10 Questions with Nicky Penttila

 

 

1.      Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I’m curious about lots of stuff, and am always asking questions--How does that work? Why? Who said? College counselors steered me into journalism, where it’s OK to be curious (OK, nosy). Now I report and write about brain science during the day and make up stories with lots of history and ideas and love at night. My husband is my first reader, if you don’t count my rescue cat, who has to check up on me (see photo) from time to time.

2.      If you had a time machine, where and when would you visit?

So many choices! Today I think I’d go on a Regency tour (post-war). Arrive in Plymouth or Bath, take the stage to London for a bit, take in the theater and the opera, and then hop a swift cutter to France and see Paris. Then sail to India and see how the colonials lived.

3.      Would you stay there or come back?

I’d come back. So much is changing in our time—and we’re living longer so we can take part in more of it. I can’t wait to see what comes next.

4.      Who would you take with you?

My lovely husband, in case I ran into anyone who didn’t want to take a lady’s word for it. And a boatload of money, since it’s an age where it was far better to be rich.

5.      Say that your arch nemesis had a little accident and ended up unconscious on the floor of your time machine. Oopsie. When and where would you send him?

Salem, during the witch trials.

6.      If you could bring any historical figure back with you in time machine, who would it be?

It would be quite disturbing to them to bring someone forward, so I’d pick someone who has a reputation for serenity: the Buddha. I’d like to hear his ideas as he experiences our modern “enlightenments.”

7.      Which modern convenience could you never live without?

It’s a tie: vaccines, and modern bathrooms.

8.      Which modern convenience would you happily forgo?

Hand sanitizer.

9.      Pimp it if you’ve got it. What’s new and next for you?

An Untitled Lady, historical romance, releasing December 20 (11 days!). The story: News that she was adopted forces Lady Madeline Wetherby to lower her expectations and marry an upstart Manchester merchant. When she later discovers that her birth father is one of the weavers her husband is putting out of work—and a radical leader—Maddie must decide whether the family she longs for can be made of the man of her heart or the people of her blood.

INTRUSIVE REDNECK NOTE: Nicky also has a free short story featuring Maddie. Look for "The Last Stage" on the Musa Publishing website in December. That's FREE, y'all, which is totally my favorite price.

10.   Do you know what time it is? Trick question! It’s rejection haiku time.

From the chilly ether
yet another round
of  “It’s not you, it’s me.”

Your turn:

Tell us in the comments what modern convenience you could not live without, and you’ll be entered in a drawing to win one of two copies of Nicky's first historical romance, A Note of Scandal (ebook or audiobook, your choice). As for me, I'm with Nicky. The flush toilet completely rocks my world.

 

 

Nicky Penttila writes stories with adventure and love, and often with ideas and history as well. She enjoys coming up with stories that are set in faraway cities and countries, because then she *must* travel there, you know, for research. She lives in Maryland with her reading-mad husband and amazing rescue cat. She’s chattiest on Twitter, @sunshinyday, and can also be found at nickypenttila.com.