Nick Frampton shares his favourite reads and biggest inspirations
Nick Frampton lives near Exeter in Devon, England. He’s the author of two novels: fantasy title The River and romance novel The Cardiff Christmas Club. He has also written a number of short stories and a travel guide entitled Your Big Adventure, for anyone planning a gap year. As well as writing, Nick loves getting out and about on the beaches and moors of Devon and attending food festivals with his husband, a baker. In 2018 he is hoping to publish three more titles: two romance novellas and a fantasy prequel to The River.
As someone who lives their life through literature, Nick shares his reading lifestyle, some of his favourite books and what he loves the most about writing.
1. Where is your favourite place to read?
I really enjoy reading outside. My husband and I have a little camper van that we converted ourselves; we love taking it out and about in the summer. There’s nothing better than arriving at a quiet campsite, getting out your chairs and then diving into a book and just reading until the light starts to fade. Of course, that’s very much about good weather. In the winter, I’m an indoor reader and a cosy armchair with a blanket is my reading spot of choice.
2. What is your favourite thing about reading?
I love the escapism of reading a book – you can experience anything that a writer can envisage. Books can take you to different places, and they show you how other people see the world around us. I also love the reliance on our imagination – the author will go so far with describing a character or a location, but the final brushstrokes we make ourselves and how we experience a book slightly differently. There’s nothing better than finding a really great book that changes the way you think about the world. Those are the kind of books that you can’t help but tell all your friends about and look forward to re-reading over and over again, knowing you’ll always discover something different each time.
3. What is your favourite thing to read?
From an early age, I have been always drawn to the fantastical in fiction and the legacies of myth and history, magic and fairytale that underpin so much of storytelling. My favourite writers are those that blend these elements, like Philip Pullman, Margaret Atwood, Jasper Fforde, Kevin Brockmeier and C.S. Lewis. On the other hand, I love modern fiction set in the grand houses of wealthy families, where an outsider gets caught up in the lives of the people that live there with devastating consequences. Books like L.P. Hartley’s The Go-Between, Mark Mills’ The Savage Garden, Ian McEwan’s Atonement and Alan Hollinghurst’s The Line of Beauty. I’ve always thought this was quite niche, but then just over a week ago I found out there’s a German word specifically for this genre: Bildungsroman. The word Bildung means ‘education’ and Roman means ’novel’. Combined, Bildungsroman describes a character-driven coming-of-age novel. So there it is – I’m a big fan of Bildungsroman novels!
4. What are you currently reading?
The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman. His ability to build worlds that blend fantasy, science, religion and realism is incredible. I’m only a few chapters in but already I’m completely hooked.
Nick’s bookshelf at his house (Image credit: Nick Frampton)
5. What inspires you the most to write?
I’ve always loved stories, the hours of carefully inventing characters and places, proofing, editing and marketing. Stories are at the heart of writing and we all love them. In terms of my own writing, I find places very inspiring and what inspires me is the culture, the landscape and the people associated with a place. The landscape in my novel The River is very much drawn from my experiences of travelling around New Zealand and the spectacular countryside there that I fell in love with. I’ve also been fascinated by Greek and Roman mythology and weave elements of the legendary characters and creatures of that era into my writing where I can.
6. What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Believe in yourself and don’t give up. I’ve always wanted to be a writer and have been writing stories for as long as I can remember, but it wasn’t until my mid-thirties that I actually started publishing. It’s quite a harsh industry and it can feel like there are a lot of gatekeepers in terms of the conventional publishing route. But self-publishing has really changed that. For a long time, I was put off by what seemed like an impossible dream, so my advice for anyone thinking of writing a book is to just go for it. Just write and worry about how you’re going to release it afterwards, whether that’s the traditional route of finding a publisher or agent, or self-publishing. I would also recommend joining a writing group that meets regularly. It’ll help focus your mind on writing and that’s also a great way to get feedback on your work.
7. What is the most favourite thing you have ever written?
There’s a chapter near the start of my second novel: The Cardiff Christmas Club, that I’m really proud of. One of the characters, Tom, is a student in Cardiff and the chapter is about his experience of coming out as gay. In some ways it’s a moment he’s been building up to for a long time, but in others it’s something that happens very suddenly and as a result of meeting the main character Katy who helps him to be open about who he is. It’s quite a short scene but it says a lot about the friendship of the two characters – they bonded over this significant moment. I guess there were parts of Tom’s experiences that drew on my own feelings and so there was a personal element to the chapter and it took a while to get the tone right. When the novel was published I started getting messages from people about this particular chapter. It meant a lot to hear people’s reactions – that they found the chapter moving, or recognised something in the experiences of either Tom or Katy, or that they connected with their friendship. That’s all you can really hope for as a writer – that your work strikes a chord with people and that they feel a connection to the characters.
Nick holding his book The Cardiff Christmas Club (Image credit: Nick Frampton)
