Meet the Author: Anna Nicholas
Anna Nicholas is a freelance British journalist and inveterate traveller, Anna has lived with her family in Soller, northwest Mallorca, for 19 years.
Together with Alison, an English chum, Anna is on a mission to be the first women to climb all the island’s 54 Tramuntana peaks over 1000m, and as of September 2019 has completed 38 of them. Anna is a fellow of The Royal Geographical Society and has taken part in many tough global humanitarian expeditions with her British veteran explorer friend, Colonel John Blashford-Snell, CBE, and runs an international marathon annually for her favourite causes.
She handled events for the late Princess Diana while a rookie press officer at the national charity, Help the Aged, and once organised an expedition to carry a grand piano up the Amazon with John Blashford-Snell, which became the subject of A Grand Adventure, a BBC2 TV documentary.
Anna says: “I live in rural Mallorca between the sea and mountains with my husband and a menagerie of animals that include hens, cockerels, frogs, a toad, donkeys, cats and many wee hidden beasties.”
Anna has written six books so far about her life on the island and is also a regular contributor to the Telegraph and Financial Times, where she writes about the authentic Mallorca.
Her latest book, her very first Mallorca based crime novel, The Devil’s Horn, was published earlier this month by Burro Books.
Mallorca Reflections caught up with Anna in Palma to ask some questions and find out more, including:
– What inspires you to write?
– What is your most unusual writing quirk?
– What is your favourite genre to read, and why?
Anna Nicholas: the Interview
Have you always wanted to be a writer? And was there a particular moment you thought, ‘I can do this!’?
I always loved telling my family stories especially invented ones, so when I was seven years old I announced to my mother that I wanted to write books. She suggested that I experience life before doing that: It was excellent advice. I wrote my first book aged ten about a tramp and his dog, and another allegorical one at 18. The latter was accepted by a British publisher but I failed to make the edits. I wrote a book of novelas and a humorous novel in my twenties before committing to finding the right book to publish.
My eureka moment came sitting on an easyjet plane. I thought that someone had to write a book about living and commuting between two distinct destinations. In my case Mallorca and London.
What inspires you to write?
I adore story telling and have an overactive imagination. In bed, I dream up all manner of plots and new book ideas. This is probably why I am quite an insomniac. It is hard to push story lines out of my head at night. I find people, every day situations, bizarre scenarios, and foreign destinations endlessly fascinating; all are critical for writers.
When working on a new book, what’s the first thing you do?
I do a detailed synopsis of about 15 pages, which tells the whole story, together with plots and sub plots right to the finale. A lot changes during the writing process but I like a clear structure and direction. My next chore is to create the chapter sequence plus character references.
Which is your favourite season to write in, and why?
I love the winter. It is wonderfully quiet and peaceful and I have few distractions. I like to sit in a big cosy jumper pounding away at the computer keys, with a large pot of Darjeeling tea and chocolate (and purring cat) by my side.
Can you describe your typical working day and writing routine?
Unlike some authors, I spin many plates. For example, I write articles, take freelance travel assignments, am involved with various charities in the UK and do a fair bit of copy writing. Therefore, I allow myself four to five days per week for book writing when a new one is on the boil. I rarely take a full day off for other stuff.
What is your most unusual writing quirk?
I will only write notes with blue Uni-ball pens and have to have a stack of clean white A4 paper to my left side before commencing a new book. Bizarre but true!
What do you enjoy/hate about the writing process?
I love the creative side ie writing the story and developing the characters! Structure and chapter plotting can be tedious but is also hugely important. In a crime novel, making sure everything cross references is tricky and you really need to concentrate.
How do you think being a writer has helped you as a person?
I think writing is a font of happiness for those who love the written word. I am always at my happiest and most relaxed when writing. Writing has definitely made me more aware of others, their happiness, sadness, trials and tribulations and I hope that in itself has made me a more understanding and compassionate person.
If you could pass on a single piece of advice to authors out there reading this interview, what would it be?
The Founder of the Guinness Book of Records, Norris McWhirter, CBE, once gave me a brilliant piece of advice which I would like to pass on. It is simply this: Never, ever, ever give up.
What is your favourite genre to read, and why?
I am a fan of slick and intelligent crime noir and also crime set in foreign locations such as Andrea Camilleri’s colourful Montalbano series, which features a wonderfully eccentric, humorous and loveable protagonist. I love the whiff of Sicily, the food and way of life which is part of the series’charm. I also enjoy classic novels such as I capture the castle by Dodi Smith and novels by DE Stevenson and Shirley Jackson, Thomas Hardy, DH Lawrence and EM Forster. Then there are the non-fiction tomes about mad and swashbuckling explorers that also fill me with wonder such as Barrow’s Boys by Fergus Fleming or the Lost city of Z by David Grann and you cannot beat Arthur Conan Doyle! I find the writing captivating and the characters real. I dislike the current wave of samey domestic psychological thrillers with similar covers and titles. It’s a new genre and the writing is pretty lame and plots predictable.
You have travelled extensively over the years, where is the most interesting place you have visited and why?
There’s no one place that I’d say was necessarily more entrancing than another though for sheer wow factor, and a completely exotic experience, Mongolia was extraordinary. I was mesmerised by the sheer scale and breadth of the landscape, the lighting and the authenticity of the people, particularly the herdsmen and their welcoming families. To live in such simplicity, shunning materialism, is an art.
If you had the opportunity to live anywhere in the world for a year while writing a book that took place in that same setting, where would you choose?
That’s easy. It has to be the Amazon. I’ve had a book up my sleeve based there, that is longing to be written. I’ve visited many times but a whole year of immersion, would be a dream.
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Thank you Anna for your time today.
If you would like to find out more about Anna, please take a look at her website.
Follow Anna on Twitter @MajorcanPearls
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Check out some of our other recent interviews: Meet the Michelin-starred Chef, Meet the Travel Expert, Meet the Radio Presenter, & Meet the Winemaker.
