Nancy Pennick Interview Published on: 08, May 2018
What are your fondest memories of growing up in Northeast Ohio? How would you describe your childhood in five words?
My fondest memories to this day are the changing of the seasons. I grew up in a close neighborhood where kids played outside every day, baseball in summer, jumping in leaves in autumn, making snow forts in winter and jumping rope in the spring. My childhood in five words? Tomboy, creative, stubborn, loved, family-oriented
Who was your favourite teacher in grade school and/or high school? When did you first begin writing?Third grade, Miss Quick, was my favorite teacher. She was young, fun and we wore the same shoes. That was the year I decided to become a teacher. Writing has always been a part of me. From a childhood diary to short stories, I filled my early years with the written word.
How supportive were your parents of you becoming a writer?My mom was the only one to read my short stories when I was young. I never thought of writing a book, until after my teaching career.
What does writing mean to you? if you were to choose between losing a limb or never writing again, what would be your choice?I write (and wrote) for the sheer joy of it. If someone enjoys my book, it’s a celebration. Not a fair choice, but I would keep my limbs. Although I think I found a loophole – audiobooks?
What made you decide to publish your first book? What was your experience like getting it published and sold and what are some struggles you had?The short version is that I’d always wanted to go out west, see the Grand Canyon, the Red Rocks and end the vacation in Las Vegas. I gave myself that trip when I retired from teaching. My husband and I decided we wanted to see more national parks after we came home. For Christmas he gave me the PBS series on National Parks. While watching the Grand Canyon story, they spoke of the history and how Harvey Girls were placed in his restaurants throughout the west. I began to daydream of a story, a young girl ending up there in a dream or maybe time travel. The next morning, I began to write the story, Waiting for Dusk, and never stopped.
The journey to publishing my book was harder. I spent two years learning how to write a query, synopsis of my story, a hook and other things agents ask for. I’d come across an article on how agents accept about 5% of these queries and from there usually 1% of the books get published. Very disheartened. After many rejection letters, I almost gave up. Then, I read a story in the newspaper. A girl had self-published and was doing well. I knew I didn’t have the skills to try it on my own, but the article mentioned small press publishers and how they were a growing bunch, especially on the internet. It gave me new hope. This was 2011, and most online publishers were doing only romance. I found Melange Books, who was going to open a young adult imprint. I began to look for more publishers in my genre. I sent off my book to three small press publishers and got offers from two! I choose Melange and am glad I did. They have published all my books except for the 29 series. My son, who is quite talented, helped me publish that one.
What is the idea behind the books 29, 29², 29°, and 29∞? How would you describe your protagonist (s) and what makes them memorable or special?I wanted to write something different in the young adult genre, and 29 fit the bill. Leap Year will never be the same again after you read the book! Leap Year and February 29th are now quite special to me. Because of that day, I created the Niners, men with high IQs and super abilities. They are kind and want to help the world. But as in the real world, nothing is that simple. Someone always wants what they can’t have. I wrote Doug Sanders, head of a special task force assigned to find Niners, in a way that you may never like him, but hopefully can understand where he’s coming from. And, as Allie says at the beginning of book 2,“Is life that black and white?” Maybe not.
Allie and Lucas are the main characters of the book, but I focus on Allie’s point of view. I hope the readers see her strength and that she doesn’t need super powers to get things done.
How long does it take for you to find a suitable name for your books? Do you think that a book name is less important, more important, or as important as a good book cover?Some book titles are easy, some are not. Once I wrote a whole book, hoping a title would come to me. It didn’t. I like to have my title before I start writing. I think a good book cover trumps the title. It’s the first thing a reader sees. But, the title should be as good as its cover.
What or who inspired the Waiting for Dusk series? What kind of stories do you tell in this series? Which story was the most emotional for you to write?A trip to the Grand Canyon was the spark that started this series. As I began to write, it became a love letter to friends and family. My Swedish roots inspired the character of Carl Johansson. Coffee and cinnamon bread were staples at my grandmother’s so that was breakfast fare at the boardinghouse. My best friend, Bonnie was the inspiration for two characters. She was too big for just one.
Waiting for Dusk is a three-book time travel series. Katie Roberts is sixteen in the first book, becoming Kate in the second at seventeen and the last book follows her eighteenth year. What begins as a fun summer dream becomes more intense and real as the series continues.
If I tell the most emotional scene, I will be giving too much of the plot away! But, it has something to do with Katie finding a friend in the present.
Where do you normally get the ideas for your characters names or personalities? Do you draw inspiration from real life or are they all made up n your head?As I said above, family and friends are motivation for ideas plus they sometimes get their names in my books, too. Some stories are taken from my own life, only embellished to be more grand or surprising. I also look names up on line when I need help. For my Clan MacLaren series I googled Scottish names many times. At other times, I want to make up my own names, so it depends.
When did you first get bitten by the Scotland bug and start writing The Clan MacLaren Books? What research was involved in the writing of these books?I am a fan of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. I like reading historical novels and watching shows, such as Victoria, Poldark (both books and show), and The Crown. I never thought to write a Scottish story until my publisher put out a call for an anthology of Scottish tales. It fell through, but I had already written the story. I couldn’t let the characters go, I felt there was more to tell.
Research takes time even if one uses the internet. I try to read more than one source of information. Sometimes, what I research turns into only one sentence of text, but I want to be as accurate as possible.
Besides Scotland, what other countries do you want to visit?Sweden, England and France.
What does writing mean to you? Do you think writing could ever become tedious to you, or for that matter, any writer? How do you keep it from getting monotonous or boring?Writing is a part of me, I never consider it tedious or boring, unless we’re talking about editing! When you have to reread your story for the fifth time, that can be a challenge.
If and when it does become tedious, it’s time to walk away for awhile and do something completely different.
On any normal day, what would you be doing if you weren't writing?Depends on the season! I love to be outdoors in good weather. I garden, have a small vegetable plot and just planted a shade garden last year. I love tea and curling up with a book in front of the fireplace when the weather’s cold. We have a very good tearoom in our community and I love to visit there. Then, there are boring chores that no one wants to hear about.
