Nikki Logan | The Nature of Writing

Thanks for having me over to FreshFiction, Faye. They don't come much fresher than a debut author, I guess! My first book 'Lights, Camera...Kiss the Boss' hit shelves in North America and UK last week and I'm still in that warm, happy-glow phase :) I've already had a few reader queries about my 'nature-based' focus so I thought I'd chat a bit about that with you today.

Working on the principle that you should write-what-you-know I decided to focus
my love-stories in and around natural places or species that I'm familiar with.
I work in a conservation organisation with people who crawl through rainforests
tracking orangutans or who fit tiny little radio-transmitters to marsupials in
the outback or rescue dangerous wild dogs in even more dangerous parts of
Africa. I was hungry to make a contribution too, but that kind of super-human
example has a way of making a girl feel a little inadequate!

When I decided to start writing I knew it would be romance and I knew it would
be around nature. I love love-stories and I love wildlife. And I looked around
and found no-one was particularly specialising in nature-based romance. What
better way to share my passion for all things wild than with the largest reading
group on the planet - romance readers. And so my 'Romance with Nature' tagline
was born. I've been amazed at how many people love to read about wild places and
creatures. And the settings have a way of really ramping up the intensity and
emotion in the stories--something about the inherent dangers of wild places
really adds extra zing to a love story.

While I've been waiting for my debut to come out, I've written romances set in
forests, on remote islands, in the red outback, and on the wild south coast of
Australia. My characters run wildlife sanctuaries, eco-resorts and charter
boats; they study marine turtles, search for shipwrecks on reefs and breed wild
brumbies; their stories are about addiction, infertility, betrayal and loss but
they unfold against some of the most stunning wild habitats in Australia.

'Lights, Camera...' is my most urban book to date. It is set in inner-city Sydney and, back when I was planning it, I was chewing my lip wondering how to effectively bring nature and urban together--it was either rooftop gardens (urban greening) or a cluster of raptors living at the top of some highrise under threat. I went with the rooftop gardens simply because I know more about urban greening than predator birds! But, the raptors are still on my 'to write' list along with seals, penguins and bees. And that's just this week. Who knows what kind of crazy things I'll think of next week. I have a rapidly-filling ideas box! I hope you all enjoy reading the comfortable mix of urban-and-nature in 'Lights, Camera...Kiss the Boss' as much as I did writing it. Romantic Times gave it 4.5stars which was so exciting. And if I've done my job well you might even find yourself hankering to get out into your own garden...

Happy reading to you all!

*Nikki*

www.nikkilogan.com.au - A Romance with Nature Twitter Blog: http://lovecatsdownunder.blogspot.com