Prolificity: producing in large quantities or with great frequency
As I’ve written elsewhere on my blog, there are not a lot of authors in Taumarunui, New Zealand, but, as they say in Whoville, “We are here!” And none have been more prolific in the last year than this installment of the Weekend Name Drop. Meet Nix Whittaker.
Name: Nix Whittaker (aka Nicola Pike)
Creative field: Author, English Teacher
Location: Taumarunui, New Zealand
Best known for: Authoring the Glyph Warrior series, avidly reading and reviewing on Goodreads, publishing via Reshwity Publishers
My connection: I teach with Nix at Taumarunui High School (I’ve dubbed her my unofficial Deputy HOD). We share a compatible interest in classics and comic books. I reviewed her first book, Hero is a Man, and she returned the favour by, not only reviewing The Chain, but also acting as one of my beta readers, contributing her expertise in Young Adult fiction. She even offered me a cool quote to use in my book’s blurb. We are running an independent publishing workshop together in Taumarunui next weekend and are both appearing at the Ruapehu Writers Festival in March.
Inspiration for this writer: I’ve always admired Nix’s creative energy. She is a resilient problem solver, always focusing quickly on generating solutions. Her prolificity (yes, it’s a word) over the past year has been amazing as she’s produced four books in her series (Hero is a Man, You Can Run, Sorrow Also Sings, Blind Leading), complete with her own cover designs. In addition, she has published her mother‘s first book. She shares her learning of the writing process with her students, on her blog and in workshops and is aiming for even higher quality in her own work, re-launching her books with new covers and working with copy editors. She embodies the spirit of the independent author.
Why you should check her out and share with others: Sci-Fi Romance is not my scene, but I enjoy Nix’s world building, the same quality I enjoyed in Cate Sutherland‘s work (also from Taumarunui). Nix creates original characters, especially in Halcyon, the heroine of Hero is a Man. Her idea behind the glyphs, tattoos that work to genetically enhance receptive humans, is terrific. For Nix, her world creation is central and she builds from there as her series progresses. I hear she already has another series under way which means another intriguing world from Nix.
Sample of work:
He frowned as he rubbed the sweat off his body with a rag she threw him. “I’ve never been able to move stuff like that before.”
“Mmmmm.” Halcyon thought to herself, he already showed the effects of the glyph. It couldn’t be too strong as it only had a day to draw in power. She wondered how powerful he would get once his body had time to acclimate and to adapt to the new EMF.
“I wouldn’t worry about it. That is what the glyph is supposed to do. Are you free tomorrow? I have more work for you if you want it. I can even do another tat for you if you want.”
He rubbed his chest and she wondered if he faced any irritation because of the glyph. She walked up to him and put a hand on his chest. It wasn’t hot or puffy so it was healing really well. it would still need another week before it was at its best.
While she touched his chest, he reached out and touched her hair. His fingers finally came to rest on the back of her neck. She glanced up at him and wondered what he was doing. He moved away as he said, “I’ll be here tomorrow.”
Here’s Nix, herself, reading from her debut novel, Hero is a Man, the first in her Glyph Warrior series.
Find out more: Reshwity Publishing, Facebook, Goodreads, Amazon, YouTube
The Weekend Name Drop is a weekly feature on this blog, promoting people I have encountered who are doing creative things.
Antony Millen is a Canadian living and writing in New Zealand. He is the author of three novels: Redeeming Brother Murrihy, Te Kauhanga and The Chain.
