110: Nichola Zacher

My guest this week is Canadian author, Nichola Zacher, writer of the adventures of the Marley series of children’s books. The second instalment, ‘Marley the Dreamer’, is newly released and we learn from Nichola how it is a response to her father being diagnosed with dementia.

We discover how Nichola’s literary career started. Nichola lives in Ontario but her grandmother was born in Bournemouth, England.

In her books, Nichola draws on real life experiences from her dad’s life. She talks about how Marley touches her readers’ hearts, and we learn about the influences on her writing – love, acceptance and empathy – and how books are a good way to connect with children.

Nichola reflects on how she was able to do book signings before Covid and we learn that she used to work as an early childhood teacher. We discover that she doesn’t intend to return to that and is enjoying keeping her father’s story alive.

Nichola talks about her kind teacher from England who helped her along the way, and we find out that she always liked Mister Rogers – she loved spending her time with him every day on the television, and we learn how Nichola listens to the radio via headphones while rollerblading with Marley.

She tells us about the impact of having a dog in terms of icebreaker conversations and I ask Nichola about the role of nostalgia. She talks about what her younger self would have wanted to do, we learn about the friends she is in touch with and how Facebook helps to spread her messages of love.

Then, at the end of the interview we find out why Nichola has always been looking forward while also looking back to the memories that she shared with her father.

Please note: Opinions expressed are solely those of Chris Deacy and Nichola Zacher and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the University of Kent.