Relax and Read Book Club: This Motherless Land by Nikki May

Spabreaks.com’s Relax and Read Book Club gives you the chance to discover new books, learn about the authors, share your opinions and really escape into an inspiring world of literature.

This month we're reading This Motherless Land by Nikki May, a powerful de-colonial retelling of Mansfield Park, exploring identity, culture, race and love.

"[A] warm, engaging retelling of Mansfield Park . . . a novel that celebrates the transformative power of friendship, love and home." - Mail on Sunday

What inspired you to write this book?

Reading Mansfield Park for the umpteenth time (I adore Austen) was my jumping-off point. The idea of a girl being ripped away from everything she knows and dropped into an alien environment where she needs to prove herself, over and over, is genius. I used it as scaffolding and built a very different, personal story around it.

Can you provide a brief overview of the book's storyline or central themes?

This Motherless Land is a novel about so many things: identity, belonging and acceptance, sisterhood, grief, culture, race and forgiveness. But at its heart, it’s a story about love, just not the romantic kind. I interrogate whether love can make the difference between surviving and thriving. Although it covers many weighty themes, it’s a propulsive story, my main job as a writer is to entertain.

Do you have a favourite character in the book? If so, what makes them special to you?

That’s like asking me to choose my favourite dog! I love Funke and Liv equally, they are both still walking around in my head. I had so much fun comparing and contrasting them on the basis of simple binaries: black vs white; rich vs poor, conformist vs rebel, good mother vs bad mother.

Could you share insights into your daily writing process and routines?

I’m a lark and am most productive before noon. So when I’m writing I try to be at my desk for 7am and force myself to stay there until I’ve got 2,000 words out. They don’t have to be good words or even in the right order (most of the time they are not). The trick to writing a book is perseverance. I’m fuelled by ice coffee and Fela, my standard schnauzer, is my muse – his gentle snoring seems to help my creativity.

Who are some of your favourite authors or books, and how have they influenced your writing?

I love Agatha Christie and am convinced she taught me how to write by osmosis – I’ve read most of her books at least twice – she’s great at characters, plot and suspense. Shari Lapena, Mick Herron, Kate Atkinson and Liane Moriarty are auto-buys for me. I’m not sure if they’ve influenced my writing, I think it’s more that they inspire me to write from the heart and to trust my voice.

How does your wellness routine integrate with your writing practice, and do you make any specific adjustments during writing periods?

I keep a tube of Clarins hand cream by my desk and end my writing sessions with agood hand rub – it’s the perfect treat for tired fingers. I also try to stop every hour to have a five-minute break, gazing at the horizon is a good way to give my eyes a break. But I confess, when the words are flowing, breaks go out of the window!

Is there a particular spa treatment you enjoy, and what draws you to it?

I’m obsessed with facials. I try to have one every couple of months, and in between, I’m partial to a face pack. There’s something wonderfully indulgent about having someone else massage your face and slather you in ointments – it’s the most relaxing thing in the world. And afterward, without my glasses on, I can convince myself I look five years younger.

Lastly, what is your top tip for maintaining overall wellbeing, especially during busy times like writing and promoting a book?

Walking is mindfulness for me and luckily my two dogs insist on LOTS of walks – they don’t care about book deadlines or signing events, they want a long walk in the morning, a long walk in the evening and ideally, lots of short walks in between. It’s good for me too as most of my best ideas come on dog walks. I’ve learned to record them as voice notes straightaway before they fly out of my head.

Photo by Mike Cooper