"Fiction works better if I’m not just grinding it out to order, but have time to court the inspiration."
Author Q&A: we catch up with the amazingly talented and wonderful Nimue Brown...
Nimue Brown writes speculative fiction, Pagan and Druid non-fiction, and poetry, sings with Carnival of Cryptids, plays viola for Jessica Law, violin for Keith Errington, and is very much into folk music, crafting and upcycling, and steampunk shenanigans.
We catch up with Nimue to find out more.
Q: You’ve recently been working with Steven Savile on the chilling Motherwell Trilogy books that were released this October. What’s it been like writing with another author? How does that work? Do you write different bits each or write together…?
A: I’ve collaborated with a few authors over the years, and it’s different every time. Steven had a lot of ideas for the story, so he led on that and I was very much in for the world-building aspect. I prefer approaches where the writing happens separately and then you tinker, or pass the story to the other person, rather than trying to co-write line by line – I think that approach would drive me mad!
Q: How do you find the switch between writing fiction and non-fiction? Do you have different writing routines?
A: Yes, I have different approaches. On the whole I find non-fiction easier because once I have a structure I can just write what I know. Fiction works better if I’m not just grinding it out to order, but have time to court the inspiration. I tend to be structured about when I’ll be doing the non-fic work and leave myself spaces where I hope I’ll be doing the fiction. Mostly I seem to get away with this.
Q: Hopeless, Maine, in all its incarnations is amazing. How do you put it all together and what do you like most about working on it?
A: I love the community aspect of it, and holding space where people can get involved. At this point I’m at least as much orchestrating as I am writing for the project – although I fill in the gaps on the blog any time it’s quiet. It’s all fairly thrown together as we go along – there’s an international team, people drop things in when they feel like it. I’ve got an ongoing story that posts on Tuesday each week and is the backbone of the blog (thanks to Martin Pearson). I love the way people bounce ideas off each other – especially on the Facebook page, where people play with ideas that often develop a life of their own. The Gentlemen of the Scientific Society are especially entertaining.
Q: What are you working on now and what’s the next book we can expect?
A: I’ve got two books on the go at the moment – I’m writing a folk horror novel, and a non-fic about Everyday Druidry. I’ve got a pilgrimage book that needs polishing up before it comes out next year, and also next year there will be two hopepunk novels with Tenebrous Texts. Beyond that I’m not sure – we have some more Hopeless Maine prose fiction to put out at some point, too.
"I love the way people bounce ideas off each other – especially on the Facebook page, where people play with ideas that often develop a life of their own."
Q: If you could time-travel back to any period in history, where and when in the world would you go?
A: I’m really drawn to pre-history. I’d love to be able to spend some time with the Jomon culture of Japan and learn more about their ceramics.
Q: Is there a novel you’d love to write if you had infinite time available?
A: So far I’m managing to write the novels I want to write in a fairly steady way. I’m prolific, and I seem to be getting away with writing the things I want to write.
Q: Talking of time, you’re involved in so much, and you post regularly on social media about well-being… how do you find the time to do everything you do and how do you keep yourself well and grounded?
A: I’m in the incredibly fortunate position of having a partner who is able and happy to support me. In the past I worked all kinds of part time jobs around the creating, and I got to do far less of what I wanted to do as a consequence. Full time creatives usually have financial support and I think it’s important to be clear about it. Otherwise, I’m fast and I’m good at time management. I am happier juggling multiple things than I am trying to focus on one thing at a time. If I get stuck on something I can usually just shift and work on something else instead. It can get overwhelming when there’s event work as well as trying to write, but mostly I get away with it. I walk, and I make plenty of time for rest and sleep – after years of testing things, I know I’m faster and more efficient if I take plenty of downtime, and that just slogging away is far less effective.
Q: What short story ideas are you working on for future Harveys, and which basket excites you the most?
A: Today I’m thinking about the next flash fiction – it’s a form I really like. This last week I’ve been squaring up to the probability that I won’t have anything for the urban fantasy book. Inspiration has not struck, which is annoying but there we go. Normally I love writing to prompts, and usually respond well to them, so getting in for these has been a lot of fun so far. [spoiler: there IS a Nimue story in the upcoming Harvey Urban Fantasy collection]
Q: Are there any events planned for 2025 that you’re especially excited about, and what could people be looking out for?
A: I’m going to be at quite a few events next year – including some launches for the books I have with Tenebrous Texts. I’ve got designs on doing something innovative and performance-orientated, with a team, so that’s going to be exciting. I’m also poking about in a potential music project – something I’ve wanted to do for years and might finally have the right people to tackle it.
Q: What advice would you give anyone starting out on their writing and publishing adventure?
A: Do it for love. Even the writers you think ought to be doing okay financially are struggling for the greater part, the industry is tough. Chasing the money will grind you down and steal your magic. It’s much better to focus on what you want to do, and do it on your own terms. Self publishing, and working with small houses can actually pay better than the big houses will, and is far less likely to trash your mental health.
Find out more about Nimue at https://druidlife.wordpress.com/
Shop for Nimue's stuff at: https://ko-fi.com/O4O3AI4T/shop
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