Awesome Romance Author Nancy Northcott
This week I am interviewing romance author Nancy Northcott. If you love history blended with suspense and fantasy you will love Nancy’s books.
Nancy writes in two of my favorite romance genres, historical fantasy and romantic suspense. In her interview, Nancy shares some of the background experiences, especially comics, that shaped her as a writer and gives us a sneak peak at her latest book – a romantic suspense anthology.
Here’s Nancy…
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
As a child, I hoped to grow up and become Wonder Woman–until about fourth grade, when I realized it was too late to acquire Amazon genes. That didn’t stop me from loving comic books, though, and I also gravitated toward Nancy Drew, science fiction and fantasy, history and romance. I still read all those genres.
What interesting jobs have you had?
I had a part-time job selling comic books for about a year. I enjoyed that a lot, but the demands of my full-time job eventually led me to give it up.
In college, I worked as a ride operator in an amusement park one summer and fall. You really see a cross-section of people in that job!
What was the most interesting place you every visited?
It’s hard to pick the most interesting, but the most unusual, and the one my friends are most surprised that I love, is the Okefenokee swamp. It’s really a black water peat bog, not a swamp, so it doesn’t smell. Still, I’m not Nature Woman. I like my surroundings climate-controlled and my wildlife safely distant, as anyone who knows me soon realizes. Yet there’s something about the Okefenokee that draws me.
The water perfectly reflects the sky and the terrain. There are cypress trees draped in Spanish moss, water lilies, and other interesting plants. We’ve seen alligators, otters, turtles, and various birds there, and I know there are also deer and bears. The Okefenokee is 400 square miles of wilderness. If you look at a night-time photo of North America from space, you can see a big, dark space just north of the Florida/Georgia line. That’s the Okefenokee.
How did you choose the genre you write in?
The genres kind of chose me. Thanks to Nancy Drew, I love romantic suspense. The comic books, speculative fiction, and history drew me to write paranormal romance and historical fantasy. I write mages, or wizards, because they’re the closest option I have to the superheroes I’ve always enjoyed so much.
I sold a paranormal romance first, so I have more of those out, as the Light Mage Wars/Protectors series, but I enjoyed writing straight romantic suspense for the Capitol Danger anthology with Suzanne Ferrell, Jeanne Adams, and J.D. Tyler. Just by the way, the anthology is set at an inaugural ball for the first woman president, but that’s not us picking sides in the election. We wrote our novellas when there were several women still in the race.
Have you written a book you love that you have not been able to get published?
Yes. I have a spy series that skates the line between romance and suspense. It’s written in first person snarky, and the series features one continuing couple. I plan to publish it myself once I have the first few books written. I hope that will be next year.
What project are you working on now?
Aside from the snarky spy books, I’m writing Nemesis, the next novel in my Light Mage Wars paranormal romance series. I’m also writing a Light Mages Christmas story, “The Magic Christmas Guy,” and developing a sequel to my novella in Capitol Danger.What do you like most about writing?
I get to dream up magic and play “what if” as much as I want. And I can safely have adventures that would scare the bejabbers out of me in real life.
Thanks for having me, Zara!
Capitol Danger
A Romantic Suspense Anthology
This is a romantic suspense anthology like no other! Four stories, one event and four dangerous missions on the same night.
It’s Inauguration Night. Glamorous balls throughout the nation’s capital celebrate a landmark event. The town and nation are in the mood to celebrate. But not everyone is so pleased.
A home-grown sect known as the Red Mantle plan to make it an event to remember for their reasons. As their assault succeeds it will be up to those attending the ball to step up and face the fanatics, or die trying.
UNMASKED: An Edgars Family Novella-by Suzanne Ferrell
Abigail Whitson and Luke Edgars are working an undercover operation during the inaugural ball in an attempt to discover who has stolen land to air missiles before they can be sold to a broker—their target for the night. When the playboy arms dealer arrives at the ball, his bodyguard turns out to be someone from Luke’s past.
That isn’t the only surprise of the night. When the ball is invaded by terrorists, Abby and Luke find themselves trying to extract the arms dealer from the fray to protect their mission, while they also risk their lives to protect innocents from the carnage.
DEATH UNDER GLASS by Jeanne Adams
Edward Millner and his girlfriend, Retta Geminous, are celebrating a glittering inaugural. When Red Mantle terrorists take the ballroom, both bullets and glass start flying. Edward and Retta help the agents still standing retake the ballroom, but casualties are high. Can Edward face his demons and use his former Special Forces medical skills to save the night? Can Retta and Edward overcome their troubled hearts in the face of certain death?
