WPS 2026 Day 20: Nicole Herron

Wonderland Pride Spotlight Day 20: Nicole Herron

Welcome to day 20 of the 2026 Wonderland Pride Spotlight! This is my way to help champion LGBTQ+ books and authors this Pride month! Today I am interviewing Nicole Herron. Be sure to check out my Instagram for even more excitement with this event!

Nicole Herron's LGBTQ+ Release

• Quest to Valadin

The Interview

1. Are you LGBTQ+? If so, how?

" Ally: mother of one non-binary pansexual and one aro/ace teenager"

2. What rep do your books have?

"Asexual/demiromantic, gay, and lesbian"

3. If you were to write in a different genre, what would it be?

"Prior to starting the current series I had been working on a middle grade fantasy based on Aesop's Fables. I had just left my job as an elementary librarian and had two fifth graders at home, so it was what I was immersed in at the time. One day I'll go back to it, but for now, I feel the need to reach an older audience."

4. What is your biggest writing inspiration?

"I have always loved reading and my tastes change constantly. For my Quest Therapy series, the concept started as a desire for accurate represent of social anxiety in literature. I wanted to show that it was possible to have friends and do the things that scare you, even with social anxiety. I incorporated the tools I'd learned from therapy into an RPG system because I believe in the power of story in all its forms to influence one's mental state. I tell people that writing Quest to Valadin was my effort to therapize myself.

I did not set out to write LGBTQ+ fiction. It just evolved as the story unfolded. My kids are both queer and it is important to me to show the world that they are people, just like anyone, with struggles and victories the same as you or me. It felt completely natural to incorporate that into a story involving mental health."

5. Anything exciting for you on the horizon?

"I'm currently working on Book Two for the series and I'm hoping to have it out by the end of the year. This one will dive deeper into the LGBTQ+ community."

6. Who is a queer figure you look up to?

"That's a tough one to answer. If we're talking public figure, I love Chris Colfer for so many reasons. Not only is he a fantastic performer and singer, but his children's books are so good and filled with subtle advocacy. 

But truthfully, it's the queer individuals in my life that continue to show up in the world, even with the constant media push to erase them. My kids, the lesbian couples I know from church, the queer adoptive parent that fights for her trans daughter, the writer friends I've met throughout my journey, my good friend and brave politician R. Kirk McPike... The list goes on. The world is a better place because they're in it and I will defend that until my last breath."

Outro

I adore this excuse to conduct little author interviews! Happy Pride everyone! Stay tuned tomorrow for another amazing indie author and their LGBTQ+ releases!