Jaffareadstoo....: Author Spotlight ~ Joanne Nicholson

I am delighted to welcome author Joanne Nicholson to the blog today

I’m thrilled to be featured on Jaffareadstoo today. I’m Joanne Nicholson, an Australian indie author of contemporary women’s fiction.

There is no better feeling than to sit down and allow the creative juices to start flowing when an idea for a story has been buzzing around in your head for a while. Writing is a solitary act, but when you have the adoration of a pet nearby it doesn’t seem like such a lonely pursuit.

Those familiar with this blog will know that Jaffa and Timmy are well read bookish cats that keep an eye on Jo’s reading and blog writing. Similarly, I have a lap warmer who keeps me company when I write. My cavoodle puppy Tilly is either sitting on my lap or curled up by my side whenever I read or write.

I was once told to read my dialogue out loud to myself when writing to see how well it flows. I don’t look half as mad doing that when I have my dog by my side to listen (who am I kidding, of course I do, but it’s in the privacy of my own home so it doesn’t matter).

The other advantage of writing with a pet by my side is that she forces me to periodically take breaks, either to take her for a walk or at least to stretch my legs and put her outside. This makes the world of difference to how my back feels after an intense session of writing where I’m sitting in the same position for hours on end.

When writing my latest novel ‘Positive’ it was comforting to have my dog Tilly by my side as I began exploring the pain of my main character Ruth as she went from planning an engagement, to the sudden realisation that she had been dumped and would have to start looking for love once more. In ‘Positive’, Ruth has her heart set on becoming a mother and being in her mid-thirties, feels her time is running out. After multiple online dating disasters, Ruth contemplates IVF as an option to become a mother without a partner. She leaves no stone unturned in her quest to become pregnant and is thrilled and shocked when she gets her positive test result. Her caring friends provide a supportive network to help her through her rollercoaster of emotions as she becomes accustomed to her new reality.

I’m thankfully very happily married with four kids and a cute dog, so this story is by no means autobiographical. I think everyone has a time in their lives when they have a ‘sliding doors’ moment when they consider what life would have been like had they made different choices along the way. Would I have been content with being single without children, or would I have moved mountains to make sure I was a mother, regardless of whether it was on my own? I guess the beauty of writing is that you can explore the thoughts and feelings of alternate lives, without having to leave the comfort of the life you lead. Writing ‘Positive’ definitely made me feel grateful for having never had to endure an awkward online date or having to consider alternate technology to make sure I could have a baby. I know plenty of people who have had their own struggles with these scenarios and my heart goes out to them.

If you are interested in reading ‘Positive’, it is available for purchase at Amazon, together with my other contemporary women’s fiction novels ‘In Another Life’ and ‘Intuition’.