DANGER’S EDGE by Nancy Northcott
When terrorists disrupt the inaugural ball, new Arachnid Agency operative Kelsey Mitchell tables her planned undercover operation and works to bring help into the hotel. Her only ally is Greg Reed, an FBI agent on medical leave after being shot during a robbery. Kelsey dreads making a novice mistake, and Greg is afraid he’s lost his edge.
Attraction flares between them though Kelsey knows the Feds disapprove of people who work for her freewheeling agency. Together, she and Greg must fight their demons and the terrorists to gather intel for the FBI and create a safe landing zone for a rescue force. Can they succeed against overwhelming odds, or will the battle cost one or both their lives—or their hearts?
LETHAL TARGET: An Armed & Deadly Novella by J.D. Tyler
FBI Special Agent Dalton McCoy is playing a deadly game, working undercover for Methan, leader of the extremist terrorist group, the Red Mantle. He’ll stop at nothing to keep Methan and his men from achieving their goal of bringing down key members of the government. When Dalton’s plans come to an unexpected head at the glittering inaugural ball, he doesn’t count on tenacious reporter Jolie Montfort placing herself in Methan’s line of fire as well. Now the agent must take out the terrorist leader and get them both to safety before it’s too late…
Buy Links
AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | iTUNES | KOBO
Learn more about Nancy…
Nancy’s Social Media links;
Website: www.nancynorthcott.com
Twitter: @NancyNorthcott
Facebook: https://facebook.com/nancynorthcottauthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3468806.Nancy_Northcott
If you have any questions or comments for Nancy Northcott, please post them below, and she will get back to you.
Thanks, Mary!
Thank you, Joanne. I’m looking forward to the Wonder Woman movie. I really hope it’s good.
Thanks, Ashantay!
Wonderful interview, ladies! You’ve had a couple of interesting jobs, Nancy. Thanks so much for sharing and wishing you all the best!
Hi Nancy, Excellent interview! Wonder Woman is my favorite super hero as well. Best of luck with all your books. 🙂
Loved the interview and that book cover is eye-catching! I enjoy multiple genres, also. I think it makes for well-rounded readers. (smiling) Best wishes on your upcoming releases.
Thanks, Nichole. I haven’t actually drawn on those experiences yet. At least, not directly. But I might at some point. The people who worked at the amusement park, at least below the management level, were mostly high school and college students, as much a cross-section as the guests who walked through the gates. I found, as I think others also did, that I had things in common with people whose backgrounds and life goals were very different from mine. That experience has stood me in good stead ever since.
From one Nancy Drew fan to another, I loved your interview, Nancy! And your on-the-job experiences in the comic book store and as a ride operator sound like they could give rise to some awesome stories. Have you drawn on those days in your writing?
Um, spies. Not spues. Duh!
Sorry, y’all.
Thanks, Jeanne! The anthology was a blast to write, wasn’t it? I’m having fun with the snarky spues, too.
Anna, thanks! Working in the amusement park was a lot of fun, and the rides mostly operated at the push of a button. The exception was the riverboat, which went around an island in a lagoon. It couldn’t go astray because it was on a track, but it went forward or backward depending on what the pilot did with the throttles. We had to learn when to reverse the engines so as to stop with the gates on the boat lined up with the ones on the dock. That took a bit of practice, and I was so proud when I finally got it on the first try!
Lori, thanks! I had a handful of Nancy Drew books but also hit the library. I still have my Nancy Drew books. I also have one about Nancy Drew that I reviewed for our local paper. It’s Melanie Rehak’s Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her.
Thanks, Vicki! The anthology was great fun.
Hi Nancy! Hi Zara! Nancy, you know I love your books, and I was thrilled to get to write in Capitol Danger with you! What a great adventure it was to talk about a potential inauguration plot. Bwahahahah! So looking forward to your first person snarky suspense!
Hi Zara! Hi Nancy! Nancy, I love these interview posts. I always learn something new about people I actually think I know well. I did not know that you worked as a ride operator. I bet you do see all types doing that. I’m also really excited to hear about your future publishing plans! More great books to read. Huzzah!
I loved Nancy Drew growing up and consumed her books at the library every summer when I visited my grandmother
Good luck with your anthology.
So wonderful to get to know Nancy better. Good luck with the anthology.