Who's That Girl? Interview - Nicky Strickland

We're back in Oz this week. Please meet a fellow Dark-Sider (from the Dark Side Down Under blog).

Name? Nicky Strickland.

Where are you? Brisbane, Australia.

How many years have you been a member of the Romance Writers' of Australia? I joined RWA 2008 (after it being mentioned to me about 2 years earlier but was too scared to join...)

What genre/s do you write? Fantasy with romantic elements. Even the historical and crime/suspense ideas I have seem to end up with something fantastical in them. I'm a speculative fiction girl through and through.

Who are your favourite authors? Oh, this is such a tough question. There are many and varied. I have so many books to read these days I rarely re-read either.

A few authors who'll I'll look at their new books regardless of what it is would be ...... Paulo Coelho, Kim Wilkins, Scott Westerfeld, Tracey O'Hara*, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Joss Whedon, Keri Arthur*, Erica Hayes*, Jim Butcher, Lilith Saintcrow & Kelley Armstrong.

(* more Dark Siders)

What inspired you to write romance? Interesting question for me this one. One of the reasons I took so long to join RWA (nearly 2yrs)  is I wasn't sure if I was a romance writer.

I've learnt so much about romance since attending the Australian Romance Readers' Association conference & joining Romance Writers' of Australia that I now comfortably use the term romantic elements. One of my favourite couple of characters are heading more and more into Buffy and Angel territory of not being able to be together (or else, you know, the planet is destroyed).

Romances are definitely strong threads in my stories, but they don't necessarily drive the book (more like they ride shotgun, or are very vocal backseat passengers) and I can't guarantee the HEA (happily ever after)...

Who's your dream agent and/or dream publisher? My dream agent would be someone who is prepared to be supportive of me and my writing over the long term. The obligatory 'love my work' plays into this and I know I have ideas that may not always fit the same line/sub-genre but it will always be 'my voice'.
So, my dream publisher may well end up being plural. I have ideas of which publishers I'd like to have books with and it will depend on who take me on first.

What's the best thing about going to conference? Undoubtedly, meeting the people I've met via the loops and chat room.

I don't care how small the world gets via the digital life humans are pack animals and we like to get together and party down. Being able to hug, and place a real life face and voice (instead of photos) to somebody's name is priceless.

And lastly, finish these statements...
My greatest strength as a writer is...telling stories. I describe myself as a storyteller every time. Oh & persistence (some may think I'm a little stubborn).
A sexy heroine needs...shades and dimensions.
My latest WIP (work in progress) is about...there are two battling for priority. One is about a mermaid coming into her powers (& arranged marriage) in our world where the elements are arguing siblings. The other is a 21st century young woman ending up living in 1st BCE Rome with Vestal Virgins during the civil wars of the Roman Republic.
When I write I like to...play music (wearing headphones) & have way too much coffee.
My best writing milestone to date is... surprising myself by semi-finalling in the RWA Emerald Award. It was done as an exercise to see if I could get a book done in a year and I went much further than I ever thought I could.

Thanks for answering my questions, Nicky!
If you'd like to find out more about Nicky then check out her blog, Facebook page or follow her on Twitter.