Featured Interview With Nichole Giles
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’ve lived in a lot of places, actually. I was born in Nevada, but we left there when I was six, and after that I changed schools almost every year for the rest of my school-going years. I’ve lived in Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and Texas. For now, I’ve settled in Utah with my husband and 4 children (who are mostly adults now). Currently, we have one dog that is ours along with one grand-kitty and one grand-dog who recently left our house to live with our newly married daughters (2) and sons-in-law. I’d call my 16-year-old son a pet, but he’s just not that furry.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Because I moved schools so often, I was never able to develop intimately close friendships the way some people did, but I did develop a deep love of reading. Wherever I was, no matter when, I could always find a friend within the pages of a book, and it had the benefits of making life feel a lot less lonely, and also giving me courage to strike up new friendships in each new place. I have very few memories of elementary school, but I do remember my fourth grade teacher praising a short story I’d written for a project, and telling me he thought I’d be a writer someday. I kind of blew that off at the time, and didn’t take a lot of interest in writing for lots of years. Instead, I focused on theater and choir as a teen. It wasn’t until I was married, with children who demanded all of my energy and time, that I found solace in writing. That was more than a decade ago. I still find solace in it, and now my kids are grown!
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have a very hard time picking favorites, because I feel like there are so many wonderful authors to choose from, and so many different qualities and talents that have impacted and influenced my own writing style. I could list a lot, but we’d be here for days. At the moment, I try to read a lot of books in the young adult genre, and I just adore Leigh Bardugo’s work–every one of her books is so beautifully written and plotted. Suzanne Collins has influenced me as well. I love anything different or unusual, especially if the writing is descriptive and poetic. I also read a lot of romance, but I’m more particular about that genre. The story has to be fresh, and the characters three-dimensional enough that I can identify with them, even when I disagree with their choices. I’m a fan of Nora Roberts, and also Heather Tullis. Really important to me, though is kissing. I write and read kissing books, because the one thing all my favorites have in common is a strong romantic thread.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is the third in my Descendant series, titled Legacy. Not going to lie, that book was the hardest book I’ve written so far, because I wrote the first book in the series, Descendant, more than a decade earlier. That particular book was re-written and revised, and cut and re-drafted no fewer than 25 times. I had actually decided to let it go and move on when I was offered a publication contract for it. Funny how that works. After more than five years of fighting to get that book right, I had less than 12 months to write a sequel. Just as I finished the sequel and turned it in (ON TIME) my publisher announced that they were closing. That was a tough time for me. Then that same year, my agent, who had been submitting Water So Deep to publishers, decided mid-way through that she needed to quit agenting. It wasn’t my year! But I persevered and signed with a new agent, and then gained back my rights to my Descendant series. At that point, I promised myself that regardless of how many readers I kept through the rocky transition period, I would finish the three-book series I’d intended to write to complete Descendant. After all of that, plus a cross-country move from Texas to Utah that included two Uhaul trucks, a trailer, two adults, three of our four kids, two dogs, one cat, and a rabbit–somehow I managed to keep that promise to myself and my readers, and last year, Legacy was born. This year, I hope to finish the sequel to Water So Deep and complete that series as well. So far, that sequel has been harder to write than Legacy, and I didn’t believe that was possible! After I finish, though, I have some big plans for new and fresh things, and I can’t wait to get started on them.
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