NURSING CAREER, KIDS, BOOKS — HOW DOES SHE DO IT?

ONE FOUR EIGHT

MANY people dream of writing a book, but few ever get there.

For those writing while maintaining a career and family, a single manuscript might not realistically be finished for years — if at all.

But Nicki Edwards (pictured) has written and published eight books in three years while working as an intensive care nurse and raising four children. Some might call it a juggling act, but Edwards says what she does is much more chaotic.

“What I do is I chuck all these balls really high in the air and try and catch them all one by one before any hit the ground,” the former Geelong College student said.

Her latest book, One More Song, was released on Tuesday, but she has already started work on two more.

Her endless motivation comes from the niche genre she has created by grounding her writing in what she knows — health care, romance and the country.

Edwards’ love for the country and eye for refreshing romance, matched with her medical knowledge and experience, has earned her a loyal fan base. She said this was at least partly due to real-life nursing often proving stranger than fiction.

“So many ideas flow in and I have to order them, otherwise none of them will get done,” she said.

Nursing comes first for Edwards. Despite her publishing success, she says she wouldn’t consider abandoning nursing for fulltime writing.

“I’ve always wanted to be a nurse and I haven’t come this far to leave it behind,” she said.