Hi! As a Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off entrant myself, I am offering other SPFBO9 Authors a spotlight on the blog … regardless of their book’s status, whether cut or semi-finalist or not yet!

Today, we have Nicole Pierman with us, and she is a prolific author who bakes and writes fantasy of Ireland. Here is her SPFBO9 entry:

Danu’s Curse

Neas is no ordinary woman. Born with Fae magic in her veins, she is the only mortal with immortal abilities in Ireland. Due to her powers, she has always been protected by her uncle, a toisech of a powerful Irish clan. But war continues to hang in the air, and Neas agrees to marry a prized warrior from another village in a desperate bid to strengthen peace between clans, even though she loves another man.

When Fomorians rise from the Underworld and begin to attack, Neas begins to question her uncle’s motives. Her uncle keeps her hidden behind the walls of his stronghold, away from the outside world as her people are slaughtered. Even though her magical abilities could easily end the bloodshed, she is pushed to the side until Neas uncovers the truth of his plan.

Can Neas stop her uncle’s bid for ultimate power without losing those she loves?

Ouch! She could easily end the blood and her people are being slaughtered. Lots of ouch here! (Sorry, that sounds far too flippant; I don’t mean it that way)

Well, onto the Questions!

As a Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off (SPFBO) Entrant, you’re not just independently published, but self-published. Can you start by explaining a bit about why you chose that route and how it’s been for you?

I tried querying my first novel (historical fiction, no fantasy involved) and got 100 rejections. The handful of replies that weren’t form rejections said my book was not to market trend and they wouldn’t know how to get it in front of readers. I gave up the traditionally publishing route and a friend of mine told me to try out Wattpad. For 3 years, I worked hard on that website and won a Watty Award for that same Historical Fiction book that was rejected over and over and I also became a Wattpad Star with a few hundred other well-known writers on the site. However, things went downhill from there in 2020 that I don’t want to dive into for personal reasons. But I told myself I was done putting my work in the hands of others and instead I was going to help and trust myself.

In 2021, I released all of my poetry chapbooks in rapid succession and then I published my first novel. It did fine. In 2022, I released another book and it did fine too, but I was struggling in every way you can possibly imagine.

I knew at that point I had no idea what I was doing, so I joined Bryan Cohen’s Ad School in October 2022, and so far, that’s been the best decision I’ve made business-wise regarding my self-publishing career. I’m taking it slow and I’m learning all that I can, which has made me even more excited and hopeful that I know what I’m getting myself into regarding self-publishing.

Progress is sometimes success 😀 And congratulations!

On a related note, why did you enter the SPFBO contest? How do you expect to find it? Refreshing your blog’s page every five minutes, or sit back and chill?

Someone mentioned the contest in a big group chat and then I reached out to my editor, who said to give it a try because it’s 1. legitimate and not a scam, and 2. Danu’s Curse would fit in well. A few of her clients also chimed in and said to do it and many of them had entered and loved it, so I was sold. But I had to wait 7 months for SPFBO9. Patience, young grasshopper…

I’ve come to learn to let go of things I can’t control over the course of many years in therapy and practicing mindfulness. If my book advances, then it advances. If it’s dropped early on, then it’s dropped early on. I can’t change the outcome no matter what because literature is so subjective. Maybe it would be a semi-finalist if it were placed in another blog’s TBR, or maybe not. Who knows! Danu’s Curse has been placed with Before We Go Blog and I’m just happy to have made it through the beginning round. I wouldn’t want it any other way because I’ve already met some fantastic writers–and this contest runs for a full year. I honestly couldn’t begin to guess where this journey will lead me, but I’m excited to see what happens.

I know! Literature is so subjective, and it helps to keep that in mind – but sometimes it can be hard to remember that. And sometimes people don’t talk like they bear that in mind. I’m glad you do!!

Book titles. Why did you choose the title Danu’s Curse?

