Nickie Fleming was born and raised in the historical
town of Dendermonde , Belgium – home of the legendary
Horse Bayard.
She read English Literature at the University of Ghent ,
and got her master’s degree in philology. Since then, she has been working as a
high school teacher.
Her interests besides reading and writing are
travelling, skiing in winter and enjoying fine food.
Links:
I asked Nickie if she'd talk to us about the challenges of being an author. Nickie, thank you so much for sharing with us. Take it away!
When you
are not being offered a million bucks to write a novel – like some of the
authors I know personally – it is rather a challenge to write.
In my case,
I did not set out to become an author and only live for my art. No, I wanted to
do something entirely different, so I became a high school teacher. Lots of
people think that being a teacher is like a lifelong vacation – hey, they have
all these holidays, and being in a class with a bunch of kids can’t be very
demanding, right??? Despite the hardships of confronting difficult students
(and their parents) I do like my job and I believe I can say in truth that I
have good interaction with those in my classes. I all treat them the same, for
me it makes no difference where they come from or what their parents do. It’s
what they do in my class what counts. They also know they can come to me if
they’ve got a problem, and I will try to help them the best I can.
So writing
is only a hobby for me. One that I have cherished since I was a little kid,
since I grew up in a house full of books. I soon knew I could write novels in
the tradition of Dumas and Dickens. I believe I was only 16 when I completed my
first full length novel, Maria Gonzalez. Yes, the book which was published two
years ago!
Although I
kept making up stories all of my life, it took me until I reached my 50th
birthday to realize I also wanted to be a published author. I’ve been lucky to
find a publisher almost immediately.
As long as
I can’t earn as much money as I make by being a teacher, I won’t give up my day
time job. Being a woman, I’m able to do more than one thing at a time, so I can
keep up with the preparation of my lessons and the correcting of papers, doing
my part in the housekeeping (I live with my sister, and we both share the
tasks) and the rest of the time is divided between my hobbies: reading, writing
and travelling.
I set
myself the goal of writing one book a year. Up to now it has worked out fine. I
try to do some writing in the weekend, or during the holidays (of which we have
so many!) but also when I’m at work. Sometimes my students are working on a
task, while I makes some notes on my laptop. They can’t see it, but then I’m
working on a novel… Also on the train
home to and from work I manage to write some pages, and sometimes the person
sitting next to me asks what I’m doing and then I can explain about my being an
author. You never know you’ll be selling a book by doing so.
To
conclude, I don’t find it very challenging to write – but more so of having
dinner ready (I hate cooking) or painting the walls of my house….
Nickie, we have a lot in common. I too am a teacher. I could relate to what you were saying. Now let's read an excerpt from The Gold Crucifix.
Blurb:
England ,
mid seventeenth century. When young Sarah finds out that innkeeper Amos
Jennings is not her father, she feels uncertain and scared. Her problems grow
bigger when she starts a job as housekeeper and gets involved with two men who
both want her love: the earl of Linfield, and his younger brother Richard. To
escape these problems, Sarah takes off to London
to begin a new life as actress at His Majesty’s Theatre.
Excerpt: This is where Sarah meets Richard, the brother of her employer, for the first time)
Blurb:
Richard cannot forget the young woman her met at his
brother’s. He is determined to find Sarah and make her his own--even his wife,
despite what his family thinks of it. But love never comes easy. Richard and
Sarah will have to face many a storm--even the Great Fire of London--before
they can become one.
Excerpt: This is where Sarah meets Richard, the brother of her employer, for the first time)
It happened in the last bend of the lane, just before the clearing
where the lawns and flower-beds of the manor became visible.
All at once Sarah heard the thundering of a horse in full
gallop, and before she could even jump to safety, she was pushed off the road
into the soft grass of the verge. She was so stunned she did not hear the curse
of the horseman and how he pulled his mount to a standstill.
Slowly, she crawled to an upright position and immediately
noticed the pain in her right knee. Neglecting the fact that her basket had
fallen and its contents were shattered over the path--some of them trodden
on--she started to rub her knee fiercely. Only then did she notice the man, who
had turned his horse and who was now throwing disdainful looks in her
direction.
Suddenly, she realized what danger she had barely escaped.
This notion triggered a fit of anger, which became so violent she turned hot
and enflamed. Returning his glances with eyes that shot fire, she snarled,
"You fool! You could have hurt me!"
The look in his eyes remained cold, but the tone of his
voice revealed a show of interest.
"In case you shouldn't know, let me warn you that you
find yourself on private property," he said.
She refused to be intimidated and was quick to answer.
"So right you are. But I am the housekeeper of the Grange…sir," and
she put all her contempt into the word, "and I have every right to be
here. I was walking alongside the road and you should have been more careful!
The least you can do is offer your apologies to me, and if you're a gentleman,
you will help me pick up my belongings."
Thanks for including me in your blog tour. Your book sounds wonderful.
Thank you for hosting Nickie today.
ReplyDeleteThanks for having me over!
ReplyDeleteYour story sounds really fun.
ReplyDeleteThe book sounds wonderful.
ReplyDeleteKit3247(at)aol(dot)com
MomJane and Ingeborg, I'm with you. the book sounds great.
ReplyDeleteVery nice post and excerpt.
ReplyDeletebn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com