Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Katherine Nichols. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Katherine, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Since the fifth grade, I knew I wanted to be a writer. My friends suffered through readings of my latest short stories and loyally cheered me on. I became more protective of my writing as I entered high school, doubtful anyone would be interested in my work. In college, I had a wonderful creative writing teacher, who forced me to read my material out loud. After graduation, I worked as a copywriter for radio and television. One of the stations I worked for was country; their sister station was disco. I almost developed a split personality. I learned the only advancement in this career was sales, so I earned a graduate degree in the art of teaching, my second choice. During my thirty years as a high school teacher, I learned a great deal about myself and writing. Several times along the way, I was tempted to leave the classroom to write. Finances didn’t allow me to take that risk. When I retired from full-time teaching, I recognized my chances of writing a novel were getting slimmer every day, but I was afraid of looking foolish. So, I wrote in secret until one day I woke up and realized that I had something to say that other people needed to hear. I thought how much more foolish it was for a grown woman to be worried about what people thought. I took a leap of faith and joined a critique group. And I wrote a novel. Then I wrote another and another, and I took another risk. I started querying my work. I got an agent, but we parted company amicably. Instead of going through that lengthy process again, I took another risk and began submitting my work to independent publishers. Black Rose Writing accepted my first, second, third, and fourth novels. I’m working on another one. Each time I submit my work, I take another risk. I discovered I love being a risk-taker. I want to share my story so other people might learn to love it, too.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I write suspenseful novels with heart and humor. My main characters navigate journeys filled with difficult moral choices and dangerous situations. An underlying theme in my work is dealing with loss and guilt. I answer questions readers may not realize they have until they read my books. For example, in The Sometime Sister my protagonist has to work through her grief at losing her sister and guilt because they had unresolved issues. In The Unreliables, the main character comes to terms with her guilt regarding the murder of her husband. In Trust Issues, a young girl works through grief from losing a mother she with whom she had a rocky relationship. My personal lose and the ways I’ve found to cope and share insights while providing a fast-moving plot and relatable characters set me apart from others, as does my use of humor. I invite my readers to see themselves in my work and join my protagonists as they answer questions we might not realize we had.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Eight years ago, my son took his life. He struggled with depression most of his life and self-medicated with alcohol and drugs. He lost himself long before we lost him. Watching our sweet, funny young man disappear was almost as painful as dealing with his death. Both of my parents and my beloved grandmother died before our boy, but their deaths went according to the universal plan. Older people are supposed to go first. No parent should bury a child. It’s not right; it’s not normal.
I had to come to terms with a new normal, one that included a way for me to be there for his beautiful daughters and for the rest of my family. More important, I had to accept there is no coming to terms with tragedy. You simply learn to let it walk along beside you without allowing it to derail you.
I used my pain to create characters dealing with theirs. My hope is that readers who need it might find comfort in an unexpected place.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a writer is when someone “gets” what I have to say. In The Unreliables, I deal with the question of what’s normal and what isn’t. When a reader told me it helped her with a personal struggle, I was elated. When someone identifies with my characters or their situations, I know I’ve chosen the right path. It makes me want to write more, to reach more people with my writing, and to celebrate being where I am and how I got here.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kathy-nichols.com/
• Instagram: kathystagnernichols
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kathy.s.nichols
• Linkedin: kathynichols
• Twitter: kathynichols@kathynichols
• Other: Tik Tok @katherinenicholsauthor

Image Credits
Madonna Mezzanotte (head shot)