Writers on Wednesday: Nicole Suzanne Brown

Welcome back to Writers on Wednesday. This week, I'm chatting with the amazeballs Nicole Suzanne Brown, author of Pride and Passing Through Time and publisher of Spiritual Wisdom Magazine ...

Tell me a bit about yourself …

 I lived in sunny Queensland all my life until moving to a very small cold country town of New South Wales, and I’m still confused by the choice to this day. Small in stature but big in personality, I have lived in New York, the United Kingdom, spent time in an Indian Ashram and get itchy feet every time I glance at my Passport.I am the publisher and editor of Spiritual Wisdom Magazine an online publishing resource for spiritual authors and bloggers and Spiritual Wisdom Publishing, my own publishing company.I am the Author of 5 novels: including the non-fiction novel Passing through Time – conversations with the other side, and ebooks The Creativity Workbook, The Wee Little Book of The Awesome, and the soon to be released The Meaning of Feathers. My fiction novel titles include Pride, and the soon to be released Outback Mistress and Phoenix.When not writing you can find me contemplating my navel, somewhere, in some part of the world.

Tell us about your most recently published book?

Pride is about Contemporary Romance set in the heart of Sydney, Australia.

When a shy and naive country girl stumbles into the lives of two brothers, she turns their worlds upside down. Brothers Matthew and Brett Hastings are the proverbial odd couple. The Ying and Yang of sexuality. Where Brett wants fame and fortune, Matthew just wants her. The one. Whoever she is. And when Rebecca Flowers, as shy and naive country girl stumbles into their lives and moves into the spare room of their lavish apartment, both Brothers have to face their fears. The fear of rejection from the ones they love and the fear of finding someone, then losing them forever. Through love, laughter, friendships, family, tears and heartbreak they share love, lost love and finally work out that love is certainly worth fighting for.

I wrote Pride originally as a full length movie script. And then, during my hiatus of writing, started to transcribe it into novel form. I am so in love with these characters and KNOW they have more to say, to share and a long way to grow, so there WILL be a sequel. I love how my readers cheer them on, want them to succeed and yes at times, want to shake the stupid out of them. Pride definitely is a journey for me, that I haven’t finished taking yet.

Tell us about the first time you were published?

I was first published by a vanity press publisher called Joshua Books in late 1998 with my first book Passing through Time, the true story of my brother Jay’s passing, and had relative success with it. I then took a hiatus off writing all together for just on ten years. Although, to be fair, the stories did keep coming, and the words did flow and I have over 12 books in various stages of work from needing to be edited to finding out what on earth I was writing about in the first place lol.
With the vanity press, I fought tooth and nail over what I wanted from the colour of my cover to the colour of the pages inside. At one stage they wanted to give my book to an editor who turned Jay’s words into some kind of soap opera and I was adamant that that would never happen.
I am happy to say that I myself have re-published the second updated edition of Passing through Time, Conversations with the other side under my own banner of Spiritual Wisdom Publishing and my sales are still growing steadily each month.

As writer, what has been your proudest achievement so far?

I actually found this to be a tough question, because every time I allow my writing muse to inspire me I feel it is a HUGE achievement. Huge in the way that I can shut out all the world and just be one with the words, allow them to flow without judgement. THAT is an achievement in itself!

What books or writing projects are you currently working on, if anything?

I am currently finishing the first draft of my 4th nonfiction The Meaning of Feathers (available on paperback & kindle August 28th), and am madly working on my next two fiction novels “Outback Mistress” and “Phoenix”.

I have also been asked to do an online course on How to Rock Word press & Social Media for authors and others of awesomeness! so.. that’s happening lol

Which do you prefer? eBooks or Paper Books? Why?

Publishing wise? Both. Why limit the energy and format to just one? But if you are talking reading, I definitely prefer paper books, for their feel, their smell. I am so tactile I need my words and those I read to be held together with binding not microchips lol. I have published a few works JUST on ebook and it still feels too surreal. So am putting them all into an anthology available on paper back in Dec, 2014.

Indie Publishing, or Traditional Publishing?

I’m definitely all for Indie Publishing. Unfortunately the Australian market of publishers and agents still haven’t made the plunge and taken the chance with that many ‘unknowns’. And for years the rule was to obtain an Agent you must be published, and to be published you must have an Agent. So the Indie publishing scene has grown strength to strength in Australia and the Indie Australian Authors are lapping up the profits!

Aside from your own books, of course, what is one book that you feel everybody should read?

Anything written by an Australian author. We are so diverse, yet so collective in our story telling. It would be a shame not to even dip your proverbial toe into the waters of their words.

Finally … is there anything you would like to say to your readers in Adelaide, Australia?

I’d love to thank all those who took a chance on me from years before and have stuck with me, devouring my writing sometimes as quick as I can put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). I’d love to come down and visit one day and will definitely make a point of getting together with as many of my readers as I can.

Links

Passing through Time - Conversations with the other side - signed paperback by author
Passing through Time - Conversations with the other side via Amazon
Pride - signed paperback by author
Pride via Amazon
The Creativity Workbook, The wee little book of The Awesome

Nicole’s Author Website: http://nicolesuzannebrown.com
Spiritual Wisdom Magazine http://spiritualwisdommagazine.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/nicolesuzannebrownauthor
http:/facebook.com/spiritualwisdompublishing

Twitter: http://twitter.com/spiritwisdommag

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