Five Minute With… was created by me to be an opportunity for encouragement and enlightenment. Stacey’s journey, whether you’re an aspiring or a published author, will do just that.
So let me introduce my good friend, fellow Aussie author and Nestpitch Team Member, Stacey Nash, tell us a little about yourself.
I write adventure filled stories for Young Adults in the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres. When my head isn’t stuck in a fictional world of my own making, or one of my favourite authors, I’m enjoying the history and culture of my home; the Hunter Valley of New South Wales home. I love nothing more than spending her days writing when inspiration strikes.
1. Your YA novel Forget Me Not is being published by HarperCollins, when’s the official launch-date?
I believe it will be launched August 1, and Remember Me (the sequel) will release October 1.
2. The process of getting Forget Me Not published has been somewhat unique. Would you care to share?
Forget Me Not was published in February by a small press who is no longer in business. The book was only out for about a month, before it was picked up by HarperCollins.
3. Was there a moment where you thought “Why am I doing this?”
Eeek. Yes, right before it published back in February with my old publisher and right after. There’s nothing quite like the fear of what-will-everyone-think, especially when it’s your debut book.
4. What went through your mind when you got “that call” from HarperCollins?
My husband was home at the time and it went something like this:
Me: Honey… HarperCollins just emailed me.
Him: They what?
Me: They want Forget Me Not. Harper-freaking-Collins wants MY books.
Him: *looks at me blankly*
Me: *squeals*
Honestly, after everything I was going through at the time with my old publisher, I was relieved that something so good was happening for this series. In many ways, Anamae’s is the story of my heart; it’s the one I wrote for me. So it will always hold a special place. I was surprised, shocked, elated, that they wanted a book that had been previously published and not just any book, but my book.
5. How valuable do you think a Social Media presence is?
Really valuable and I must admit mine has been pretty slack lately. If it wasn’t for twitter I never would have realized that HarperCollins had an open submission window. (It was only open for two weeks). And if it wasn’t for social media, I wouldn’t have the fabulous support network of fellow writer and readers that I do.
**Note from Nik: Stacey was also one of the Bloggers on #Nestpitch and was very busy helping me and the rest of the Team with that, so she’s being modist when she says she’s not been around much… not true at all 🙂
6. You’re also a contributor on AussieOwnedandRead http://aussieownedandread.com/ tell us about how this blog came about?
Ahh… now there’s a story. Grab a drink, this one may take a little while. Lauren McKellar and I (the founders) met in an online pitch comp back in 2012. We became fast friends, critique partners, partners in crime… 😛 Anyway, we actually live pretty close to each other and when we met up face-to-face for the first time we realised that we’d both been wanting to start a group blog for some time. The next few months consisted of brainstorming just how we wanted our blog to run, and what we wanted the focus to be. Once we’d decided all that we began recruiting fellow Aussie YA and NA authors who we wanted on our team. On Australia Day 2013, Aussie Owned launched with eight contributing bloggers and earlier this year we added two more. Neither Lauren nor I anticipated the success of the blog or the friendships it would form.
7. Given your very unique path thus far, what three pieces of advice would you give to an aspiring author:
* Write because you love to write. Ignore market trends and what other writers are doing. Write the story you love.
* When it comes to critiques, edits, queries, any advice, trust your gut instinct. This is a subjective industry and only you know the story you want to tell.
* Believe in yourself. Rejection happens. Often. More often than not, it is no reflection on you as a writer. So don’t let it get you down and sure as hell don’t let it kill your writing mojo.
8. Do you have any strange writing habits, like eating TimTams when writing, (or is that just me)?
I write a chunk – maybe 200 hundred words – check twitter, check facebook, check emails. Repeat. It’s horrible for productivity.
9. Have you ever suffered from Writers Block & if so, how do you handle it?
No. Sure I’ve hit tricky parts in the story where I struggle, but I always have a story I want to tell so I push through those parts with the motto ‘Just keep writing.’ It always works out in the end.
10. Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? What is it?
You know, I can’t say I’d never write about anything because never is a long time and I don’t know what the future holds or what stories I will tell me I have to write them. But there certainly are many topics that I can’t see myself ever writing about.
11. Forget Me Not is a Young Adult, do you write in any other category?
I primarily write YA. It’s what calls to me and I believe it’s where my writing voice lies, but the story I’m drafting at the moment is New Adult. I’m not sure if this is a category I’ll pursue or if this story is a once off. I usually just write whatever pulls at me the strongest.
12. What are you working on currently?
Several things actually. I’m almost finished drafting the NA I mentioned above, and I’m also co-writing a YA with one of my good friends. It’s an action adventure with a similar feel to Forget Me Not that we’re hoping to publish later this year.
13. Here’s an odd one, what do you want your tombstone to say?
Here lies Stacey Nash
19?? – 2347
**Note from Nik; clearly Stacey’s planning on getting her hands on her own philosopher’s stone, and you know what? I bet she’ll still be writing!
For those of you DYING to get your hands on Forget Me Not: here’s a taster:
Anamae is drawn into a world which shatters everything she knew to be true.
Since her mother vanished nine years ago, Anamae and her father have shared a quiet life. But when Anamae discovers a brooch identical to her mother’s favorite pendant, she unknowingly invites a slew of trouble into their world. They’re not just jewellery, they’re part of a highly developed technology capable of cloaking the human form. Triggering the jewellery’s power attracts the attention of a secret society determined to confiscate the device – and silence everyone who is aware of its existence. Anamae knows too much, and now she’s Enemy Number One. She’s forced to leave her father behind when she’s taken in by a group determined to keep her safe. Here Anamae searches for answers about this hidden world. With her father kidnapped and her own life on the line, Anamae must decide if saving her dad is worth risking her new friends’ lives. No matter what she does, somebody is going to get hurt.
** Note from NIK: I read Forget Me Not several months ago & fell in love with the setting, the characters and the concept. I can highly recommend it. It’s one of those novels that’s an ideal self-indulgent weekend read.
Thanks Stacey for taking the time to answer my questions. I think everyone will agree that the path to publishing isn’t always predicable and is never the same for two people. What Stacey has shown us is, while we cannot predict the future, we can “keep-the-faith” so to speak, you simply never know what will happen tomorrow 😉
Stay in touch with Stacey via her blog: http://www.stacey-nash.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/staceynash
And don’t forget to look for Stacey on Amazon and Goodreads. In the meanwhile, mark this page on Harper Collins: http://www.harpercollins.com.au/authors/50061696/Stacey_Nash/index.aspx
Pre-order Forget Me Not: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K1Q9NA6/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_ee-Ftb0G1ZBDV
Pre-order Remember Me: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K1Q9N5G/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_-f-Ftb0T90CVF