Piper Nuelle

Welcome back to my blog and also welcome to a new mini-series that I am hoping to do on my blog which is… Author Interviews… This is basically an interview with an author, asking certain questions about them, their books, their characters, their writing processes etc. I want it to be a platform where more authors can spread the word about their books and masterpieces. Being an author in this modern world is so hard, you need to be able to shout the loudest to be seen or heard, you need to advertise like there is no tomorrow and you need exposure. If people cannot see your books, then they have no idea they are there. So not only will this help me and my blog, I am hoping it will help other budding authors too gain a few more followers, or a few more readers and potential book sales.

So, let’s begin by welcoming my first ever official author interviewee – Mercedes Prunty Author…

And just a sneak little Tidd Bit, Mercedes is one of my friends that I met when I moved to Eastbourne and she also helped me to edit, proof read and publish my upcoming book ‘Death’s Carousel’, which will be live to buy as of the 19th August 2025!!! So not only is she an author herself, but she can now put ‘Publisher, editor and proof reader’ on her bookish CV!!!

Picture above is of Mercedes Prunty and fellow author Martin Link, who both sold books at a local book fair.

Piper – Hi Mercedes, welcome and thanks for taking the time to answer some questions.

Mercedes – No, thank you for having me.

Piper – Ok, so let’s dive right in shall we… So, when was it you first started writing?

Mercedes – I have always written. Like many writers and authors I began writing at a very young age. I was always writing short stories and novel ideas as a child and drawing my characters. I can’t fully pin point a true age I began, but I do know it was when I was very young.

Piper – And what was the first book you wrote and published?

Mercedes – My first ever book that I wrote and Self-Published was ‘The Keeper of the Key’. I had been on maternity leave with my youngest, and I would quite often sit round my nan and grandads house for some much needed company, it was there I would watch documentaries with my grandad. This one documentary he was watching was all about Peru and this so called hidden gate and it spurred this idea within me.

Piper – What made you choose Self-Publishing over Traditional?

Mercedes – I had sent it off to a few agents and publishers and I had a couple of rejections, I planned on sending it off for more queries, but my husband had been in a terrible accident, he had been run over in a hit and run, so over night I pretty much became not only a mum to two babies, but a full time carer for him. So, I had this book just sitting there and no time to be sending out queries. Between my kids, caring, writing and working, I just had no extra time for finding an agent or publisher, and I read in a magazine about Self-Publishing. Back then it wasn’t ‘Kindle Create’, it was ‘Createspace’. So, I researched how to do it all and let my book baby out into the world.

Piper – How did you find the Self-Publishing world?

Mercedes – Very hard but also quite rewarding. It so was great to see my books as real books that I could hold in my hands, and Self-Publishing gave me so much creative control. The only downside was… I was very young and I didn’t have a lot of help and knowledge. I did all the editing myself, the proof reading, the cover design, the marketing. In hindsight I should have got myself an editor or at least some Beta readers to read through and check for mistakes, but I didn’t fully understand the etiquette back then, and with my husband also out of action and becoming disabled due to his injuries, we also had no money to spare for editing or marketing. But in saying that, my books didn’t do too bad considering and I went on to write and Self-Publish about seven books.

Piper – Have you ever thought about re-publishing them?

Mercedes – I have, and maybe one day I will. But at the moment I am happy helping others to achieve their dreams with books and have actually turned to the more editing side and publishing and marketing.

Piper – Yes, yes… I know that for sure. You certainly helped me so much with mine with editing and publishing / self-publishing. What things have you done to make it so your skills are better now for editing, publishing, marketing etc?

