online friends are on Facebook. Whether we like it or not, social media is a reality for all of us and I do think it’s a good way to promote yourself and your work.

If you weren’t an author, what would you be up to?

Well, I do have a day job, but let’s see… As a child, I wanted to be a singer. I do have a fairly good voice as well. Later on, I wanted to become a doctor, however. I became neither but I have a lot of respect for doctors and I think that is the thing I would like to be most, if I weren’t an author.

It’s the last day and the earth is facing oblivion – what book would you read?

I would read The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry because it always restores my courage.

Please tell us what you are working on.

I am planning to publish a second book this year and right now I am working on a romance titled “Teach a Teacher a Lesson”. It is a revenge story with a twist. A young man meets his old high school teacher after ten years from graduation and wants to take revenge on her because of the emotional pain she had caused him. It is not what it looks like for neither party actually and that’s where all the fun begins. Lots of steamy scenes coming up, as well.