The Cover Reveal for my debut tarot-inspired poetry collection I AM ARCANA

Check out how i got on at Barter Books spending all my birthday money this week!

So it’s the final week of 2020- WE MADE IT (DANCES!) and what a roller coaster this year has been. Honestly i can say that between my disease, the global pandemic, my mental health, and everything else that has come my way, this year has been nothing short of transformative. It’s funny, because when you think about everything this year threw at me, you’d think i would be coming out of it all feeling worse than ever, but the opposite is actually true…

I have this issue with my author career and general life called chronic pain, so I thought I’d start doing these little update posts because so many people ask me how I juggle my health, writing, and running my author business without having some kind of mental/physical breakdown. The truth is, it’s not easy, and more often than not I DO end up having some kind of breakdown. November 2020 has been a prime example of this, with me having to be benched from author work for two whole weeks due to some serious health problems (I mean what else do you call over thirty shoulder dislocations in 2 weeks?). It’s frustrating as all hell, especially if you ask Mark, who will tell you I’m a total and complete nightmare when I can’t work. So, I thought I’d fill you guys in on what I’ve been doing for the last two weeks (besides pulling my goddamn hair out- it’s super long now too by the way and I need a haircut so bad- thank you lockdown!) So uh, without further rambling ado, I present… my life lately.

I’m writing this letter because recently I’ve realised that despite having you in my life for the last five years, there’s still a lot of things I haven’t managed to let go of from before you came. I never expected you to come into my life, and when you did, I was in no way prepared…

Take a sneak peek at what Kristy Nicolle is cooking up for Violet Dawn- Book Two of The Aetherial Embrace Trilogy- in this never before seen excerpt from Genevieve.

Having just returned from an amazing couples weekend away in Bath, also known to the Romans as Aqua Sulis, I have been treated to some seriously unique, beautiful, and inspiring literary locations that not only stock books for sale, but that have been instrumental in the creation and understanding of some of today’s favourite classic stories. From the Roman myths and how Bath has helped us understand the ancient civilisation which worshipped deities such as Minerva and Ares, to the town which inspired the classic works of Jane Austen, Bath is both an intellectual, aesthetic, and historical treat I was not prepared for.

So, I thought in the spirit of everything still being fresh in my mind I would share some of my favourite Literary Locations in the incredible Bath, England with you!

It’s been a long five weeks since I last wrote on my current WIP project or published anything on my blog. To be honest, I have been burned out, and everything I was writing I hated.

The last three years have been insane for me, culminating in nothing short of 1,500,000 words published and a handful of brand new and equally terrifying diagnoses. It’s been a lot, and I can’t deny that my mental state has thoroughly suffered, to the point where only one month ago I couldn’t bear to look at Indigo Dusk, the current book I’m working on.

When I consider it all, it’s no wonder I’ve been so depressed and anxious, with authors pumping out books left right and centre, and me trying to keep up while battling Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. I suffered pretty badly with externalising my self-worth, and this ultimately left me feeling like nothing I did was good enough. That even on my best days, success with my conditions and the hand of cards I’ve been dealt is nothing short of impossible.

So, I took some time, reset, read some amazing books, and honestly just let my brain recover from the utter trauma that is publishing eleven books in only 36 months.

Online, people see my life as magical, where I never have to go to work, have an incredible boyfriend and a crazy cat called Moo. Where books seem to flow out of me in a torrent of unstoppable words. But what aren’t you seeing?

Well… I’ll tell you.

“100 out of 100 relationships that involve caregiving fail.”

-Dr Phil

It’s very rare these days that I see something which makes me irritated enough to write a blog post about it. But here we are. I came across this little pearl of wisdom from Dr Phil via my friend @Queenof_thebookworms who is also a fellow chronic pain sufferer on Instagram. (Side note- she’s really cool- you should definitely go follow her if health related positivity and book love is your thing.) And I was stunned.

New year, new goals, and new priorities at Kristy Nicolle Inc. This year marks a major departure from my regular author schedule and a movement into a less intense release schedule with my major focus being on marketing. I’ve spent the last 3 years building a solid backlist of books, and so this is year I’m growing my reach and getting those books into more reader’s hands than ever before. I’m super excited about 2019, so I wanted to share with you a few of the things I’m looking forward to in particular.

It’s been one hell of a year!

My second trilogy completed, my first two signings attended, two brand new diagnoses, new medication, a visit from my best friend, who crossed the Atlantic, just so we could meet for the first time, and a personal best on all counts listed above! It’s been a busy, grueling, testing year, but according to the figures, my best one yet as an indie author.

A lot of people ask me one question in particular when it comes to living with chronic pain.

How do you do it?

Or similarly I hear-

I don’t know how you do it.

I don’t know how you live like this.

The sad reality of the fact is, that chronic pain is my life now, and I don’t get a choice. Well, I guess I could curl up in a ball and retreat into the depths of my very comfortable bed for all time and never be seen again, but that’s not much of an existence now, is it?

There isn’t any question about why I became a writer. It’s that reason you never want to list as motivation, but something which often puts you on the path you least expect, and which if you’re lucky like me, turns out to be the exact place you should be.

I was desperate.