Mercedes – Well… There is a company called ‘The Centre of Excellence’, and they do some amazing courses. I signed up to quite a few to help me, such as;

• Proofreading and editing
• Successful Self-Publishing
• Novel Writing
• Introduction to English Literature

And there are so many more. But these are the ones that helped me to become better at writing and editing. I also took some online courses which other author’s were holding where they shared their knowledge and skills. I tried to let go of my fear and find Beta readers to help and I studied the market like mad. As an author you can never stop learning, the market is always changing and you need to be flexible with your approach. Back when I first started I relied heavily on Facebook and my Facebook Author page to hold special online author events. That is not really a thing as much anymore for some niches etc. But other techniques such as; Paid Ad’s, Leaflets, Social Media platforms, blogging, and so on are just some of the ways to try and promote.

Piper – Do you have a favourite book that you have written so far?

Mercedes – I like all my books, obviously. But if I had to choose, my favourite book would have to be ‘Alone’, and its subsequent sequels ‘Lone and One’. I have always been obsessed with Zombie Horror and I wrote this book at a time when I was actually, properly obsessed with a video game called ‘The Last of Us’. But I based this zombie horror in the UK and had the infection start from Acid Rain… I also made the main character get infected but the infection mutates within her. She becomes an outcast, but watches over a local camp where people she cares about reside. She can also control a sect of zombies that have mutated the same as her, but she becomes almost like the Alpha. The books that come after Alone follow the main character still as she fights off other mutated zombies and half zombie, half human hybrids, but also, she has to prevent the destruction of the world, the world that is slowly healing from the outbreak. The next books in that series are Lone and One, which if you look closely all stem from the word ‘Alone’… I just simply took a letter away to make the next book title… Alone, Lone and One.

Piper – Do you have anything in the pipeline? Any works in progress?

Mercedes – Not currently for myself. I have obviously helped you. And I am helping someone to publish a book of poetry later this year, but I am also doing a university degree, so with helping others and university I don’t have much time for my own writing … But that’s not to say I won’t ever…

Piper – Have you ever had anything Traditionally Published or has it all been Self-Published?

Mercedes – I once had a short horror story ‘Traditionally Published’ in a horror anthology. I entered a competition and my book was chosen to be included within it, which was so exciting. I don’t think you can buy it brand new anymore but you might be able to grab a copy second-hand, but the book was called, ’12 Days of Christmas – Hammered Horror – By Kensington Gore’. My story was about someone with the surname Partridge (Like Partridge in a Pear tree) and Good ole Saint Nick was actually a monster that hunted down people with the names associated with the Christmas Rhyme. It was weird, but we were all challenge to write a piece based on a certain Christmas Rhyme or theme… It was so fun and really tested my skills.

Piper – Do you have any advice for any budding authors out there?

Mercedes – Yeah, just keep writing, and don’t let anyone put a dampener on it. If the people around you are not being your biggest supporters, then you are around the wrong people. I had it a lot when I first started out where people got jealous, wouldn’t read or review my book, told me it should be them not me doing something cool with their life, that self-publishing is not real publishing, that it is so easy to write a book anyone can do it! I had so many people try to dampen my spirit and put me down that I actually stopped writing for a long, long, long time… To the point I gave up on my books and just left them in the void that is the internet. I honestly would just say, never give up, grow a thick skin, if people are putting you down or don’t support you then they are not the right people to be around and to go easy on yourself. You cannot please everyone.

Piper – Well thank you Mercedes for coming by and having this quick little Author Interview with us.

Mercedes – Thanks for having me and good luck for your upcoming book release on the 19th…

Piper – Thank you so much for all your help too, I am so, super excited!!!

Also if anyone wishes to check out Mercedes and her books. Here is a list of her books and then a link to Amazon as to where you can find them;

• Alone
• Lone
• One
• The Keeper of the Key
• The Amoeba from the Ash
• Junia
• BunnyMoo

Amazon.co.uk : mercedes prunty

I will hopefully doing more ‘Author Interviews’ in the future… But if you are a budding author and would like to take part in an Author interview then please feel free to email me on Pipernuelle@gmail.com or via my WordPress query email or by commenting your email address on this blog post.

Many thanks guys for reading, take care,

Xo Piper Xo