Local Profile: Nancy Milby
By OCinSite At-Large | August 11, 2011 9:33 AM
“Sierra Point” author, Nancy Milby. | Photo by Ted Reckas
By Maddie Jaeger | Special to OCinSite.com
Many people know Nancy Milby as the ambitious entrepreneur who started the beloved local cooking school, Laguna Culinary Arts; however, few know about her past as a business professional or her recent undertaking of a new challenge—writing a novel. “Sierra Point,” a story about love, loss and renewal, chronicles the ups and downs of a successful businesswoman Annie Shaw and her struggle to let her guard down and let in love.
Nancy sat down with OCinSite to talk about “Sierra Point.”
OCinSite:Tell us a little bit about your book.
Nancy: Well, it’s a love story. I’m not a professional writer, and I self-published the book. This is the first time I have written a novel, but I’ve been wanting to. I picked characters and places that I knew something about … I tried to string it together into a fun story that sort of took a woman from being a high-powered professional to someone who was following her heart.
OCinSite:Is your book purely fiction, or did personal events motivate you to write this story?
Nancy: It is purely fiction … but a lot of personal events that I either experienced or witnessed made up a lot of it—from small things to big things. The places are real, but it’s all fiction.
It was a fun adventure. I like new challenges. It was a challenge to see if I could do it. … I think people will enjoy it. It’s a fun story. I travel a lot through the culinary trips that we do [at Laguna Culinary Arts]. I spend a lot of time in France and Italy. I love France, and a lot of the book takes place in the places that I love. You see these places through my eyes as I experienced them.
OCinSite: You started Laguna Culinary Arts. Was it cooking then writing, or writing then cooking? Any preference?
Nancy: Well cooking, then writing. This business was really an experiment of creating something that was fun and different in Laguna Beach.… that involved food—having fun and cooking. It’s evolved a little bit. It’s a lot different than it was originally, but I’ve always written. In my past career, I was a partner at an accounting firm, and so is my main character, although she is not me. [If I had a preference,] I would definitely write. I’m already sort of noodle-ing around with another book … a sequel to “Sierra Point.”
OCinSite: How long have you lived in Laguna?
Nancy: Thirteen years. [I love] the sense of community. It’s the most amazing community I have ever lived in. Being a local business owner, I get to meet a lot of different people and see them locally. It’s an amazing place to live. People don’t realize how lucky we are to live here.
“Sierra Point” is available electronically at Amazon.com.
