Tapout: Interview with Nicole Disney

Happy Friday! Today, we bring you a lovely interview with Nicole Disney, author of new sapphic sport romance Tapout. We asked about Nicole's inspiration, the characters, but also about her interesting range of jobs and her experience with publishing.

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Thank you for joining us, Nicole! Could you start by introducing yourself?

Of course! Thanks so much for having me. I’m a lifelong writer and spend most of my time on sapphic novels and literary short stories. Across all my work, I’m always trying to open the closed doors of the world and see the pieces of our lives and our selves we often hide. I love centering strong women, tackling gritty subjects, and keeping the tension high, sexual and otherwise ;)

We would love to know more about Tapout and what inspired you to write it!

I’ve been a martial artist my entire life. It’s my other lifelong passion. It has made me who I am in so many ways. So, I decided to write a novel that was a celebration and merger of my two favorite things – writing and martial arts. It was called The Clinch, and it turned out people really loved that book. I never planned to write a series/follow up. To be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of that in romance. However, people made it very clear they weren’t done with the world I created in The Clinch, and neither was I. I wasn’t interested in a rerun of the same story or conflicts, and knew I could only do this if I had something new to show. That’s what you see in Tapout. Where The Clinch covers the height of a career at the championship level, Tapout shows the struggle to break in at all. The Clinch focuses on the legitimized sport of MMA, televised and embraced worldwide. Tapout goes into its raw, unregulated scene in underground, backyard organizations. The Clinch shows mastery. Tapout, discovery. The Clinch shows a champion. Tapout, an underdog. I loved being able to show another side to this world and hopefully round out another aspect of it.

What drew you to sapphic sports romance, and what do you love most about writing (or reading) stories in this genre?

I love writing action scenes. I think characters reveal their deepest selves in conflict and in motion. Because the struggles involved in falling in love and intimacy are mostly internal ones, I think one of the challenges in writing romance is to not let the story become a series of disembodied conversations and musings where setting and plot become optional. Grounding the story in something as physical as a sport is just one answer to this problem, but it’s a great one because it hands you so many opportunities. Dreams, struggle, wins, losses, injuries, ambition, identity, humility. The list goes on and on. It’s a fantastic stage for characters to discover who they are and what really matters to them. I’m drawn specifically to extreme sports because it takes that amazing list and adds dire stakes. That’s the kind of story I like to both read and write.

Do you have any favourite tropes as a reader, and do any make an appearance in your book?

It took me quite a while to start thinking in terms of tropes as a reader. I’m actually still chasing down a sampling of a lot of them because I never selected books that way in the past. As a writer, I think more in terms of theme than trope, but of course they show up naturally. If I had to pick one that I enjoy consistently, it’s probably rivals and/or enemies to lovers. I attribute that to the fact that I enjoy a lot of conflict, tension, and pace. That has to show up in enemies to lovers, and I enjoy the emotional distance the book has to cover to be successful. You see me take that on in The Clinch. Second chance romances, while different, can sometimes capture the same rhythm because they’re often not on great terms in the beginning (“enemies”). You can see me take that on in Hers to Protect. It’s easier to see a pattern in my work through theme, though. The cost of ambition, found family, redemption, loyalty v betrayal, sacrifice v self. You can find most of these in most of my work.

Can you tell us a little bit about your characters? Which, if any, do you identify with most and why? 

Absolutely. The story is told in first person from the perspective of Laila Moretti, who was a secondary character in The Clinch and the best friend of the reigning UFC champion. That means she’s spent years in the shadows quietly building her skills and dreaming. We pick up on her story as she comes on the verge of breaking through, only to lose in devastating fashion. Laila is loyal, funny, flirty, and impulsive. She’s beloved, but struggles to be taken seriously by her family, friends, and even herself. I found her to be a blast to write, deeply endearing, sometimes frustrating, but impossible not to root for.

Harlow Hayes is the owner and organizer of the underground fight promotion called The Yard. She’s ambitious, grounded, confident, and always capable. What you don’t know at first sight is that she also has a heart of gold, complete commitment to her family, and is generous in a position where many would not be. She isn’t the blood merchant many would assume, but a person with a vision who wants more for herself, her family, her fighters, and ultimately, for Laila.

I think writers can’t help but put a piece of themselves into any character they’re trying to understand and build. It’s all coming from our own weird minds, so we’ll always make an appearance. I relate to Laila’s imposter syndrome at times and her “to be or not to be” journey of questioning her place and purpose. The way she has to reconcile her inner world of not feeling like a born fighter with a lifetime of training that “should” make her feel real, yet doesn’t. However, overall, my demeanor and personality is closer to Harlow’s. Harlow struggles less with impulsiveness and emotional flares and more with an at all costs attitude toward success that can land her in situations that are hard to walk back. There’s a forward momentum to her life that she doesn’t feel in charge of, and her journey is about reclaiming ownership.

And which characters do you hope your readers will connect with the most and why?

