Who the heck is Tara S. Nichols?

Aside from a romance/erotica writer, I’m a mother, a wife, a graphic artist, a hermit, and a beekeeper. These things all go together well, I’ve found. Especially the hermit trait. And honey goes with everything.


I live in the countryside in the middle of Canada, where it’s flat, windy, snowy, hot and muggy. Not all at once, of course, but sometimes the weather is nuts out here. We have white outs which make for a cozy afternoon sitting in front of the woodstove. (Good thing I like chainsawing). Sometimes it’s handy to be snowed in too ;)

Most of my time is spent in front of the computer, writing, editing, creating images on photoshop, or blogging. It’s a far cry different from the way I used to write, which was in a fluster and involved a gross amount of scrap paper. I used to work at a bookstore, so when an idea struck me, I’d jot it down and stuff the note in my back pocket. Then, when I got home, I’d toss the wad onto my desk, planning to transcribe them all later. What actually happened is, I’d wind up transcribing months worth of notes! Secretarial duty is NOT my calling. I’m still sorting some of those notes, but I have at least forty stories worth.

My writing style is much like the way I blog, the way I run, the way I pack for a vacation, and oh woe is me, the way I do everything. It is spontaneous, in the moment, and rarely planned. Some people call that their muse, the inspiration or information that is delivered, but I don’t know what to call it. What ever it is, I don’t turn it away.

Now, I catch those inspirations on my ipod. It has cut down transcribing by 95% and probably saved a forest’s worth of trees. It’s quick too. I just email myself, then sort through blocks of writing, copying and pasting where ever it is supposed to fit. I recommend it. I still write fast and furious, believing what flows naturally is probably the right thing. After I have enough of a plot to work with, I print the story off, then take it to a coffee shop and using a pen ‘fix’ it.

I love sitting in a coffee shop with a functioning W.I.P., a tall cup of Joe, and my ipod pumping out the tunes. Being a hermit, I often forget where I am, and before I know it, I’m tapping my pen on the table and my leg is bouncing to the beat. I laugh out loud at my favorite parts and tsk tsk at the mistakes I’ve made. Hopefully the other patrons don’t mind.

Next, I go back to the computer and add in my notations, and then start at the beginning and do it all over again.

Ten Writing facts about me:

1.) I find humor sexy. A guy who will make me laugh, get goofy even if doesn’t look cool, or doesn’t make me feel bad when I do, is a guy I want to get to know. I try, when it works, to make my heroes as sweet, vulnerable, funny, and charming as I can, while still maintaining the expectations of a sexy alpha male.

2.) I over use exclamation marks and smileys in blogs and forums because I fret that the tone of what I’m trying to say doesn’t come across chipper enough.

3.) My favorite type of hero to read about is a renaissance man, yet I cannot, for the life of me, write about one.

4.) I write what I know. Most of my stories are situated in the great outdoors, the country side, or involve characters who come from the countryside. The exception to that rule seems to be the paranormal books I’ve written, and some of my shorter works. I’m not saying I grew up with burly shirtless farm boys shucking sheaves and tossing bales to the eaves of the barn, but I did have the wilderness experience nonetheless, rafting, climbing trees, chasing cows, shooting homemade arrows out of willow branch bows and pretending Tarzan was about to whisk me away on the next vine.

5.) I love writing anthologies! I have a dozen more short stories just waiting for anthology calls!

6.) I am convinced everything happens while I am away on vacation; guest blogs, edits, contracts, cover art, you name it, (what ever I can’t do without a computer). I have a running joke with my brother-in-law, that if I want publication action, all I need to do is go away.

7.) I prefer to write in a sunny corner, all by myself, rather than socialize with friends, classmates, or family (my husband and son not included. I always have time for them) But, when it comes to online friends, it’s a whole other story. I can chat for hours.

8.) If I’m in the writing zone and I have the house to myself, I often forget to eat until my husband gets home in the evening. Mostly I’ve been writing on Coffee fuel.

9.) I write whatever is the strongest on my mind, regardless of impending deadlines. I hate the feeling of a forgotten scene. I believe I write the best when I write in the moment.

10.) I type one handed, and fast. Basically it resembles ‘Thing’ from the Adams Family.

My style isn’t for everyone, but it works for me. 

~Tara