Author Interview: Nicole Zoltack
I'm afraid I've been remiss over the past two months with regard to author interviews. This was partially due to my own hectic schedule, which I've already discussed here. However, there are a handful of writers-- who shall remain nameless--that had agreed to be interviewed yet failed to return emails. One of them had originally reached out to me and requested to be interviewed.
Nevertheless, I am pleased to be on track once more with at least enough interviews to get me through December. After that, I'll be on the hunt once more.
But for today, we have trolls, vampires, knights, zombies, and icthyocentaurs...and, oh yes...romance, too! Nicole Zoltack has covered quite a bit of ground in her writing career thus far, quite literally a Renaissance Lady. It is a pleasure to welcome Nicole who discusses her influences, her short stories, and her novels.
First, tell us where we can find you online such as blogs, websites, Facebook, etc.
I'm just about everywhere! My website is www.NicoleZoltack.com My blog is http://NicoleZoltack.blogspot.com I blog at least 3 times a week, sometimes more. On Facebook, I have both a personal page (http://www.facebook.com/Nicole.Zoltack) and a fan page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nicole-Zoltack/93384618347). Finally, I'm on Twitter: http://twitter.com/NicoleZoltack
What genres do you enjoy reading and which authors influenced you? When did you decide to venture into the craft of fiction writing?
I'll read just about anything. I especially love fantasy and historicals, with or without romance. I'm a huge Diana Gabaldon fan. I'm influenced by JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, and JK Rowling (lol all authors with initials!) Each took fantasy and changed it slightly, and their works leave me in awe each time I read them.
I've always known I wanted to be a writer. I wrote many short stories when I was young and started my first novel in the sixth grade. During high school, I turned to poetry. When one of my sisters (who also wants to be a writer) told me about Nanowrimo when I was in college, I got back into writing novels and haven't stopped since.
Clearly, your Kingdom of Arnhem series (Desert Breeze Publishing) was inspired by your deep interest in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. How much historical research went into creating the fictional characters and storylines? Is your Arnhem connected to the factual town of the same name in the Netherlands?
I did a lot of research for my Kingdom of Arnhem books. Even though the stories are set in a fictional land and a fictional world, it's more of a parallel world to ours that has magic, but magic is only within one continent. The rest of the world knows nothing about magic, and has the same history that our Europe and other countries did. The magical continent - Alethereia - basically takes the place of the Americas. Because the world is set in the Middle Ages, I had to do a lot of research of that time period to be accurate.
I did not create any of the creatures mentioned in the stories. My trolls are not the typical fantasy trolls - the women are beautiful and elegant, and all of them can dance on the wind. I took from ancient Scandinavia legends to create my trolls. Likewise, I did not create icthyocentaurs - essentially centaurs with dolphin tails. Even with the fantasy parts of the story, I did research.
My Arnhem is not connected to the actual town other than sharing the same name. I did a search on a map for names that sounded unique, and discovered Arnhem. When I discovered that several battles had been fought in Arnhem, and that it had a bridge, I thought it would be the perfect choice. Although the only bridge in my Arnhem is the castle drawing bridge, a stream separates Arnhem from Speica, their enemies. The two kingdoms have fought for years over land.
What inspired your What You See is What You Get eBook series?
I saw a call for submissions for traditional vampire stories geared to YA. I wrote the first story and submitted it. However, on twitter, I saw a publisher asking for authors interested in taking part of a special project - a series of short stories geared toward YA. I withdrew the story from the original anthology and submitted it to the publisher.
I've always liked vampires stories - both scary ones and more romanticized ones. What You See is What You Get has more traditional vampires that have a few secrets that make them not quite old school but every bit as dangerous.
How did you come to contribute to the short story collection, Be-Mused: An A-Muse-ing Anthology?
Be-Mused is a collection of humorous paranormal romance stories that Desert Breeze Publishing, the publishing house of my Kingdom of Arnhem trilogy. Gail, the editor-in-chief, sent me an email and asked if I would be willing to write a story for it. I agreed. It's a fun premise for a collection of stories - it's about authors and their muses. And, of course, love and romance.
Where else can we find your short story work?
I have a bunch of stories in various collections from Pill Hill Press. Bloody Carnival is a collection of horror short stories set in carnival or amusement park type setting. My contribution is called "Carnival of Shadows." Gone with the Dirt: Undead Dixie is full of zombie tales from the civil war era - my story is "Dead Roses." I also have several flash pieces published: "A New Magical Earth" in Daily Flash 2011, and "Zombies Don't Bite" and "Deadly Flat Tire" in Daily Bites of Flesh. Mertales is a collection of YA stories about the sea. My story is called "Beauty is Only Fin Deep" and is a sweet little tale.
If you don't care for horror or paranormal stories, I have some romantic short stories as well. "A Squire's Love" tells the tale of a minor character from Knight of Glory (the second book in my Kingdom of Arnhem series) and is in The Cupid Diaries: Moments in Time. If you like holiday romances, there's "My Christmas Luck" in A Yuletide Wish.
What can readers expect from you next?
I am going to have several more flash pieces coming out from Pill Hill Press, as well as the last two books in my What You See is What You Get series. I'm also working on several projects - some new, some old - and am going to try to find an agent.
What does Nicole Zoltack do when she isn’t writing?
