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Nina Croft brings a refreshing new spin to the paranormal genre with her suspenseful and vividly imaginative paranormal romances. She doesn’t settle for the ordinary, which makes her novels delightful and entertaining reads. Ms. Croft stands out from the pack, making her a great choice for this month’s spotlight.
She grew up in the small town of Kendall in the north of England, near a beautiful area known as the Lake District. She spent her time outdoors, hiding in the garden and reading books that were entirely unsuitable for her age. Since she had an older sister who loved to read, she never ran short of such books.
At one time, she lived in Africa, where she and her husband looked after a monkey for a while. He was only a baby—they’d taken him from some children who’d killed his mother. He was called Gizmo, and he had them in hysterics many times—because his mannerisms were just so human. One time, Ms. Croft was coming out of the shower just as Gizmo was coming around the corner. He saw her with no clothes on, stopped dead in his tracks, then screamed and ran away. Her husband thought it was hilarious, and, after awhile, she finally saw the funny side, too.
Ms. Croft is a collector of dogs and goats. So far, she has three dogs and two goats, but she tries to look the other way when the local shepherd dangles motherless kids in front of her. Needless to say, she’s passionate about animals, and she always wanted to live on a farm.
Some of Ms Croft’s favorite things include her husband, her dogs, her horse, the view out of her office window (mountains right down to the Mediterranean on a clear day.), and 24—her favorite TV series ever..
On Writing, In Ms. Croft’s Own Words
What or who inspires you to write?
Reading good books, watching great movies, sometimes songs. Or, if I’m really stuck, I’ll take a bottle of wine and go sit on the mountainside and stare at the view—inspiration usually finds me.
Why did you begin writing?
It’s always been in the back of my mind. I think most people who read a lot think about writing some day. But I actually started writing my first serious novel when I was working as a volunteer in Africa. We lived in a remote village on the shores of Lake Kariba. Absolutely stunning scenery, but no electricity, no TV or Internet, and not many books. I had a laptop computer (a rather large one!) and started writing as a way to entertain myself. That novel was a contemporary romance aimed at Harlequin, and it earned me my first rejection many years later. After we left Africa, we spent a lot of years mixing working with travel. Writing got put aside, only to be picked up again when we finally settled in southern Spain. Again, stunning scenery but no electricity, and when we first moved here, no Internet and no TV (but, this time, I made sure I had plenty of books). Back then, I had to share my writing time with working on our rather dilapidated farmhouse, but that’s finished now, and I pretty much write full time. And I love it!
Which author inspires you?
When I think about this question, the books and authors that stick in my mind are fantasy. I just finished, Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, and all the way through I kept thinking, I want to be able to write like this.
What do you find most rewarding about writing?
That there are no limitations to who you can be and where you can journey.
Have you experienced writer’s block? And, if so, how did you cure it?
Yes, all the time, especially in the middle of a WIP (work in progress). I force myself to work through it. I give myself a daily word count, usually 2000 words, and just make myself write them.
When is your next book due out, and what’s it about?
I have a novella, Break Out, coming out with Entangled Publishing on the 5th of July. Entangled is a new publisher launching in August, but they are releasing Break Out early, as part of their pre-launch promo. So I’m really excited to be part of that. Break Out is a space opera with a vampire—sort of Hans Solo with fangs—and is probably my favorite book so far. I had great fun writing it.
I also have my first full-length novel coming out with Entangled later this year: Bittersweet Blood, a paranormal romance.
Read my review of Bound to Moonlight, then head on over to Ms. Croft’s website or visit her on Facebook to learn more about this wonderful writer.
