Nikki Smith
Nikki Smith studied English Literature at the University of Birmingham and went on to forge a career in finance; working for companies including a city bank and a trampoline park. She’d always wanted to write, and prompted by someone she hadn’t seen since school contacting her to ask if she’d ever done anything with her writing, signed up for a Curtis Brown creative writing course in 2017. She went on to win a short story competition and mentorship by the author Amanda Reynolds before being accepted for representation by Sophie Lambert at C+W. Her debut novel, ALL IN HER HEAD, went on submission in January 2019 and she accepted a pre-empt offer for a two book deal by Orion ten days later. LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO is her second novel and out now.
We had a great chat with Nikki about how she managed to swap accountancy for writing, and how the day job helped instill a discipline which has proven useful in writing. We also hear about her new novel, and chat about first and third person perspectives, and whether there can ever be too much "head-jumping" in first person novels.