Past Ovens College student Nicole Kelly (née O’Callaghan) is set to release her second novel 'Shifters' in June with Hawkeye Publishing.

Unlike her first novel 'Lament', a reimagining of the Kelly Gang set in the North East, Shifters takes its middle-grade readers to Kyoto, Japan.

The idea for a novel aimed at younger readers arose when her seven-year-old daughter showed interest in reading Lament.

As a compromise, Nicole told her daughter she would write a book her daughter could read.

“I wanted to write a novel with adventure and fantasy, but also one that was accessible for children who have felt alone or excited about finding a new friend, which are central themes in Shifters," she said.

After almost 20 years of teaching in Victoria, Nicole finds that writing comes in bursts.

“Writing is something that I enjoy doing," she said.

"I am lucky that by teaching as well, I don’t have to put pressure on my writing.

"Projects can take a little longer, but I get to write what I’m passionate about and the stories which speak to me.”

Shifters follows Emily, a young girl from Melbourne who moves to Japan with her father.

Nothing feels familiar – she doesn’t speak the language, she doesn’t understand the culture, and she’s never felt more alone.

But everything changes in Kyoto when she meets Koji, a boy with a mysterious connection to the spirit world.

As ancient magic stirs and dark forces begin to close in, Emily is drawn into a hidden world of shapeshifters and secrets.

Nicole studied Japanese at Ovens College through to year 12 and travelled to Japan for the first time at 16 with her father, where Nicole's life-long love of the country, culture and its language was born.

After completing her Diploma Modern Languages in Japanese, she was able to teach the language in a number of local primary schools.

After almost two decades of teaching, changing lanes into being a language teacher was refreshing and so enjoyable.

Having a love for the country and the language meant she could instil a curiosity in the students she taught.

She was lucky enough to travel to Japan twice with her two children and they were as mesmerised by the beauty and unique culture of Japan as she was.

She saw their faces light up when they climbed Fushimi Inari in the early morning and ate ice cream in the evening heat alongside the Kamogawa River with beautiful lights as night fell.

Nicole hopes Shifters not only exposes children to some Japanese customs and language, but inspires them to become readers and travellers.

She also said being with a local, woman-led publishing house was a wonderful experience as a first-time author, having initiated a contract with the company after Lament was selected as a runner-up in the Hawkeye Publishing manuscript prize.

When she had completed writing Shifters, Nicole sent it in to Hawkeye for them to read and they were keen to publish it.

“Establishing networks with other writers, publishers and editors is a really important part of writing,” Nicole said.

“Supporting each other, buying books locally and championing the writing of others is crucial.”

Shifters can be pre-ordered with the publisher at https://hawkeyebooks.com.au/collections/nicole-kelly/products/shifters .

You can follow Nicole’s writing journey on Instagram @ruralvicwriter.