It’s time to catch up with another debut author – meet Nicole Bross as she tells us about her novel, PAST PRESENCE.
Tell us a little about your book and how you came to write it.
In this atmospheric mystery, Audrey Eames has a secret—she can see visions of people’s past lives when she touches them. Her ability doesn’t impact her day-to-day life much, until she discovers that it might be the only way to catch a killer whose victims’ deaths in this lifetime are suspiciously similar to their previous lives. Can Audrey peer into the past to find the person responsible, or will she be the next to fall prey?
The idea for Audrey’s ability came to me while I was driving one day, and the song Selling the Drama by Live was on the radio. As soon as I heard the line I know/I know/I’ve been here before, the notion of someone who could see into the past came to me. When I got home I sat down and made a list of all the rules for Audrey’s sight, then set my mind to figuring out how she could use it in a way that would engage readers. PAST PRESENCE is the result.
What makes your book unique?
It’s a mix of a few different genres, which is a bit unusual. At the heart of the book is a mystery, but there’s the paranormal element, some historical fiction in the flashback scenes and a bit of romance too. I had a hard time deciding what genre to call it when I was preparing my pitch. The other aspect that I think makes it unique is that Audrey treats her ability as just another aspect of herself, like her eye colour or her preference for a nomadic life over a settled one. A lot of books treat extrasensory abilities as something to either overcome or wrestle into submission, and Audrey does neither—she just accepts it for what it is.
Your book will soon be in readers’ hands. Which part of being published are you most excited about?
I think holding an actual physical copy in my hands will be the most exciting part. That, and reviews from people who aren’t friends or family. Reviews—good or bad!—mean that people are reading my book, and that’s amazing.
What has been the most challenging part of your journey to publication?
I had a lot of obstacles and challenges related to my mental health while writing PAST PRESENCE. I started writing the first draft in early 2015 and fell into a deep depression later that year which left me unable to write for about 18 months. At the time, I had about 15k words. When I picked it up again in 2017 I was still struggling with panic attacks, changes in medication, the death of my grandma and the transition to working at home instead of out of the house. It was a lot to handle, and if it weren’t for my family, especially my husband, picking up a lot of the slack, this book still wouldn’t be finished. Last year I was also diagnosed with ADHD which explains a lot about my workflow and the way I go about my writing process.
Do you have a writing mentor, or someone who has influenced your work?
I don’t have a mentor I’ve worked personally with, no. I’ve read a bunch of books on the craft of writing and editing, which helped me along my way, for sure. The Making of a Story by Alice Laplante; Writing 21st Century Fiction by Donald Maass and Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King are a few I go back to time and again for advice and inspiration. I also greatly admire Jenny Lawson, the Bloggess and author of Let’s Pretend this Never Happened and Furiously Happy, for the way she deals with her own mental health challenges as a writer, parent and partner. Her openness made me believe I could not only overcome my own struggles, but succeed as a writer despite them.
If there was one book that you could have written, other than your own, what would it be and why?
Yikes, only one? Can I cheat a little and say the Nancy Drew Mysteries by Carolyn Keene? Nancy Drew is the reason why I love mysteries so much, and I devoured the original series when I was a kid.
What advice would you give to other writers hoping to publish a novel?
Before you can publish it, you have to finish it. No one publishes incomplete novels, so get to work! Taking a break is fine, but make sure you get to ‘the end.’ Don’t let thoughts of whether people will like it or not, or whether it’s any good, keep you from finishing. Your job is to write.
Is there a debut novel you’re particularly looking forward to reading in 2019?
There are SO MANY debut novels I’m looking forward to this year. Here’s just a few:
- The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling
- The Fever King by Victoria Lee
- Little Darlings by Melanie Golding
- Wilder Girls by Rory Power
- Gravemaidens by Kelly Coon
Find out more
You can find out more about PAST PRESENCE on Goodreads, Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
About the author
Nicole Bross is an author from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where she lives with her husband, two children and one very large orange cat. When she’s not writing or working as the editor of a magazine, she can be found curled up with a book, messing around with her ever-expanding collection of manual typewriters or in the departures lounge of the airport at the beginning of another adventure.
You can follow her @brossypants on Twitter and Instagram. PAST PRESENCE is released on 1 April 2019.