Nell Goddin’s mystery series set in a small French village reflects her dream life.  If she can't  inhabit it in the real world, like her readers, she can live in it through her books.

Hi there I'm your host Jenny Wheeler and today Nell talks about what's so special about French village life and why indie publishing is the only way to go as far as she's concerned.

Six things you’ll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode:

What Nell loves about writing a series

How a childhood holiday sparked a life long affection

Her passion for mysteries

Why self publishing works for her

The writers she admires most

What she'd do differently second time around

Where to find Nell Goddin: 

Website: http://www.nellgoddin.com/

 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nellgoddinauthor/

 Twitter: https://twitter.com/nellgoddin

What follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.

Jenny:  But now here’s Nell. Hello there Nell and welcome to the show, it’s great to have you with us…

Nell: I'm thrilled to be here, thanks so much for inviting me!

Nell Goddin - author

Jenny:   Beginning at the beginning - was there a “Once Upon A Time” moment when you decided you wanted to write fiction?  And if there was a catalyst, what was it?

Nell: I'm one of those people who wanted to be a writer from the minute I even had any idea that grown ups had jobs. I just wanted to be a writer right from the beginning.

So I as a small child, would tuck a little notebook in my pocket and wander around the neighborhood, peering through people's windows. And the neighbors would smile and wave at me, and invite me in for a lemonade or something!

This was not what I wanted, because I was spying on them and was trying to find out the behind the scenes story. I was a big reader from early on, and really it's the only thing I've ever wanted to do. I've done other jobs, lots other jobs. I've taught for a long time, and I liked being a teacher, but writing is really for me.

Jenny: I love the picture of you as a little girl poking around the neighborhood! You're either going to be a writer or a great investigative journalist!

Nell: That's right!

Jenny:  And why choose the mystery genre - and set in a small French village?

Nell: I chose the mystery genre, because I loved mysteries since I was very young as well. I started reading Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew, and I love them. Really, when you're at a certain age, mysteries are what is most on offer. But when I got to Agatha Christie; those really blew me away. And I think one of the reasons I liked them so much was that I was an American kid, but I was getting to go to a different country while I was solving those mysteries.

I was getting to go to little English villages which I'd never seen before in my life - it was a fascinating world to me. And so when I went to write my own mystery, I thought well how can I do the same thing? I will open up a different world to people. Also as an aside, I love France so much. That I get to write and I get to imagine me living in this village, it gives me a lot of pleasure.

"I just love French village life." - Nell Goddin.

Jenny:  Tell us a bit more about your own affection for France - when did you first  fall in love with all things French?

Nell: When I was eleven, my mum took the family to Europe for the summer. So we'd never been before- she had never been before. So my father had to stay behind and work for most of the trip, but he joined us at a certain point.

We stopped in Italy first, and I was gobsmacked at how fantastic Italy was. When we got to France, it was the same thing.