Interview: Nicole Ireland, Author of A Second Chance

Dr. Lucas' steel-gray eyes met hers for a brief moment before he spoke.  "I'm sorry, Annabelle. There's just no easy way to tell you this, so I'll get right to it. The chemotherapy and radiation treatments haven't worked. They didn't stop the cancer from spreading."

Annabelle sat back in her chair, her mouth falling open in shock and disbelief. How was this possible? This wasn't the way things were supposed to turn out for her. Cancer wasn't a part of her master plan.

A Second Chance, by Nicole Ireland
"I think that Annabelle's experience may be forever etched in my mind. I can't stop thinking about her." -an excerpt from a 5-star review of A Second Chance, reviewed by Allie Burke 

Pick up your e-book of A Second Chance here.

A Second Chance. What a beautiful novelette. Beautiful. The very best way I can describe the words that first intrigued me with their beauty on the very first page, and with words that by page nine, had made their way into the deepest confines of my thoughts, affecting my ability to see them as thick tears blurred my vision.

Annabelle's story was one that would affect me long after I finished reading it. The emotion that I felt for this woman, as this woman, was deep and profoundly touched my heart.

Ireland's style captivated me from the moment she spoke of the vivid traits of that September day, the beauty of that perfected style connecting me with the life experience of the character she created and with that imprinting an entirely new experience on my soul. 

I don't think I will ever forget Annabelle Dixon.

Check out my full review of A Second Chance here. 

I have been honored with the chance to sit down with this beautifully talented author, a wonderful friend of mine, Nicole Ireland. Thank you so much for joining us, Nicole!

 Nicole Ireland, Author of A Second Chance

Allie: A Second Chance. Wow. What a beautiful story. An emotional, heartbreaking, and beautiful story. Can you tell us more about your connection with Annabelle? Her experience, her feelings and her worries-was any part of her story based on any real life experiences that you, or maybe someone you know, have encountered?

NI: So much of what Annabelle felt or experienced was pulled from real life: mine and others I know. 

For starters, I had my own cancer scare several years ago before my son turned one that really shook me to the core. I had to have a mole removed that I'd had since birth. It had the classic characteristics of melanoma. Between seeing my primary care physician and getting my biopsy results back, a month went by. It was literally the longest month of my life. I couldn't help but think about what I would do if it came back that I had skin cancer. Questions raced through my mind nonstop. I would look at my kids doing simple, everyday tasks and cry. When I finally got my results and found out the mole was benign I was beyond relieved. So obviously that experience stayed with me.

After that, my family had several family members and a friend die of cancer. Another family member was diagnosed with an extremely rare form that eventually left her unable to speak. We all thought she was going to die. But she somehow came back from it. I say she was given a miracle. 

Another cousin, who is my age, had to deal with cervical cancer issues. 

Each time I heard someone else I knew was sick or dying, my old fears resurfaced, and I would think about my experience all over again. So I finally decided to sit down and put all those fears into a story about a young woman with cancer. I thought it would inspire someone. 

From there, I eventually added in other real-life experiences. The things that Annabelle and her mother went  through in high-school, the being bullied, the depression, were all true. High school was not a pleasant time for me. I have a few good memories, but many are horrible. So I decided to use that pain to make an even more poignant story.

Also, Annabelle's parents, as well as her children, are based off of my parents and my kids. So as you can see, a lot of it is real.

Allie: I have only just recently read A Second Chance and Sacrifice. Leaving A Second Chance (with my tears) and going into Sacrifice, I was fascinated. What two very different stories. Was that difficult for you? Did you find that Annabelle (from A Second Chance) was reluctant to leave your imagination as you tuned into the story of Harper and Sacrifice?

NI: I admit, it was a little hard to transition from Annabelle to Harper because Annabelle is a huge part of me. I honestly feel she's with me at all times.

