Nicola May is the author of ten romantic comedy novels, all of which have appeared in the Kindle bestseller charts. Her novels Christmas Spirit and The School Gates won Best Author-Published Read at the Festival of Romance in 2012 and 2014 respectively, while Love Me Tinder was ebook of the week in The Sun. Her ninth novel, The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay, became the best-selling Kindle book in the UK in January 2019. Nicola will be appearing at the Exeter Literary Festival on Saturday 9th November, and I am looking forward to meeting her in person, then. But in the meantime, I’m delighted that she agreed to pop in for a chat.

Hello Nicola. Let’s start with a traditional question: what was your favourite subject at school — and which was the lesson you always wanted to avoid?

I always loved English Literature. I think my voracious appetite for reading has very much helped me in my writing career. I hated Geography and my world knowledge is still appalling

If you had to escape from a fire, what three things would you take with you?

Stanley my rescue cat, family photos, laptop

Talking about yourself, how would you finish the sentence “not a lot of people know…”?

That I was once a contestant on Supermarket Sweep

Where is your favourite place on earth — and why?

Dittisham in Devon. It is a pretty village on a stunning estuary, right opposite Agatha Christie’s house, Greenway. It is one of the places I envisage when I am writing about Cockleberry Bay.

How do you relax?

I love to go walking in the Queen’s garden, aka Windsor Great Park. I also love walking by the sea.

If you knew you only had 24 hours left, how would you spend them?

In bed with Leonardo DiCaprio.

Describe your ideal menu — and where would you like to eat it?

Dressed crab. Roast beef with all the trimmings. Rhubarb crumble and custard. I’d like to eat it in the window seat of the Ferry Boat Inn in Dittisham.

If you could meet one person from history, who would it be — and why?

William Shakespeare. I would love to see how his mind worked and for him to know what an impact his legacy has made.

If you could take part in one television programme, which one would it be?

I am hoping that the Cockleberry Series will be made into a TV drama series or film. If that is the case then I would love to have a cameo role. I have signed with TV/Film agent Curtis Brown so I am very excited that another dream of mine will become a reality!

What would you have printed on the front of your T-shirt?

Living the dream as I am now able to write full-time

What is your top tip for becoming a bestselling author?

Persistence over Resistance. Writers write. If you have a talent and your dream is to become a bestselling author, then never give up. Keep writing. Ride the knock backs, because there will be some. Believe and you will get there. There is no rush. It took me eight years and nine novels until I became Number 1 on the Amazon Kindle store. I truly believe that persistence is the only difference between the authors that make it and the authors that don’t.

Thank you, Nicola, for taking the time to come and chat to me. Readers, you can find out more about Nicola and her writing on her website, on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.  Her recent novel Meet Me in Cockleberry Bay is out now.

Nicola will be speaking at the Exeter Literary Festival on Saturday 9th November. Now in its second year, this young festival is packed with exciting events featuring both household names and local emerging authors. Get all the details from the festival website.