About Me
Ardent feminist. Armchair historian. Lover of all things bright and shiny. Mother of cats.

Pen Name: Nicole Evelina (you can also call me Niki)

Why I picked it: Nicole is my real first name and Evelina is a variation of my mom’s name. It’s Celtic name meaning “bright.”

Why a pen name: My real last name is impossible to spell, remember, or pronounce.

Hobbies: Research, Pinterest, travel, cooking, writing book reviews, playing with my cats, seeing musicals/plays, ballet and live music. Someday my eccentric rich lady hobby will be miniatures.

Addictions: Prosecco, vodka, Pinterest, makeup, costume jewelry, books, the band Kill Hannah.

Favorite experiences: June 2013 Arthurian Legend tour of England, March 2014 week-long writing retreat at Hedgebrook, studying creative writing with #1 New York Times best-selling author Deborah Harkness.

Favorite books: I’m a firm believer that to be a great writer, you first have to be an avid reader. I estimate that I’ve probably read several thousand books in my 40+ years on this planet. A few of my favorites are:

• Interred with Their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell
• Juliet by Anne Fortier
• A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
• Shadow on the Crown by Patricia Bracewell
• Arcadia Falls by Carol Goodman
• The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley
• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
• A Season in Lights by Gregory Erich Phillips
• Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
• Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory
• People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
• The Rossetti Letter by Christi Phillips
• The Chicagoland Vampire series by Chloe Neill
• The Immortals series by Alyson Noel

Favorite cities: Chicago, Boston, Glastonbury, Oxford

Want to travel to: France (Paris, Lyon, Marseilles, Brittany and Champagne), Tuscany

Want to write: I have Pinterest boards and plans for about 40 more books.

Want to learn: French, oil painting, how to play the cello

Where my inspiration comes from: The muses. I’m convinced my characters pick me. Sometimes I also get inspired by music or very cinematic dreams.

Real-life muses: Rachelle Lefevre, Joseph Morgan, Ashley Clements, Nadine Lewington, Clémence Poésy, Lea Seydoux.

What I would be doing if I wasn’t writing: Well, I’d be crazy, for one. My day job is writing in public relations, but my alternate career would be as a historical researcher, makeup artist, or a historian.

Awards: Listed here

Group Memberships:

Current Writer’s Groups

• Historical Novel Society (2012-present)
• Historical Writers’ Association (2021-present)
• Novelists Inc. (2017-present)
• Biographers International Organization (BIO) (2018- present)
• International Arthurian Association (2017-present)
• St. Louis Writer’s Guild (2014-present)
• Saturday Writers (a chapter of the Missouri Writers Guild) (2016-present)
• Alliance of Independent Authors (2016-present)

Current Women’s Groups

• League of Women Voters (national, Missouri and St. Louis)
• Association of American University Women (Kirkwood chapter)
• National Women’s History Alliance

Past Writer’s Groups

• Romance Writers of America (2014-2019)
• Missouri Romance Writers of America (2014-2019)
• Women’s Fiction Writers Association (2014-2015)
• Independent Book Publisher’s Association (IBPA) (2016-2019)
• Missouri Writer’s Guild (2016-2018)

What else do you want to know? Leave me a comment and I’ll add my answer in here.