The transition between the two characters was easier than one may think, though, because of the similarities between the two women. Both are young mothers of two children. And both want to protect their offspring from all the evil things in the world, whether it's Annabelle's cancer or the man in the mirror.

Pick up your e-book of Sacrifice here.

Allie: You Indie published both A Second Chance and Sacrifice. How did that go over with your debut? What have you learned in your experience, or maybe from the experiences of fellow Indie authors? Do you feel that, within the writing community, the support you receive is sufficient enough to help you grow as a self-published author? 

NI: I think my experience with A Second Chance is right smack dab in the middle of other indie author's experiences, at least for the first month. I think, considering what my expectations were, that I did very well. Sure, I could have done way better. There's always room for improvement. I could have promoted more than I did. I could have done many things. But at the time of release I was working three jobs from home while being a mom of two children under the age of ten. I was also taking care of everything in our home while also helping out my mom because she's dealing with back issues. I was stretched pretty thin, so taking all of that into consideration, I can't complain.

As far as what I've learned, I think it's extremely important to network and find other likeminded individuals that understand you and what you're trying to accomplish. I think a strong support system is important. Those people that believe in you are the ones that get you through poor sales or bad reviews or a foul-mouthed internal editor who likes to berate you at every turn.

For me, I've been fortunate enough to meet some truly amazing people over the past few years. My editor and I met when I worked at Mahalo. She and I became fast friends, and she's been a huge inspiration and guiding light for me since. I honestly don't know what I'd do without her.

Allie: The butterfly. The breathtaking blue butterfly. While I would hate to give too much away from A Second Chance, I have to ask. I mean, wow. I. Did. Not. See. That. Coming. A concept that, in my opinion, is entirely original. What inspirations, if any, contributed to this unique aspect of your story?

NI: Honestly, the original story for A Second Chance, titled Second Chances, which was included in the From the Dark Side Anthology, ended at Annabelle finding the letters she'd written on her bedside stand. However, I felt there was still something missing from the story, so I went back and worked on it some more. With the help of my editor I was able to come up with some additional scenes that would add more to the story.

Originally, the butterfly was supposed to be a female. However, after much discussion with my editor, I decided the butterfly was the best choice and would truly make it shine.

As for why I chose the butterfly, butterflies represent my transformation, my metamorphosis from a lonely teen girl into the woman I am now. A good friend of mine once told me that when she met me I was more like a caterpillar and over time I grew into a butterfly. That image has stayed with me for years, as can be seen on my website and Twitter backgrounds. So it seemed natural to use a butterfly in this story.

Check out The Evolution of Nikki, Nicole Ireland's website.

After I had written the butterfly scene, I was doing some research on the symbolism behind butterflies. All of the points I was trying to get across in A Second Chance, the butterfly symbolizes: hope, faith, rebirth, transformation, etc. When I read that information I knew I'd made the right choice.

When it came to the cover, I got really lucky. My editor is the one that found the photo of the woman's hands cupping the blue butterfly. She put the rest of the cover together, and I couldn't be any happier with how it came out.

Allie: Oh, do tell. What's up? What you have going on? Are you writing? If so, anything you can tell us about your latest project? What can we expect from the upcoming adventures of Nicole Ireland?

NI: I'm actually in the middle of several projects. I have another short story that I'm working on that involves 9/11. It's a tearjerker. I actually have cried several times while writing it.

I also have a young adult novel that I'm about 1/4 of the way through and fantasy novel that I'm 1/3 through.

In addition, I also have a children's story that I'm hoping to publish. My dad will be doing the illustrations for it. It's going to be a different process than any of my other work, but I think I'm up to the challenge.


We agree! You absolutely are.

Nicole Ireland's work has received phenomenal reviews due to her beautiful style and wonderful storytelling gifts.

I also gave Sacrifice a 5-star review and you can read that here. 

Sacrifice and A Second Chance are also available for your Kindle. I highly recommend that you check both of them out. This is one author that should not be missed!