Today I’m talking to Kim Nash, who writes romantic comedies.

Kim is Head of Publicity for Bookouture and is a book blogger at Kim the Book Worm. When she’s not working or writing, Kim can be found walking her dog, reading, standing on the sidelines of a football pitch cheering on her son and binge-watching box sets on the TV. She’s also quite partial to a spa day and a gin and tonic (not at the same time!). Kim also runs a book club in Cannock, Staffs.

Tell us something about your books.

To date, I’ve had two romantic comedy novels published by Hera Books.  My debut novel Amazing Grace came out in April 2019 and my second book Escape to Giddywell Grange came out in September 2019.  

Both stories have strong female leads, who have something that happens in their life which has a huge impact giving them dilemmas to overcome, and changes and decisions to make so that they can move forward in their lives.  The books are about their journey along the way. As they are romantic comedies, obviously there are some gorgeous love interests, and hopefully a few scenes to make people smile. They are described as heart warming, feel-good reads which are uplifting and inspiring. 

What inspires you to write? Who are your favorite writers?

I’ve been an avid reader all my life and have always wanted to be a writer. I love to read books by Carole Matthews, Milly Johnson, Miranda Dickinson, Amanda Prowse, Sinead Moriarty, Kat French, Cathy Bramley, Jill Mansell, Katie Fforde, Jo Thomas, Nicola May  – oh my gosh, there are so many to mention and I always worry in case I miss someone out.  

I love a good rom com, and love deeper women’s fiction, and also love a bit of historical fiction too. I recently discovered Iona Grey and adore her work.  But I also love to mix them up with the odd psychological or crime thriller.  

Again there are some incredible authors including Rachel Abbott and Mark Edwards, and of course tons of Bookouture authors who write in all genres and I feel truly lucky to be able to help them to publicise their books in my full time job. I just need more reading time in my life as there are so many amazing books in the world. 

How do you start writing? Do you have a process or do you fly by the seat of your pants?

I’ve tried to learn since I wrote the first book and be more organized. I do like a post it note and have a note book for each book with character details and major scene details in it so I can scoot back to it at any time. 

I try to now write the scenes that I want to include on a post it note and can move around if necessary if it doesn’t quite fit in when I start to write. I find that planning as much as possible means that when I do get the chance to write, that I know where it’s going once I start to actually type words on a page. 

How has your writing process changed since you started writing?

I definitely think more about the process and what an editor would say to me in their notes back. Whether they would question what I have written and whether I’ve explained it properly. Also whether I’ve told instead of showed.  

How long does it normally take you to write, and what proportion of the time is spent doing what?

My first book took years to write but I had all the time in the world, with no deadlines and no contract. Once I got a deal, and then had to work on editing the first book and write the second book, the pressure is on. The first draft is just the start of the journey, that’s when all the hard work starts. My second book was written and edited within about six months.  

What is your favorite part of the writing process?

Gosh, this is a hard question.  

I suppose getting the first draft complete is one of my favourite parts because it’s still your book baby. When you then get other people involved, that’s the bit that makes you think, oh god it must be awful because there is still lots of work to do! LOL! 

Do you involve other people in your writing, as collaborators or editors? How do you make this work?

On the first two books, I’ve had the awesome editor Keshini Naidoo working on the structural edits and line edits and another brilliant editor Jennie also on line edits. 

I think to make it work, you have to be objective and both of my books have been made stronger by the editorial work that has been pointed out to me. You might not like some of the initial comments, but once you’ve ‘gotten over yourself!’ it all makes sense and makes the book stronger. Sometimes you are just too close to see some of the things that get pointed out to you. I would always advise someone to get strong editorial feedback.   

Do you have any writing tips you’d like to share with readers?

I think planning for me has been the thing that has enabled me to crack on with book 2 and book 3 as much as I have. I work full time and have a mad busy family life so when I do get time to write, I need to crack on. Planning in advance means that I can do that in the pockets of time that I do have. 

Also, just stop procrastinating and get on with it! That’s to myself more than anyone else! I should have a sign up that says this! Sometimes I have lots of time to write, but put it off as there are other things at home that seem to need doing more. 

Thanks to Kim for talking to the blog about her writing process. You can find out about Kim’s books on her website.