A Slice of Cake With... Eunice Nascimento

This week I am delighted to be having a slice of cake with fellow indie author Eunice Nascimento. 

Born in Mozambique, Eunice discovered and fell in love with books at the age of fifteen after settling in the UK. Twenty years on - after working as an admin team leader, a HLTA and in various customer service roles - she wrote her first short story which was shortlisted for her local town’s Arts Council Pen to Print Competition and kickstarted her writing career. Eunice’s heart-warming collection of short stories Smile Again and the first book in her Felton Ridge Firefighter novelette series – Love by Chance – are now available on Amazon. When she’s not fixing her characters’ love lives, Eunice is usually dancing salsa, watching movies or reading.

What kind of books do you write?

All my stories have a happy ending or a sense of hope, a new beginning and are always character driven. Usually, the main protagonists find love whether they are looking for it or not but a lot of the short stories I write are about friendship, family and self-discovery. 

Can you describe your writing why?

I enjoy writing my own happy endings. I love exploring how experiences we lived through in our formative and young adult years affect the way we interact with people, especially where romantic relationships are concerned. I guess I like working out why people are the way they are and writing fiction affords me an opportunity to do just that.

Share with us your favourite passage from the book you enjoyed writing the most.

One of my favourite sections from a story I wrote is a passage from my short story Memories of Kessingland Beach published in my short story collection Smile Again:

The earliest visit I remember was as clear in my mind as a midsummer sky. It was during a hot, sweltering summer when the beach was teeming with holidaymakers. I was about six, going through my orange phase – everything from my swimming costume to my sunhat, even my spade and bucket were orange – when I first walked on this beach with Dad, Mum and Matt. I fell in love with it.

After making a sandcastle fit for a king Matt had plastered on his irresistible smile and looked up at Dad. “Can we please make you a lying statue?”

Dad had laughed. “You mean bury me in sand, don’t you?”

Mum had looked alarmed at the idea. She enjoyed looking at the sea and sitting in the sun but she wasn’t crazy about getting sand on herself. She was sitting in an old fitted sheet which she’d laid out with our cool box and bags on the corners. She’d then pulled the corners up and made a sand free area for herself.

“Why don’t you make another sandcastle?” She’d asked.

“We’ve done that Mummy.” Matt had answered with a long-suffering sigh. “Look!” He pointed to a family a few feet away from us “You lie on the floor and we cover you with sand. You’ll look just like a statue and Mummy, you can take a picture. It’ll be fun.”

“Can we do it daddy?” I’d asked excitedly, adding my voice to Matt’s. 

Dad had winked at Mum, at least he’d tried to but it came out all wrong. He’d never learned to wink properly but for some reason his silly winks always made Mum smile. 

“Okay,” Mum said, “But don’t let any sand get in Daddy’s eyes or hair.”

Tell us about your latest project

My latest publication is Love by Chance, the first eBook in a series of novelettes about the firefighters of a small fictional town. It’s a contemporary romance about finding love in the most unexpected of places. It’s available on Amazon. I’m also pulling my hairs out waiting for feedback from beta readers on my debut novel, a contemporary romance that explores the effects of bullying during childhood in adult relationships. The book is due to be published next year.   

What is your favourite cake?

I adore cake so I have a few favourites. However, if I was going to the moon for a while and was forced to take only one slice of cake, I’d take homemade chocolate sponge layered and covered with a heavy dose of chocolate buttercream. My mouth is watering just writing about it. Yum!

Yum indeed! I do love a good chocolate cake - this one from The Great British Bake Off should fit the bill. 

You can keep in touch with Eunice on her Facebook page - Eunice Nascimento Writes and follow her on Amazon to keep up to date with new releases.

Join me next week when I will be having a slice of cake with indie author Lyra Shanti, grilling them gently about their writing life and of course sharing their favourite cake.

If you would like to take part in A Slice of Cake With... please fill in the form found here. I'd be delighted to have you.

Claire Buss is a multi-genre writer and poet, completely addicted to cake. Find all her books on Amazon. Join the discussion in her Facebook group Buss's Book Stop.