Nicolette Hugo couldn’t find the books she wanted to read so she sat down to write them herself. We were able to question her about her career in this recent interview, here’s what she had to say.
Hi Nicolette, welcome to Beauty and Lace and thanks for talking to us.
Thank you for having me, I love the name ‘Beauty and Lace’ – it’s all things sexy and feminine.
What started you on your writing journey?
I think I was annoying my partner. He wanted to write his music and the only way to keep me out of his hair was keep me occupied so he put a laptop in my hands and said ‘you’re always talking books why don’t you try write one?’ I’m not sure if he is starting to regret that, writing is an obsessive thing – you get lost in it.
Can you tell us about your road to publication?
I had one goal when I started writing in 2014 and that was to have a book published or a contract by the end of that year. I joined the Romance Writers of Australia and went to their annual conference where you get an opportunity to pitch your work to people in the publishing industry. The worst thing that could have happened was I got rejected and learnt something. But I was lucky enough that Momentum liked the pitch and after submitting some sample chapters they made me an offer for my first two books.
Your latest release is Exhibition, can you tell us a little about it?
EXHIBITION is a story about the desire to be seen and accepted for who you really are. At casual glance, Grace is an exhibitionist, but looking deeper, she is hiding past secrets and covered in shame about her sexual desires. When she meets Jason, Dom and fine arts photographer, and agrees to be the centrepiece of his next show, they begin a darkly erotic affair. A passionate mixing of art and sex that breaks open her secrets and reveals Jason’s own demons. Exposed and vulnerable they will have to make the choice to embrace what they see or walk away.
What inspired you to write about BDSM?
There weren’t enough authors writing the BDSM books I wanted to read and there are a handful of sub-genres and tropes that are being played to death, I wanted something deeper – more real, more raw.
Are you planning more books in this series?
The series is held together by loose character cameos across the stories so its fairly open ended, characters keeping popping up in my head and the world keeps expanding. As long as readers enjoy them, I’ll be happy to write them.
Have you any quirky writing habits you care to share with us?
The craft of writing is such a strange magic the whole thing feels quirky.
What do you love to read?
If it’s a good book I’ll read it, literature, genre, non-fiction. My favourite books tend to be a little left of centre, but I also go through binge cycles. At the moment I am enamoured with historical romance.
Is there an upcoming release you are really looking forward to?
There are two January 2016 releases that I am just dying for. The first is Karen Marie Moning’s FEVERBORN that probably needs no introduction. The second is BOUND by a new author called Elsa Holland. It’s the second release in her Velvet Basement series. If you like your historical romance set in the Victorian era with a darker underbelly and eroticism then you should look her up on elsaholland.com.
Is there something new you’re working on that you can share with us?
The next book in the Unchained Vice series is called BOUGHT and is about a Dom for hire called Jerricho Black and the very broken couple, Scarlet and Killian Bailey, who hire him.
What is the number one piece of advice you would give to aspiring authors?
I love this video by Ira Glass. I think it nails the best advice for writers perfectly.
Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.
To keep your sanity you have to learn to live with the fact that your best today does not meet your benchmark of what is good tomorrow … craft is an evolving thing.
For more about Nicolette Hugo you can find her on Facebook and Nicolette Hugo Writer.
Exhibition is available through Momentum Moonlight from September 24th
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!