Sit down chat with author Nicola J Rowley

Nicola J Rowley was born in Basildon in Essex and from a young age was encouraged to enjoy and cultivate the written word. As life moved on other career paths occurred but the joy of writing never left her.

Fast forward to 2020, the first in her new series of books for older children Mug the Wumph the dancing Wizard was brought to life!

I virtually sat down with our favourite local Children’s author and KCS Storytime host Nicola J Rowley to ask some quick-fire questions, along with the all-important one when will see book two?!


So grab a drink and let’s dive in and start with quick-fire round.
Are you ready Nicola?
Ready Kat!

Favourite colour? Fuschia pink

Favourite childhood memory? The school journeys we used to have when I was in Primary School to the Isle of Wight

Who is your hero? My mum without a shadow of a doubt!

Favourite book? There are so many but I love all types of books

If you could live anywhere, where would it be? - Where I am in Surrey but ideally in a bigger house with a bigger garden for my son to run around in, and for me to have my much wanted writers shed at the bottom of

Favourite Word? You can't beat a bit of discombobulated

What is your biggest fear? It used to be spiders and going underwater but I successfully conquered both of those through not wanting my son to see me being afraid and passing it on to him. So these days, I'm fairly fearless, which is a lovely thing to be able to say.
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What was it that inspired you to become an author and are there any authors who inspire you?

When I was six, my teacher asked us to sit and write a story. I made a start on mine, which was about a cat, a witch and a spaceship and I just loved it. I didn't want to stop. In the end, that story was more than a thousand words in length and I was so proud of my achievement. Writing since that day has just always made me incredibly happy. It was definitely my first love.

There are so many authors that I love. Roald Dahl was a firm favourite growing up, as were all the Agatha Christie novels and I also love Charles Dickens too.

Is your son interested in writing?

Funnily enough, J came into the office where I write and when he saw that Mug the Wumph the Dancing Wizard was listed on Amazon, he announced that he wanted to write a book. He's five. He was most insistent though, so we began straight away, and he begged me to sit with him for at least an hour a day writing whenever he could. His debut story has been written and it's called Fantasy Land. Now, who knows where he will go next although he did say he wanted to write ten books, so we shall see!

What advice would you give to parents who want to support their children who are showing an interest in writing?

Encourage them whenever you can. If they want to write a story and you're not sure how to get started - there are so many online tutorials these days that will help you with characterisation and having in place a simple story arc. Planning is key when writing a story. It's like anything. If you don't know where you want to end up, how will you know how to get there in an engaging way for the reader? So map everything out as much as you can before you even pick up a pen. Talking this through with them beforehand, will really help them too.

How do you overcome writer's block?

Thankfully I've never had it - but if I did, I would change my environment and go for a walk or run and take myself away from the writing and come back again.

What was it like the first time you got a book published?

Nothing beats that moment when you see your story in print for the first time. It's so incredibly special. There's a real mixture of pride with a moment of pinching yourself that you have done this.

Do you have any other books in the pipeline?

Yes, I also run the Working Mum Association and am planning a book for mums who feel overwhelmed, stressed and not sure of how they can continue to do the juggle. This will be a business book to help them gain clarity, and become more goal focussed, using all the methods I have done.
I'm also writing another children's book, which is incredibly special and is about a boy called Jake.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

For Mug the Wumph the Dancing Wizard, my dad dreamt the wizarding character up for me when I was nine and I built the story around him. Minty Taylor, the 12-year-old protagonist is based on me at that age as I never wanted to grow up.
I've always had an active imagination, so thankfully things come easily to me.

What advice would she give to aspiring authors?

Never give up! Also, everyone always thinks that you can breathe as soon as the book is published, but that really isn't the case - that's just the start of everything. If no one knows about the book, how can you expect them to buy it? So it's all about Marketing, and knowing where your ideal audience is hanging out.

When will book two be out for Mug the Wumph?
Ideas are in the works but not for a little while yet!

You can purchase Nicola’s latest book from selected book stores and online sellers to find out where visit: https://www.mugthewumph.com