Kirsty Roby and Nikki Perry completed the Basics of Creative Writing Course at NZ Writers’ College in 2021 with distinction. Instead of saving their new skills for ‘one day’, the sisters teamed up and wrote How to Marry Harry. The romcom follows two bumbling sisters who haul a cardboard cutout of one sister’s daughter in a red bikini around the UK in pursuit of Harry Styles. Cocktails are involved. Things go awry.
The sisters self-published the book, and the reviews were positive. So they kept going. Five years on, Kirsty and Nikki have written and published seven novels and counting on Amazon, all to very positive reviews.
Both sisters are also members of the New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA) and Romance Writers of New Zealand (RWNZ). We interviewed them to find out what can happen when a writing course, a co-author and a willingness to just ‘go for it’ come together.
Before 2021, how did writing fit into your lives, and when did you first think of yourselves as people who might write a book?
We both married and had three kids each, staying at home to raise them, so our focus was on them for a long time. The idea to write came about because, as the kids grew and became independent, we found we had the time to invest in it.
Did lockdown change anything for you in terms of time, attention and willingness to take a risk?
Lockdown changed everything for us. We lived in different cities then, and it meant we couldn’t spend any time together unless it was over the phone. Writing was something we realised we could do together, but apart.
Why did you choose the Basics of Creative Writing Course in particular?
We had joined the RWNZ and been to a conference where we took a few workshops on writing, but we wanted to learn more. The Basics of Creative Writing Course seemed like the perfect place to start and make sure we were doing it right.
How much did you have to learn when you started the course?
Everything! We didn’t even know how to format our work! There were so many things we learned – lots of little tips to strengthen and polish our writing. We keep on learning too. We don’t think there’s ever a time that you stop.
Which idea or habit from the course shows up most clearly on the pages of How to Marry Harry?
We’d done a draft of Harry before we did the course, but we were able to redraft and improve it immensely.
How do you settle disagreements over a scene in your books?
Surprisingly, for siblings, we don’t really fight. We’ve never had a major disagreement over our books. When we started, we would tentatively suggest small changes to each other’s work, but now we tend to just change it. We’re both aware that when this happens, it’s for the good of the book, not an indication that one of us thinks their writing is better than the other’s.
If one of us writes a scene and the other is unsure of its purpose, the writer of that scene will attempt to explain it, and if they can’t, out it goes!
Was self-publishing a deliberate choice or a default? What did you weigh up at the time?
It was a deliberate choice. We were impatient to see the books become real, and lucky enough to have the finances to do it. But we’re not averse to the idea of traditional publishing either – although giving up control of our work and how the cover looks might be harder now!
What did the first few months after publication look like in terms of reviews, sales and your own expectations?
We would love to say that we sold millions! Truthfully, though, we’re doing okay. Sales are steady, and we’ve had some fantastic reviews, which we love to see. Our expectations have shifted and changed. Originally, the goal was to see our book in a bookstore. That’s nice, but the real satisfaction often comes from meeting the readers. We get to do that at events like Ages of Pages, a fantastic book fair in Hamilton every year that we recommend to indie authors. Our favourite thing is when a reader buys one of our books, loves it and then buys another. All our books are stand-alone, so it doesn’t matter what order they’re read in.
What did you change about your approach before writing the next book?
Each book has taught us something, and hopefully they get better for it. We definitely plot more now, and spend more time developing our characters and settings.
You have published seven novels in five years, and the range stretches from romcom to mystery. What does your working week look like?
Currently, we’re mid-edit on our mystery book, so we’re both going over the manuscript, reading it out loud and adding bits here and there. If we’re plotting, we spend a lot of time together, talking through the ideas, making character notes and coming up with a timeline for the book. If we’re writing, we do it apart. We can’t write in the same room!
Otherwise, in between books, we’re emailing bookstores, sitting on author panels, posting off orders, creating social media posts or coming up with ideas for new books.
What doubts or fears did you have at the start, whether about your qualifications, your age, your humour being taken seriously or putting your names on a cover?
We deliberated about putting both our names on the books. Some people told us it would be better to come up with one pen name and go with that, but we couldn’t think of one we liked! We’re glad now that we didn’t. We’re proud of our books and that we write together. We see it as a strength – our readers get double the book!
If someone is where you were in 2021, a beginner and not yet published, what should they do to get started?
Read a lot of good books, take writing courses and keep working on your manuscript. Then be brave and let someone you trust read it and give you constructive feedback. If you are indie publishing, hire a cover designer and a professional editor.
Any final, hard-won advice you want to share with a beginner writer?
Write a story you love. Your book is probably not going to be for everyone, but there will be people out there who love it.
If you want to write your own romcom, Netflix series, novel or children’s book, we have just the writing course for you! Study one-to-one with a multi-award-winning author from the comfort of your home. Join the course that has launched the careers of multiple award-winning NZ writers!
