Nicole Dieker
Full-time freelance writer since 2012.
Author of the Larkin Day Mysteries, a cozy mystery series set in Eastern Iowa, and WHAT IT IS and WHAT TO DO NEXT, a quarterly zine about understanding reality.
About Nicole
Nicole Dieker is a writer, teacher, and musician. She began her writing career as a full-time freelancer with a focus on personal finance and habit formation; she launched her fiction career with The Biographies of Ordinary People, a definitely-not-autobiographical novel that follows three sisters from 1989 to 2016.
Currently, Dieker writes the Larkin Day Mysteries and the quarterly philosophy zine WHAT IT IS and WHAT TO DO NEXT, both of which are published through Shortwave Media. She also maintains an active freelance career; her work has appeared in Vox, Morning Brew, Lifehacker, Bankrate, Haven Life, Popular Science, and more. Dieker spent five years as writer and editor for The Billfold, a personal finance blog where people had honest conversations about money.
Dieker lives in Quincy, Illinois with the great love of her life, his piano, and their garden.
Books
The Larkin Day mysteries
A Millennial-aged amateur detective who practices old-fashioned sleuthing in a world of smartphones and social media.
WHAT IT IS and WHAT TO DO NEXT
A quarterly zine about understanding reality.
The Biographies of Ordinary People, Volume 1
A family saga that follows three sisters from 1989 to 2016.
The Biographies of Ordinary People, Volume 2
The three Gruber sisters go from childhood to adulthood.
Reviews and Praise
Get started with Larkin!
Sign up for Nicole Dieker’s monthly newsletter and read the first three chapters of Ode to Murder right now.
Teaching
Nicole Dieker teaches music, writing, and the business of freelancing. If you’d like to work one-on-one with Nicole—or if you’d like to hire Nicole to teach a class or lead a webinar—let her know!
Recent Freelance Articles
Financial planning in the new year
What can you do to make 2023 your best financial year ever?
Get ready for 2023
Something is always better than nothing when it comes to saving.
How to recover after big holiday spending
Did you overspend this holiday season? Here's some advice to help you get back on track.
How a potential recession affects housing decisions
Who should buy a house now? Who shouldn't?
Blog
Nicole doesn’t have a blog. She doesn’t do social media, either. Instead, she writes longform essays about work, life, and reality in the quarterly print zine WHAT IT IS and WHAT TO DO NEXT.
Issues are $6 each, with occasional discounted bundles.
Think of it like a Substack you can hold in your hand and read without distraction. ❤
