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On The Table Read, “the best book magazine in the UK“, writing duo Olga and Mark talk about their writing partnership under the pen name, Olena Nikitin, and their new book, Autumn Chaos.
Written by JJ Barnes
I interviewed writing partners Mark and Olga about their lives and careers, their work under the pen name Olena Nikitin, and the story of their new book, Autumn Chaos.
Tell me a bit about who you are.
We are a writing partnership and a real-life couple writing under the pen name Olena Nikitin. My name is Olga, and I’m the more social bunny out of the pair, and I work as an emergency doctor. Mark is a grumpy old soul and an engineer that fixes anything and everything.
We share a passion for cats and currently have five little devils. We also have frighteningly similar taste in books, especially fantasy romance with irreverent humour.
When did you first WANT to write a book?
Honestly, we never thought about writing a book. I (Olga) was focused on writing funny short stories for my Facebook page and blog. Mark is forever conceiving new and exciting stories, but never thought about putting them on paper. However, one day after a stressful shift in the ER, I woke up one day and just started to write.
When did you take a step to start writing?
It was the 1st of January 2022. I woke up with a raging hangover and a story in my head, and I started writing it down. I’m Polish, and English is my second language, but I have Mark, who can understand my style and humour and not only edits what I write but also adds an invaluable male point of view and his military experience.
How long did it take you to complete your first book from the first idea to release?
Our very first book, A Little Accident, took approximately three months. It is a short story and our test run for publishing, and it has received some exceptional reviews. Autumn Chaos, the first book in the Season’s War series, has taken eight months, mainly because we have focused on rigorous quality control involving alpha and beta readers, a professional editor and proofreader and a professional cover artist. When you are working with others, it takes time, the story itself was ready within four months, but we want it to be perfect.
Focusing on your latest release. What made you want to write Autumn Chaos?
I like fantasy with humour, written for adults, so you don’t have to worry too much about sensitive language or content and can simply write it in the way real life works. There is a sizeable gap in such genre-crossing books on the market, and we hope to fill it. We wanted a book that has all elements of life, including humour, steam and violence, but is focused on the story, not on the most saleable aspects.
What were your biggest challenges with writing Autumn Chaos?
For me, it was sticking to a singular point of view. For Mark, it was editing when I’ve drifted away on a tangent or used idioms directly translated from the Polish language.
Who or what inspired you when creating your Protagonist?
It is difficult to say. Ina has a bit of me inside, and Mar has Mark’s roguish charm, but mostly they grew from the situations we created. We wanted them to react the way ordinary people do when they strive to be exceptional, in success and failure. We love developing them into people we would love to be friends with, and I think it worked as our beta readers pointed out that they would love to hang out for a pint at the Drunken Wizard (a tavern from our book) and have fun with our heroes.
Who or what inspired you when creating your Antagonist?
We were trying to avoid the cliché baddie and build our antagonist around the issue that was relevant in their world and, to some extent, applied to ours. I would love to tell more about our conflicted baddies, but I’m afraid it would reveal too much of the plot.
What is the inciting incident of Autumn Chaos?
Mar gets dumped on Ina’s doorstep like a cold, lifeless slab of meat. That is the catalyst for all the troubles and misunderstandings that culminate in the discovery of Ina’s true talent
What is the main conflict of Autumn Chaos?
Our heroes want to live quietly, with as little trouble as possible, but fate has other ideas and sometimes, the cards you’re dealt lead to extraordinary circumstances. In this case, it’s Ina’s dangerous magic, Mar’s bloodline, and Ren’s mysterious past. I think you can summarize the conflict in our books with one sentence, ‘I truly wanted to be normal, but normal didn’t want me.’
Did you plot Autumn Chaos in advance, or fly by the seat of your pants and write freely?
I always write an outline of the book (I just finished writing the second book, and I’ve begun the third in the series), then I sit down and fill this skeleton with plots, humour, steamy moments and some action, but the core points mostly stay the same.
Did you get support with editing, and how much editing did Autumn Chaos need?
We have a professional editor from Reedsy for the final stages. However, before the book got to this stage, we did several edits ourselves. We used professional editing software to help with mundane tasks such as consistency of the quote marks.
What is the first piece of writing advice you would give to anyone inspired to write a story?
Writing is the straightforward part, so just be true to your vision. Marketing is where things get complicated, so start as early as possible because you might have an excellent book, but if no one knows about it, they won’t be able to read it.
Can you give me a hint about any further books you’re planning to write?
We have already written the second book in the series. It is called ‘Winter Dragon’ and will be published Christmas 2022, and we are writing the third one, Spring Lovers. So far, everything is going as per plan, and I’m hoping we will have the series completed before Autumn 2023.
And, finally, are you proud of your accomplishment? Was it worth the effort?
Oh yes, we are. It is a lot of work, but holding your own book in your hands is like cradling your baby, a feeling that simple happiness can’t describe.
Pop all your book, website and social media links here so the readers can find you:
Website: https://www.olenanikitin.uk
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B1Z1P47P
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22364239.Olena_Nikitin
Twitter: https://twitter.com/olena_nikitin
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Olena.Nikitin.author
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@olenanikitinauthor
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