Email Nicola

Thank you for coming to meet me!

Originally from the North of England, I now live in the Oxfordshire countryside with my husband and a menagerie of cats and dogs. Genealogy is a passion of mine and I know that my mother's family were of Viking stock from the Danelaw, the eastern side of the British Isles. There is an intriguing story in my family history that my grandmother's family are descended from the Earls of Halifax and could actually have claimed the title in the nineteenth century! My husband is a Celt with Scottish, Welsh and Cornish ancestry, and a fascinating family history ranging from piracy to connections to the author Thomas Hardy!

I have been a published author since 1998 and started my career writing historical romance for Harlequin Mills & Boon. This was a dream come true for me as I had always loved Mills & Boon Historicals and still have an extensive collection of them on my keeper shelves. I now write Regency historical romance for Harlequin HQN Books in the US and MIRA in the UK.  My books have reached the bestseller lists in the UK, sold around the world and have received great acclaim in the US. Publishers Weekly described me as "a rising star of the Regency arena" and Booklist described my 2008 HQN Regency, Unmasked, as "a beguiling blend of danger and desire." My books have also won various awards and have been shortlisted twice for both the UK Romantic Novelists' Association Prize and the US Romance Writers of America RITA award. As I have American cousins I feel a real affinity with the country and visit as often as I can, so it is a great privilege for me to be published in the US as well as my home country.

I developed a passion for history at an early age and nurtured it through reading and watching BBC costume dramas with my grandmother. Poldark was a particular favourite of mine and my excitement knew no bounds when I actually met the actor Robin Ellis at York Theatre Royal when I was about 15 years old! I went on to study Medieval History, graduated from London University with an honours degree and worked for many years in university administration, my final job being as an Assistant Academic Registrar and Operations Manager before I gave it all up to be a full time author. Later I returned to college in Oxford, to study for a Masters degree at Ruskin College. My dissertation was on heroes - it was tough researching the subject but someone has to do these things! I graduated in 2006 with a Distinction and now I have a "second life" working for the National Trust at the fabulous stately home  Ashdown House. I find the complementary activities of historian and author of historical fiction to be a stimulating one.  My favourite way of unwinding is to take my dog for long walks in the countryside.

I am also Membership Secretary for the Romantic Novelists' Association and critique manuscripts for aspiring authors via their New Writers' Scheme and also for the Romance Writers of America Beau Monde mentor scheme. I have run several courses and workshops on creative writing and was Wiltshire Libraries Writer in Residence in 2008. I am also a speaker on the history of Ashdown House and the Craven Family.

Where did it all begin?

Twenty questions and answers on my writing

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