I hope readers find a connection with all of my characters in one way or another. I think strong secondary characters are what make a story three-dimensional, the kind of consuming that makes you sad you have to leave their world. That said, of course the main characters are the most important, and in a first person story like this, it’s essential people connect to Laila. Beyond the obvious that you have to enjoy living in her head, as a beloved secondary character from The Clinch, it was really important to me to do her justice as she gets fully fleshed out in her own story. Often, secondary characters get to be a little more eccentric or wild, so to take someone like that out of a smaller role and center them can be a challenge. I wanted to honor Laila’s quirks from The Clinch while also showing what that means over the scope of someone’s life in Tapout. Harlow is probably a little easier to swoon over as she’s charismatic, strong, and sexy. You’re also not inside her head, so you don’t hear all her impulses and insecurities. Those characters always get to maintain a little mystery. In first person, it comes with the territory that your main character’s flaws are very on display, but it’s my hope that people will enjoy that Laila is a little messy and embrace her journey.

Have you come across any challenges while writing or publishing this book? How have you overcome them?

My biggest challenge with this book was really on the front end simply deciding whether or not to even do it. I was hesitant to turn a romance into a series, even though they both stand alone. The Clinch was so well received, in some ways it felt like a green light, but in others, I was afraid to ruin a good thing. Figuring out how to honor the world I’d built without recycling it. Figuring out how to turn a secondary character into a main one in a way that maintains the core but builds it out. Revisiting old characters without disturbing their happy ending. There was also quite a bit of pressure simply trying to match or outdo what was my best work to date knowing there would be a direct comparison. So it turned out to have a whole new mental component. I suppose I dealt with it by finally fully committing, and by letting all the things I felt like I didn’t get to cover in The Clinch be my guide.

You have several books out now. Is there anything that keeps surprising you during the publishing process? 

The process itself is pretty predictable to me now, both in terms of what I know my publisher wants and needs and my own personal process. The one thing I can say stays mysterious and a little mystical is that my relationship with every book I write is unique. There are certain states you’ll revisit when the story is either flowing or stalled, but each book pulls from a different space inside me. I get to know a new version of myself each time I write a book. It feels a lot like connecting with a new person. You can feel almost instantly if there’s a bond there, but you have to go through the process of getting to know them and experiencing them to understand the lessons they have to teach you and the place they’ll hold in your heart.

What’s something that inspires you on a day to day basis? And where do you go when you need to be pulled out from a writing slump?

New people and experiences inspire me. I think by definition you can’t keep going to the same well for inspiration in perpetuity. Inspiration is the recognition of something new. Someone once told me writer’s block isn’t real, your cup is just empty, and I live by that now. I think as writers, we picture our craft happening in notebooks and at desks, but that’s not where the magic happens. That’s transcription. Capture. The real writing happens through living. 

You worked as a 911 operator, police dispatcher, and martial arts instructor, which is a unique collection of jobs. Are you using any of the knowledge learned on these jobs in your writing?

All of those jobs have made a direct appearance in one story or another. Hers to Protect was inspired by my job as a police dispatcher when I saw my ex-girlfriend call in an emergency, and I was responsible for sending help to her. It was simply the seed that started a chain of what ifs and ultimately ended in Hers to Protect. My experience in the martial arts world as an instructor, student, and competitor, all show up in The Clinch and Tapout. Being an artist surviving in the gig economy resulted in Exposure. A very real disregard for all things HR whilst dating my boss found its way into Secrets on the Clock. All of my work is fiction, but all of my life is up for grabs in service of it. I try to take a seed of truth, something I know absolutely, however small, and set it free in my imagination.

We’d love a hint about what readers can expect from you next! What are you currently working on?

I actually just turned in a draft last night! I’m so excited about it. It’s called Everything That Falls, and it was a beautiful, elevated writing experience. In the high alpine, a free solo climber chasing transcendence and a ranger sworn to protect are forced to navigate the brutal edge between survival and surrender— and the fragile trust that might save them both. I’ve been absolutely consumed with this story for months. I feel lost waking up today and not having it to work on anymore, but I’ll be so happy to see it move into the next steps of production.

Our podcast focuses on media we’re currently loving. Are there any books, shows, movies, or games you’re enjoying at the moment? Any recommendations for our audience? Bonus points if it includes sapphics!

I took a hiatus from reading anything sapphic while I was writing, which is a normal part of my process. Now that I’m done drafting, there are a ton of stories I can’t wait to dive into. I can tell you before I stepped away I was on a Haley Cass and J.J. Arias kick, and I’ve been watching Orphan Black. It’s fantastic, and you do get a little sapphic offshoot :) 

About the Author

Nicole Disney is an award-winning author who writes about the secrets hidden beneath the ordinary world. From gritty contemporary fiction to romance and adventure, her stories are driven by survival—emotional, physical, and everything in between. Her novels center fierce women forging connection and meaning in unforgiving places. She lives for high-stakes stories, quiet triumphs, and the courage it takes to survive what others don’t see.