- At our January ’26 meeting Nicola introduced us to her new YA book “ On the Edge” (2025). She set this book closer to her home and childhood in Devon and started writing it during the pandemic. She works with a London charity which gives disadvantaged children access to nature through camping and conservation days in the countryside. Knowing how hard her mother worked – 5hrs a day in a fish factory and work in a care home while living in a house with only two heated rooms, she has an appreciation of how hard life is for some families. Homelessness statistics are quite shocking. Themes of poverty and homelessness and disadvantage colour this book.
Nicola read three excerpts from the book , one concerning the lead character Rhys, based on her brother – a surfer who had lots of jobs and another showing teens attraction to the Devon countryside. What happens when Rhys has to move from his home-town to Exeter? What happens to communities when many houses become holiday homes? There was a spate of holiday homes being firebombed in the 1980’s, prompted by the Walsh protest group Meibion Glyndwr, when feelings were running high over holiday homes pricing locals out of the market.
Nicola feels that we are now in a Golden Age of children’s fiction with many different genres to choose from. She encouraged members to read YA fiction books before giving them to grandchildren and made a number of title recommendations (see photos of titles below).
She talked a little about the process of finding a new publisher. The author’s literary agent sends the manuscript to a number of publishers who might be interested. Publishers have acquisition meetings and consider whether they can sell enough copies. Winning a book prize or being short listed for a prize helps publishers decide whether to publish. Her current project is a verse novel about a boy with a dog obsession rescuing dogs.
Copies of Nicola’s book were available for members to purchase and there was also a display of her recommended YA Fiction (see photos below).
