Chissick Chat, part twenty, with Terri Nixon

Hi everyone. Today I'm welcoming British author Terri Nixon to my blog.

Please can you introduce yourself and tell us a little about yourself and your books?

Thank you so much for having me! I’m a Plymouth-born hybrid author; writing historical sagas for Little, Brown and HarperCollins, and self-publishing Mythic Fiction (contemporary fiction, heavily wrapped in Cornish folklore)

My most recent book is published by Little, Brown. It’s the first in a new Cornish saga, set in the early 1900s, and it’s called Penhaligon’s Attic.

What, or who, inspires you?

I’ve been madly inspired by the countryside in which I was lucky enough to live while I grew up; the moors and the coasts of Devon and Cornwall – but also by the first-hand accounts I’ve read, of those who fought (on home and foreign fronts) during WW1. Such courage and wit, not to mention the beautiful language people used back then.

Do you enjoy reading the same genre as the one you write in?

Aside from research, I actually don’t read much of it at all. I’m always worried I’ll have accidentally stolen an idea, or will wish I’d added something! When I’m reading for research I’ll devour it though, and love it, and I particularly enjoy watching (well-made) TV and film productions of the era.

Has any of your research taken you to an unusual place?

I’m not sure how unusual it is, but my most recent book saw me having a personal tour of one of the working Cornish tin mine museums, (Geevor) and the guide gave me all kinds of brilliant information not normally given out during tours. Very privileged! And grateful to the wonderful staff there.

What are you working on at the moment?

I’m currently writing the third book in The Penhaligon Saga, Penhaligon’s Gift. Fumbling through the rocky middle-third stage, but it usually sorts itself out in the end!

What are your future writing plans?

If my publisher turns down the second and third Penhaligon books, I’ll self-publish them; I enjoy that process enormously, which is just as well! Following on from that, I plan to re-visit my Mythic Fiction series, The Lynher Mill Chronicles, and write either a prequel or a sequel, I haven’t decided yet. But the prequel’s looking interesting, following on from research I’ve done about the civil war years in the region.

Is there anything you don’t like about writing/being an author?

Only the publicity side of things, really. I’ve always found it hard to ‘big myself up,’ and feel as if every tweet about my books is something for which I need to apologise. The actual writing process is life-giving, though, and I love every part of that.

Not keen on surrendering control of the cover design, but I’m getting more used to it.

Quick Fire Questions …

Tea or coffee? Coffee.

Sweet snack or savoury snack? Savoury, all the way! Twiglets and cheese… yum!

Real book or ebook? I acknowledge ebooks as real books; and although certain old editions I’ve picked up in antique shops have smelled particularly gorgeous, once I start reading it makes absolutely no difference. It’s the words that matter. (sorry, not very quick-fire, but that’s a tough question!)

Cinema or DVD? DVD. (pause-button is my friend!)

Cat or dog? Cat.

Weepie or action movie? Am I allowed to say neither? Clever BritCom. J

And to Finish, What is your favourite …

Food? Toast!

Drink? Alcoholic: dry white wine. Non-alcoholic: bitter lemon

Movie? The History Boys

Book? The Stand – Stephen King

Colour? Blue

Saying/Proverb? More of a quote: “God favors drunks, small children, and the cataclysmically stoned.” (Stephen King; It.)

Song? Currently The Blind Fiddler, by Show of Hands.

Pudding/dessert? My mum’s bread and butter pudding!