Nicki Elson's Not-So-Deep Thoughts

There's all kinds of advice out there, but here's what I want to know---what do YOU want to know about the authors that you read or are thinking about reading? Is it important to you where they grew up and where they currently live? Do you want to know about their family?  Their pets? What about their education? Do you like to know a little, a lot, or only those details pertinent to their writings? What about their actual writing?  Do you care to know why they like to write and what they like to write? Would you be interested in learning something about their writing process or how they began writing? What is the most interesting detail you remember ever reading in an author bio? What kind of author bio details make your eyes glaze over? Your help in this matter will be ever so much appreciated.

It's blog hop time!  Your chance to meet and interact with new authors and discover great new reads.  All you have to do is select any of the fabulous authors at the bottom of this post and hop to their blog (or click the image above to visit our host, Cali Cheer Mom ).  When you're done there, look for our "Meet the Author" icon to hop to another. If you are a published author or have a book under contract, we'd love for you to join the hop by entering your name and blog url into the Linky tool. Then, every Monday create a blog post with our icon and the blog hop Linky tool in it so our members can keep on hoppin'! ~.~.~ Right then, while you're here, I'd love to get a little input from avid readers and writers.  It seems I'm continuously learning about new places where authors should have a presence in the form of an author profile or account. There are the big daddies: Author website , Blogger , Wordpress , Facebook and Twitter . But he...

Nothing can ever go completely smoothly, can it?  For example, a couple weeks ago I felt like the queen of the small but lovely kingdom of Batavia, Illinois. Three Daves was on the shelves at the public library, an article about the book was to be published in one of the local papers, and I had a reading scheduled at a downtown coffee shop.  I was on the cusp of ruling the world, right? Well... I went on-line to gaze at my book title in the library's catalog (yeah, I do that sometimes) and it's not there!  Turns out the one and only copy was either lost or damaged and so had to be removed.  No problem, a new book would be purchased and I could soon return to my gazing, right?  Right!?!  Not so easy.  Or so I was told by the women at every single desk in the building.  Apparently there are some highly reclusive and protected individuals that make that decision and I was completely denied any access to them or comfort of any sort.  Ah, but...

I'm so excited to be a part of Meet an Author Monday blog hop!  Its a fun and easy way for readers to find and get to know new authors. Here's how it works: For readers:   Follow the Meet an author Monday host ( Cali Cheer Mom ) along with any of the wonderfully talented authors on the list at the bottom of this post . The purpose of the hop is to meet "new to you" authors and discover great new reads. Follow as many authors as you can. Leave a comment and introduce yourself! We're all happy to chat and get to know our readers. You're the reason we write! For writers: If you have a book under contract or for sale, join the hop by entering your name and blog url into the Linky tool.  Then you can grab our super cute button and place it in a post. This enables others who are participating in the hop to comment as they explore your blog. If you'd like to share the Linky list in a post on your blog, just follow the link and grab the code....

I always think it's cool when a story extends beyond the pages it's written on.  When it becomes more than a book; it becomes an experience . Like Harry Potter. It was about the story, but it was also about so much more. People didn't just show up at the store for the book release, they showed up in full wizard garb, declaring their House. They wanted to immerse in the atmosphere. It wasn't enough for me to simply read the seventh and final book of the Harry Potter series.  Oh no, I put on my son's Gryffindor robe and Harry glasses while reading.  I told my family it was because I kept getting interrupted and that was my signal for them to leave me alone, i.e. Respect the Robe.  But really...I just wanted to wear it. I wanted the full experience. I was ecstatic when I showed up to local book club meetings to discuss Three Daves and found that they'd immersed!  At one they'd pulled out the 80s fashions---Izod, Keds, Sigma Chi-wear---and had my 80s New ...