I knew from the beginning that I needed to have a title that had the name of the goddess Danu (who gifted my main character the magical abilities of the Tuatha De Danann) in it because that’s a huge key to the plotline. Then, as I was writing this story, I was thinking to myself, “Is this truly a blessing, or a curse? Because all the other characters are telling my main character it’s a blessing, but actually… it’s not.” I didn’t know how it’d all unravel as a pantser until Neas was given the Hero’s Choice–a trope, so to speak, often seen in Irish folklore and legends.

That’s how “Danu’s Curse” came to be. And, luckily for me even though I wasn’t thinking of this at the time, the title’s simple yet screams “fantasy”.

It does, at that! – Oh, don’t you LOVE being a pantser? It is SOO fun!

I won’t ask for your favourite scene since I know some people don’t have those (like me; I never have favourites), but can you share a (non-spoiler) scene you really like and you just can’t believe how awesome it is every time you go back to re-read it?

This might seem like a small scene to some, but I really love when my main character, Neas, her cousin, her best friend, and her childhood love come across a piece of her uncle’s land ravaged by demons, and she grabs her cousin Connell’s hand because she’s so terrified.

I’ve had a lot of readers say they were surprised at first that she didn’t grab her childhood love’s hand, but they appreciated that I showed family love instead of the automatic thought process of, “If you need comfort, always choose the romantic interest.” Because sometimes, you need a family member’s care and support, and we don’t often see that in literature anymore, no matter the genre.

It’s the small things that really make life – or a book 😀 And I like that a lot! Romance isn’t the type of love. 🙂

What are some elements or themes, or combinations thereof, that really make your book stand out to you?

I started writing because of Morgan Llwelyn, an Irish writer that was popular during the 70s-90s and a little bit of the early 2000s when there was an Irish-phile boom. This happened thanks in part to Ireland’s push for tourism so they could rebuild, which was connecting with Irish people around the world during and after the Revolution, and also during The Troubles.

It was all things Irish even if you were only a little bit (it still counts), and my grandparents were huge Irish-phile. They kept their love for Ireland going through me in many ways, including books. But that trend died out around 2010-ish because The Troubles ended in the late 90s and the interest–which held on for a very long time, honestly–dissipated because Northern Ireland was finally at a sort of peace (still debatable to some) after a long time of violence and bloodshed.

The love for Ireland is still present in many people’s hearts, though the marketing trend with Ireland at the forefront has petered off and now the historical fantasy trend is all things Norse thanks in part to the show Vikings and to Bernard Cornwell. You see writers weaving in Norse and Celtic stories together (which is absolutely historically accurate), but I wanted to have a novel that was similar to Morgan’s many historical fantasy novels in the sense that it focused on Ireland before the Vikings or English arrived. That is Danu’s Curse, and I am very proud of it.

That is so cool! Something I’ve noticed is that there’s a call these days for ‘more non-European stories’ – and that is great. I love stories that don’t draw their inspiration from Europe – whether that’s because they draw it from somewhere else, or not. But a lot of people also forget there’s so much more to Europe than the tropey medieval-Christian fantasy (and now Vikings) that one sees everywhere! And that deserves to be represented, just as much! 😀

Anything else we should know? Feel free to take this is any writing-related direction!

I’m excited to share that I’m now focusing on writing urban fantasy under my pen name Nicole Fox. My given name and pen name are intertwined everywhere, so you can find me easily under Nicole Pierman or Nicole Fox (links provided). I’m having a really fun time exploring the world I’ve built up for The Midnight Detective Agency series and can’t wait to see the reaction of my fans and new readers because it’s not as serious as my other novels and poetry chapbooks.

Thank you for sharing with us! It’s been a delight!

You can find Nicole on Goodreads, her Website, and YouTube.

Her SPFBO9 entry, Danu’s Curse, is available from Amazon, and Obsidian Murders, the first book in The Midnight Detective Agency series, is available to preorder from Amazon as well, and comes out in just under a week on July 26th.

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