I love to spend time with my family. I have two sons and another one on the way, and a wonderful husband. I enjoy watching movies and TV - my favorite show is The Vampire Diaries. I also enjoy going to the PA Renaissance Faire, dressed in period garb, of course!
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Nevertheless, I am pleased to be on track once more with at least enough interviews to get me through December. After that, I'll be on the hunt once more.
But for today, we have trolls, vampires, knights, zombies, and icthyocentaurs...and, oh yes...romance, too! Nicole Zoltack has covered quite a bit of ground in her writing career thus far, quite literally a Renaissance Lady. It is a pleasure to welcome Nicole who discusses her influences, her short stories, and her novels.
First, tell us where we can find you online such as blogs, websites, Facebook, etc.
I'm just about everywhere! My website is www.NicoleZoltack.com My blog is http://NicoleZoltack.blogspot.com I blog at least 3 times a week, sometimes more. On Facebook, I have both a personal page (http://www.facebook.com/Nicole.Zoltack) and a fan page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nicole-Zoltack/93384618347). Finally, I'm on Twitter: http://twitter.com/NicoleZoltack
What genres do you enjoy reading and which authors influenced you? When did you decide to venture into the craft of fiction writing?
I'll read just about anything. I especially love fantasy and historicals, with or without romance. I'm a huge Diana Gabaldon fan. I'm influenced by JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, and JK Rowling (lol all authors with initials!) Each took fantasy and changed it slightly, and their works leave me in awe each time I read them.
I've always known I wanted to be a writer. I wrote many short stories when I was young and started my first novel in the sixth grade. During high school, I turned to poetry. When one of my sisters (who also wants to be a writer) told me about Nanowrimo when I was in college, I got back into writing novels and haven't stopped since.
Clearly, your Kingdom of Arnhem series (Desert Breeze Publishing) was inspired by your deep interest in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. How much historical research went into creating the fictional characters and storylines? Is your Arnhem connected to the factual town of the same name in the Netherlands?
I did a lot of research for my Kingdom of Arnhem books. Even though the stories are set in a fictional land and a fictional world, it's more of a parallel world to ours that has magic, but magic is only within one continent. The rest of the world knows nothing about magic, and has the same history that our Europe and other countries did. The magical continent - Alethereia - basically takes the place of the Americas. Because the world is set in the Middle Ages, I had to do a lot of research of that time period to be accurate.
I did not create any of the creatures mentioned in the stories. My trolls are not the typical fantasy trolls - the women are beautiful and elegant, and all of them can dance on the wind. I took from ancient Scandinavia legends to create my trolls. Likewise, I did not create icthyocentaurs - essentially centaurs with dolphin tails. Even with the fantasy parts of the story, I did research.
My Arnhem is not connected to the actual town other than sharing the same name. I did a search on a map for names that sounded unique, and discovered Arnhem. When I discovered that several battles had been fought in Arnhem, and that it had a bridge, I thought it would be the perfect choice. Although the only bridge in my Arnhem is the castle drawing bridge, a stream separates Arnhem from Speica, their enemies. The two kingdoms have fought for years over land.
What inspired your What You See is What You Get eBook series?
I saw a call for submissions for traditional vampire stories geared to YA. I wrote the first story and submitted it. However, on twitter, I saw a publisher asking for authors interested in taking part of a special project - a series of short stories geared toward YA. I withdrew the story from the original anthology and submitted it to the publisher.
I've always liked vampires stories - both scary ones and more romanticized ones. What You See is What You Get has more traditional vampires that have a few secrets that make them not quite old school but every bit as dangerous.
How did you come to contribute to the short story collection, Be-Mused: An A-Muse-ing Anthology?
Be-Mused is a collection of humorous paranormal romance stories that Desert Breeze Publishing, the publishing house of my Kingdom of Arnhem trilogy. Gail, the editor-in-chief, sent me an email and asked if I would be willing to write a story for it. I agreed. It's a fun premise for a collection of stories - it's about authors and their muses. And, of course, love and romance.
Where else can we find your short story work?
I have a bunch of stories in various collections from Pill Hill Press. Bloody Carnival is a collection of horror short stories set in carnival or amusement park type setting. My contribution is called "Carnival of Shadows." Gone with the Dirt: Undead Dixie is full of zombie tales from the civil war era - my story is "Dead Roses." I also have several flash pieces published: "A New Magical Earth" in Daily Flash 2011, and "Zombies Don't Bite" and "Deadly Flat Tire" in Daily Bites of Flesh. Mertales is a collection of YA stories about the sea. My story is called "Beauty is Only Fin Deep" and is a sweet little tale.
If you don't care for horror or paranormal stories, I have some romantic short stories as well. "A Squire's Love" tells the tale of a minor character from Knight of Glory (the second book in my Kingdom of Arnhem series) and is in The Cupid Diaries: Moments in Time. If you like holiday romances, there's "My Christmas Luck" in A Yuletide Wish.
What can readers expect from you next?
I am going to have several more flash pieces coming out from Pill Hill Press, as well as the last two books in my What You See is What You Get series. I'm also working on several projects - some new, some old - and am going to try to find an agent.
What does Nicole Zoltack do when she isn’t writing?
I love to spend time with my family. I have two sons and another one on the way, and a wonderful husband. I enjoy watching movies and TV - my favorite show is The Vampire Diaries. I also enjoy going to the PA Renaissance Faire, dressed in period garb, of course!
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