Featured Interview With Nat Bickel
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Nat Bickel is an energetic storyteller who aims to move people to action with her words. She has a bachelor's in communications, a previous contributorship with Darling Magazine, and published features in Glamour, Stylist, Shondaland, Refinery29, Parade Magazine, and more. Through her journalism experience, she's interviewed celebrities, worked with musical artists, and reported on current trends and events. She has a child-like zest for life, meaning Nat gets excited about the little things, finding inspiration in the ordinary. Nat also loves retelling her own life events through a story lens. She's the author of the children's book, The Christmas Clue, that showcases the tale of a Christmas morning scavenger hunt. Nat was raised in Southern Indiana, and currently resides twenty minutes away from her hometown with her husband, Jacob and beagle mix, Otis. When she’s not writing, you can catch her creating something from nothing through her love of turning vintage items into something fresh and modern, including practicing photography using analog cameras, pressing flowers, or blazing new trails with her husband.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
When I was little, I felt completely enraptured by the stories my mom would read to me. I think it was a combination of her storytelling and the books themselves. In elementary school, I started creating stories, and my writing projects were always much longer than my classmates. We would have to hand write them, then get edits back from the teacher, and hand write them again. One of my papers was a detailed description of my bedroom at the time, which turned out to be nine pages front and back that I had to rewrite three times or so.
Once I got out of high school, college classes opened doors for me with writing. I took a news writing class, after which the professor asked me to write for the student paper. From there, I started blogging and found another home for my pop culture -focused writing.
I find that the more people I meet and the more places I go, the more I have to write about because in those moments, inspiration is floating all around—in the air, in the settings, and in the details of the people.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Becca FitzPatrick (Author of Hush Hush Series, among others) has influenced my passion for YA because she’s so good at wanting you to like the bad guy. I’ve literally held my breath while reading her books, in suspense of what’s going to be on the next page.
Kristin Hannah (Author of The Nightingale, among others) influences me through the complexity of her stories. She draws you into the characters, clearly defining them so you’re never questioning who anyone is throughout the story.
My favorite genre to read is YA romance. It reminds me of falling in love with my husband and takes me back to those initial life-changing moments and feelings.
Typically, authors that use highly descriptive language and thought out metaphors inspire my writing. I want people to feel like they're there inside the story, experiencing it firsthand.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is The Christmas Clue, which showcases the magic of a Christmas morning scavenger hunt. Christmas has always been the happiest time of year for my family with seemingly magical memories from my childhood. I know not everyone has this same admiration for the holiday season, which is why I wrote the children’s book, The Christmas Clue, in hopes to ignite feelings of joy and novelty towards this time of year. Throughout my youth, my parents curated unforgettable experiences for my brother and I through inventive Christmas traditions. My dad, in particular, is highly creative and came up with the ultimate tradition, a scavenger hunt to find our last present. This started when we were in elementary school, and the clues grew progressively difficult each year. The annual hunt commenced after we opened all the presents under the tree. My dad would then say, “Did you check in the tree?” My brother and I would search the tree branches to find envelopes with each of our names on them where the first clue lived. Once we each read ours, we would race to the separate locations they alluded to. After retrieving the next clue, we’d regroup, reading them aloud for the family before racing off again to find the subsequent one. This went on and on with one clue always outside, forcing us to get somewhat bundled up before braving the cold to retrieve it. On the rare occasion when we had white Christmases, my dad would have to quickly reprint a clue, the ink smudged from the snow. I adore my dad for staying up each Christmas Eve night and hiding our clues in secret, knowing how excited we’d be in the morning. My book is inspired by this tradition in hopes that other children will get a taste of the exhilarating, magic-filled journey we embark on each Christmas morning. As my brother and I have grown up and gotten married, our spouses have been inducted into the tradition, as well. Now, as we expand our families, I can’t wait to see our own children go along for the wild scavenger ride filled with the love and care of Christmas joy surrounded by family.
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