Dyslexic author who was “Shot, stabbed and set on fire” successfully launches debut novel.

Lincoln-based author Nick Love's debut revenge thriller, '2600 Feet Per Second', follows ex-Royal Marine Commando Chris 'Laser' Beem as his military past catches up with him in spectacular fashion. 

He talked with Jez Donaldson recently about his life, coping with rejection and the challenges of writing a novel with Dyslexia. 

Nick is a bright, talkative, 61-year-old Piscean who has spent most of his life in Lincolnshire. Born in Sleaford, he now lives in central Lincoln with Delia, his wife of almost 30 years. However, his life hasn't been the insular, rural life you might expect. Nick served for a decade as a Royal Marine Commando, with active service in Northern Ireland and The Falklands. He subsequently spent over 30 years in the Consulting and Global Services industry, where he travelled the world and, in particular, India. 

"I don't think I'm interesting, as a person. Some of the things I've done are interesting." he says, modestly. Whether it's fair to separate these features is debatable. 

Nick's military experience is the inspiration for his debut novel. Like Nick, his hero Chris Beem saw active service with Royal Marines 42 Commando division. He served in the Falklands during the Argentine invasion, and he lives in central Lincoln, with his wife. Unlike Nick, however, Chris has a young daughter, Matilda, who is a central character in the book. 

"We've no children" says Nick. "We weren't lucky enough. We did try. I love kids." 

Nick's love of family might surprise some, given his own childhood experiences. 

"My parents never liked each other. My mother refused to carry me home, the day I was born. I always felt rejected and [as a child] never felt loved.". 

His parents divorced when Nick was 8 years old. Neither parent wanted him, so his grandmother brought him up. This rejection continued throughout school, where he was underestimated by his teachers and his fellow pupils, because of his Dyslexia. 

"My report card read dismally. I achieved no academic qualifications. At school, I was called 'thick', which was hurtful, especially to someone that didn't think they were thick. I played chess at the age of five, I'd read the complete works of Shakespeare by the age of 15 and have seen all of his plays." 

"At the time, I didn't know I had Dyslexia". Back then, in the 1960s and 70s, it just wasn't recognised. Nick was 35 before he was diagnosed with the condition. "It's nothing to do with a lack of intelligence. You're number-blind or word-blind. Sentences jumble themselves in my head. I have to read everything three times." 

"Doing a cryptic crossword with me is huge fun", he jokes. 

Like the main character in his book, who spent "hours and days" alone, as part of his military role, Nick never feels lonely. "I've never felt lonely in my life, because I spent a lot of my childhood alone." 

What drove him to write the book? This goes all the way back to school. Nick went to a "provincial school, where most of the kids were from a farming background.". The school had little academic success and they didn't expect their students to be academically successful. 

"My careers adviser asked me what I thought I'd be capable of. I said 'careers adviser' and he said 'very funny, get out'. That was the extent of the careers advice I received." 

Nick left Lincoln in 1978, aged 15 3⁄₄ and joined the Royal Marines, 42 Commando, based at Bickleigh Barracks near Plymouth. "If I'd stayed in Lincolnshire, with no qualifications, I'd have become a farm labourer." 

Nick loved The Marines "and they loved me back." Tears well in Nick's eyes at this point, as he recalls the first time he felt accepted and valued. "Nobody there rejected me. They welcomed me with open arms. They even described me as 'an intelligent, articulate and very fit Marine'. Can you imagine reading that, for the first time?" 

At the age of 17, this was the first time that Nick had read anything positive about himself. 

The Marines encouraged and developed Nick, and he blossomed. They even sent him, on day release, to Exeter University where he graduated with a HND in Business, Economics and Maths. Nick loved the university experience: "I was at university with people who didn't know I was dyslexic, didn't know what a terrible school experience I'd had, but knew I was in the Royal Marines. They just loved me, because I had stories to tell, was confident - a little bit cocky perhaps." 

Nick fondly remembers his time at Exeter University as "Completely fabulous. It took me to a completely different place. It opened my eyes." 

"I've been shot, stabbed and set fire to" he says. One time, in Northern Ireland, his troupe were driving back to barracks after a long day. A group of men, on a bridge above the road, poured a lit stream of petrol onto them as they drove beneath. 

Experiences like this and having "witnessed death first-hand" while on operational duty, left Nick with PTSD. After a decade with the Marines, he left the service. 

Nick is donating 10% of the proceeds of his first novel to Veterans United Against Suicide. "Too many people with PTSD can't find their way out of it. They can't find the tunnel, never mind the light at the end of it." 

After leaving the Marines, Nick went into sales, first in life insurance, then with BT, which was "A great stepping stone into IT". Nick thrived in a sales environment, where many people struggle with rejection. "I'd been rejected most of my life, so I didn’t take it personally when someone said 'no'.". During tough times, Nick consoled himself with "Well, at least no-one is shooting at me." 

After more than 30 years in the IT and Management Consulting industries, Nick retired from full-time employment. One of his first acts was to pick up a 3D desktop game called 'Take the Tower' that he'd created shortly after leaving the Marines. He completed the design, had it put into production and it's now available online. 

He then focused on completing his novel, which he'd started almost a decade earlier. Initially, he'd have an idea - a mental image of a scene - and he'd write just one page about it. He'd show it to his wife Delia who'd say "That's great - go and write another page.". The book took ten years, from beginning to launch, "due to lack of time and lack of faith.". His sequel has taken just six months. 

Despite the similarities between Nick's life and the book's main character, Nick insists that the plot is a work of fiction. "A lot of first novels are semi-autobiographical" he says. "Unless you're like Stephen King, you have to write about something you know." Hence a lot of the technical detail in the book is real, although "Some of it doesn't exist." 

Nick has intentionally written the book using simple, short sentences, wanting it to be easy to read and to create strong images in the reader's mind. "It's been written by someone with Dyslexia who wanted people with Dyslexia to know that. There's no need to feel ashamed. You can give it a go. No matter what your challenge, there is always a way through it. I'm proof of that." 

Nick has already written the sequel and three children's books, which are currently going through the publishing process. 

For a debut novel, Nick's success at publication was astonishing. "I sent it to seven publishers and had five offers almost straight away. I didn't find it a big problem. I really didn't.". 

Nick feels that people who struggle to get books published must be sending very rough manuscripts or the subject matter is too niche. "I took a lot of time ensuring it was as well-written as possible. I even had it double-edited before submission.". Also, the genre is very popular, so the potential readership is large. "I once spoke to a guy who had written a book about the Cornfields of Idaho. He hadn't sold a single copy." 

Despite this, the publication process still took over a year. Although they're only about 40 pages long, he's been told that his children's books will take about a year and a half. "That's been hugely frustrating". 

On his aspirations for the book, Nick seems relaxed, although feels that the genre has wide appeal. He's been told, on more than one occasion, that "this would make a great film." He jokes that it would fulfil a fantasy if he were to collaborate on a film with the Director Nick Love (Director of The Sweeney, The Football Factory, and others). 

Watch this space. Nick's debut novel, "2600 Feet Per Second" was published in January 2023 by Olympia Publishers. It is available on Amazon. More information is available at https://nicklovebooks.com/

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Shorter version of this article was published by Lincolnshire Today in March 2023.

© Jez Donaldson Feb 2023