---
title: "‘Sometimes the universe conspires with you to make things better’ — Nicky Greenwall on her debut novel A Short Life"
description: "In this edition of #TheFlap, The Reading List spoke with Nicky Greenwall about the unexpected pleasures of the publishing process."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "#THEFLAP"
author: "The Reading List"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/the-reading-list/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-10-18-nicky-greenwall-on-her-debut-novel-a-short-life/"
published: "2024-10-18T07:00:56"
updated: "2024-10-09T23:38:05"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 604
---

# ‘Sometimes the universe conspires with you to make things better’ — Nicky Greenwall on her debut novel A Short Life

> In this edition of #TheFlap, The Reading List spoke with Nicky Greenwall about the unexpected pleasures of the publishing process.

By The Reading List · Published 18 October 2024, 09:00 SAST · Updated 10 October 2024, 01:38 SAST

## Key points
- In this edition of #TheFlap, The Reading List spoke with Nicky Greenwall about the unexpected pleasures of the publishing process.
- Nicky Greenwall's debut novel, *A Short Life*, is a suspenseful thriller that explores the fallout among friends after a mysterious death.
- The author faced challenges in revisiting her writing with fresh eyes, but was relieved by positive feedback on her surprise ending.
- Editing turned out to be unexpectedly pleasant, with her publisher providing encouraging notes rather than harsh critiques.
- Greenwall's greatest indulgence? Writing—often paired with the cozy act of "hurkle-durkle."

## Content

Nicky Greenwall is a well-known producer, entertainment journalist and former TV presenter. Her debut novel,A Short Life,is a gripping and suspenseful domestic thriller, in which conflict hits a group of friends when one of them dies in mysterious circumstances.

**The Reading List:**#TheFlap is based on the Proust Questionnaire, an infamous parlour game invented by the French writer Marcel Proust, who believed the answers would reveal a person’s true nature.

So far we’ve revealed the inner character of South African literary luminaries such as [Sihle Khumalo](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-04-17-10-questions-with-author-sihle-khumalo/), [Pamela Power](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-05-11-10-questions-with-author-pamela-power/) and [Sam Wilson](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-09-24-author-sam-wilsons-new-book-is-a-generation-spanning-thrill-ride-set-on-mars/), so you’re in good company. Let’s dig in! What were some of the unexpected challenges that came up while you were writing?

**Nicky Greenwall:**Trying to read back what I’d written while pretending to experience the words for the first time, as a reader would. I’m an impatient person so, waiting for enough time to lapse to forget what I’d written was a challenge. So far, the feedback has been that the ending was the surprise I had hoped it would be – a huge relief!

**TRL:**What was unexpectedly easy?

**Nicky Greenwall:**Editing. I had edited quite heavily before I sent the book to the publishers, but had heard horror stories about the red-pen carnage an editor would then inflict before the book went to print. Happily, my wonderful publisher-turned-editor Catriona Ross used her digital red pen to write very kind things in the margins when she enjoyed a turn of phrase. I wasn’t expecting any positivity in that part of the process.

**TRL:**What question do you think readers are going to ask you the most?

**Nicky Greenwall:**“Have you ever done what the character does in the last chapter.” The answer is “yes”.

**TRL:**What was the most difficult scene or chapter to write?

**Nicky Greenwall:**I spent a lot of time working on the last chapter. It had started out as a short story, but somehow ended up in this book. When I sent the final manuscript to the publisher I accidentally omitted the last paragraph. Turns out, it works better without it. Sometimes the universe conspires with you to make things better.

**TRL:**If you could co-author a book with anyone, living or dead, who would you choose and what would it be about?

**Nicky Greenwall:**Mike White. If not a book, then a script. Season 4, 5 and 6 of The White Lotus.

**TRL:**What’s the best music to write to?

**Nicky Greenwall:**I can’t write with any type of audio going on anywhere. Silence is the only way.

**TRL:**What’s your favourite writing spot?

**Nicky Greenwall:**My little wooden desk in my home office, facing a window where birds come and go.

**TRL:**What habit distracts you most from writing?

**Nicky Greenwall:**Making tea.

**TRL:**Which writing talent would you most like to have?

**Nicky Greenwall:**I’m not sure if writing is a talent or a discipline. Perhaps it’s both and I’d like more of both, please.

**TRL:**What books do you currently have on your bedside table?

**Nicky Greenwall:**Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar, Entitlementby Rumaan Alam, God’s Pocketby Sven Axelrad and Lifespanby David A Sinclair.

**TRL:**What books would you recommend within your genre?

**Nicky Greenwall:**Herby Harriet Lane and None Of This Is Trueby Lisa Jewell.

**TRL:**What is your greatest indulgence?

**Nicky Greenwall:**To write. And to hurkle-durkle. Sometimes I do both at the same time. **DM**

A Short Life *by Nicky Greenwall is published by Penguin Random House SA (R300). Visit*[*The Reading List*](https://readinglist.click/)*for South African book news, daily – including interviews!*