Interview With Author Nora Doyle
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m an Italian author with a background in both the arts and marketing, two very different things. Creativity taught me how to tell stories, while marketing taught me how to understand the people reading them. Best of both worlds, someone with a wig once said.
I began my writing journey through poetry, choosing to write in English despite it not being my native language. So far, I’ve written and published two poetry collections that explore themes of love, grief, folklore, loss, and the quiet beauty hidden in everyday moments. Those books became the foundation of my voice as a writer and eventually led me toward fiction.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first book “The Loneliness of the Fox”, was published in 2025. It was a collection of my earliest poems, pieces that weren’t always technically perfect, but were full of curiosity, sincerity, and potential. I deliberately kept many of those early works because I wanted readers to experience my growth as they turned the pages. By the end of the book, I hoped they would feel they had grown alongside me.
My latest collection “Starry Is the Night”, published in 2026, is a very different book. I like to think of it as a farewell to my twenties. It’s a deeply personal journey through womanhood and the complicated emotions that come with love, loss, change, and everything life throws at us. While my first collection was about discovering my voice, this one is about learning to live with it. It’s more raw, more chaotic, and marks a new chapter in both my writing and my life.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not sure I’d call it unusual, but I spend a surprising amount of time staring at blank walls or into empty space. It probably looks like I’ve completely switched off, but that’s usually when I’m working the hardest! If I let my eyes lose focus, it’s much easier for me to disappear into my own head and daydream.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Depend on what I’m writing really, but when it comes to poetry, there are a few writers I always find myself returning to. I deeply admire Mary Oliver for the way she writes about nature and the human spirit. I’m also endlessly inspired by John Keats and the richness of his language, I admire his works so much!
Among contemporary poets I love Andrea Gibson and Ocean Vuong, they had a big impact on me. Their work is fearless, intimate, and emotionally honest. They remind me that vulnerability can be one of the greatest strengths in more than just writing.
As a fantasy writer, I love books that leave you with the feeling that you’ve stepped into an old legend, where every place, every character, and every line carries a little bit of magic. That’s the atmosphere I hope to create in my own work as well in the future! I’ve been inspired by J.R.R. Talkien (duh what fantays author dosn’t love him?) forever, his love of rich descriptions and intricate world-building has definitely rubbed off on me. If I’m being honest, I have the same tendency to linger on details for pages. In recent years I’ve also fallen in love with the amazing world building and voice of Christelle Dabos, writer of the “The Mirror Visitor” series, and Alix E. Harrow with her legendary short story “The Six Deaths of the Saint” that made me completely obessed with plotwists and tales that feel ancient and mythical.
What are you working on now?
Earlier this year I finished writing my third poetry collection, which is set to be published later in 2026. I like to describe it as a mythology of womanhood: a collection of hungry, tender, and raging poems that reimagine my experiences as a woman through myth, folklore, and symbolism.
Alongside poetry I’m currently working on two very different fantasy projects. The first is a cozy fantasy novel that has been quietly growing with me for years. It’s a story that’s very close to my heart, but I know it still needs time to mature before I can fully dedicate myself to writing it. The second, the one I’m actively writing right now, is a medieval fantasy novel, an epic story of war, love, dragons, and the magic hidden within the choices we make. Strangely enough, it was this idea that reignited my passion for writing fantasy. I had been struggling to make progress on my cozy fantasy, but this story arrived almost out of nowhere and reminded me why I fell in love with the genre in the first place. Sometimes the stories we aren’t looking for are the ones that find us at exactly the right moment.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Instagram and Goodreads have been the most valuable platforms for me. I’m quite active on both, sharing updates about my writing, snippets of poetry, behind-the-scenes glimpses of my creative process, and connecting with readers who enjoy the same genres I do. One of my favorite parts of being an author is the community. I may not have a huge audience, but I’ve been lucky enough to build a small, supportive group of readers and fellow writers who genuinely care about my work. Promoting my books feels less like advertising and more like sharing my stories with people who love books as much as I do this way.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write the story that won’t leave you alone, not the one you think people want to read. Trends come and go, but genuine love for a tale always finds its way onto the page and we can tell. Don’t support AI. Don’t be afraid of taking time to actually write and read as much as you write!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Don’t always count your words or pages. Don’t reread your writing over and over, obsessing over perfection, because the most beautiful things are rarely perfect anyway.”
That advice has stayed with me ever since I first heard it. I’m the kind of person who always wants to do everything “the right way” and who has often been afraid of failure. Learning to slow down, let go of perfectionism, and simply allow myself to create, flaws and all, has been one of the hardest lessons I’ve had to learn.
What are you reading now?
Currently I’m reading “Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil”, a wonderfully quirky cozy fantasy that has been making me laugh far more often than I expected. It’s exactly the kind of book that reminds me why I love the genre, but I’m also reading “The Night Visitor” by Tasos Leivaditis, in a beautiful English translation made by a friend of mine from Greek. Leivaditis has an extraordinary way of capturing tenderness and melancholy in just a few words, and it’s been a real privilege to experience his poetry through someone who translated it with such care.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Beyond a good publication journey for my next poetry collection next year, my biggest goal is to bring my fantasy novels into the world soon. They’ve been living in my imagination for years, and I’m excited to finally give them the time and care they deserve!
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Such a cruel question! I’d say the whole Mirror Visitor saga by Christelle Dabos (it’s 4 books yay), it found me at a particularly dark time in my life, and I’ll always be grateful for it. It’s one of those rare stories that feels like coming home every time you return to it and will surely be my salvation on a desert island.
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