A beautifully written, incredibly original and wickedly funny novel for readers of 10 and older – BLOOM is for everyone who has ever felt like they didn’t fit in, and for anyone who has ever wanted a little more colour and wildness in their lives…
We had the pleasure of chatting with author Nicola Skinner about Bloom, writing, book recommendations, and more!
You can find Nicola on Instagram, Twitter, and at her website.
Hi, Nicola! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! I was born in Brazil and went to boarding school in Britain; I moved around a fair bit in my twenties but now I live in a tiny village outside Bristol with my family. I’d always longed to write books but it took maternity leave for me to extricate myself from noisy office life and start to spend more time in my imagination, when I had the idea for Bloom. I’m short and scruffy and I laugh a lot.
After the chaos that was 2020, have you set any goals for this year? If so, how are they going so far?
I’d really like to rewrite and edit this current book I’m writing for children, and travel more. So far, the writing is coming along better than the travelling, ha ha, but hopefully in the summer we’ll be able to move around a bit more. I want to see the beach, and go camping with friends, and chat under shooting stars, and eat in fancy restaurants, please.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
The first book I remember reading was Enid Blyton’s ‘The Wishing Chair’ series, which is all about a chair that sprouts wings and flies off to magical lands. The first book that made me seriously want to become an author might have been something like ‘Cold Water’ by Gwendoline Riley. A book I can’t stop thinking about is ‘Three Women’ by Lisa Taddeo.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
I think it’s always been there; even before I wrote stories and essays at school. I remember writing letters to my brother at boarding school and approaching the letter-writing like it was sacred event. But yes, I could probably say a real love for it really flourished at school. I was lucky – I had great teachers who valued creative writing.
Your new novel, Bloom, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
A funny book about freedom.
What can readers expect?
Bloom is the story of a girl who lives in a community where nothing green grows, and everyone is too busy to wonder why. Sorrel discovers a faded old packet of seeds in her back yard, which unleash a strange power on her, and subsequently her town. Discovering the story behind the seeds, and who they originally belonged to, is the final key to changing herself, and the people around her, for good.
Where did the inspiration for Bloom come from?
Lots of bits from my favourite books, definitely – from the magic crystals that change James’ life in ‘James and the Giant Peach’ to the locked-away garden in ‘The Secret Garden.’ Ultimately though it was my daughter, who blew a dandelion at my head in the garden one day. As the seeds floated through the air and settled in my hair, I made a joke about how my scalp would now start sprouting dandelions and the idea just came.
Can you tell us about any challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
Well, I had never written a book before, and once my initial burst of enthusiasm wore off, I had to work out how to keep going even when I didn’t know what was happening next in the story. I started the book without knowing what would happen in the middle, and I found working out the plot really, really hard. Writing a book without much experience of writing a book is an incredibly weird experience, full of doubt and uncertainty; I found that reading more children’s books helped a lot. Also, the only thing that made the book better was time, and effort. So not giving up, and keeping at it, and rewriting, and giving it everything I had, finally helped me turn a terrible first draft into a better manuscript. I think when you really know your characters, and love them, you want to give them a decent story in which to shine.
Plus of course there was the fact that I was writing this book without knowing if I would ever get an agent or get published at the end, and occasionally I’d feel terribly gloomy about my chances. I had to ignore those doubts and convince myself that this story was worth telling. You really, really have to be your own best cheerleader if you want to be a writer.
If it’s not too spoilery, were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
One idea that was quite solid in my head when I was conceiving Bloom was the idea that there would be a boarded-up, almost abandoned garden centre in the town where Sorrel lives. Writing scenes there, and coming up with Sid Strangeways, the old man who lives there, and the fascinating story of his ancestors, was some of the most fun I had with that book.
What’s the best and the worst writing advice you have received?
The best advice is to just get to the end of the first draft without worrying about making it perfect. The worst advice about writing? I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything memorably bad – but now I’m going to listen to everyone and try to pick up terrible nuggets just for fun.
What’s next for you?
In the UK, my new book, STARBOARD, is weeks away from being published. I’m very nervous about it and keep having strange pre-publication dreams where I’m walking naked down a road with spinach in my teeth and everyone looks really embarrassed for me. Sorry, did you not want me to talk about my nightmares?
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
‘Clock of Stars’ by Francesca Gibbons, ‘Orphans of the Tide’ by Struan Murray, ‘TrooFriend’ by Kirsty Applebaum and ‘Cane Warriors’ by Alex Wheatle all deserve reading immediately.
