Nicki Elson's Not-So-Deep Thoughts

For Michael's Blogfest , rather than telling the fictional tale of me and my imaginary buds at Hogwarts, I thought I'd tell you about my real life Harry Potter mates---the Harry Potter Finer Things Club that started out as a trio, just like Harry, Ron, and Hermoine. In the midst of the Harry Potter Series, me, my sister, and my nephew used to huddle together at family gatherings to discuss all things Harry P.  This didn't go unnoticed by the others, and at one family party my brother claimed we'd formed our own Finer Things Club (ala The Office).  Little did he know we'd sink our grimy meat hooks into his joke and turn the "club" into a whole thing---engraved bookmarks and all. Here's a new video I made in tribute to my HPFTC mates.  If you watch, please note: a major perk of club membership is getting to taunt non-members regarding their non-membership, so sorry 'bout that.  But hey, if you can answer the initiation questions contained in t...

I got a really nice surprise last week when I found out that one of my very favorite writers has published her first novel ---and it promises to be like nothing else you've ever read. Katella's stories are filled with biting sarcasm that makes me laugh out loud every time. But her characters aren't just hilarious---they've got true depth, and Katella has a great way of revealing them layer by layer throughout the story.  And oh yeah, they're werewolves!  Here's the blurb:  Book One: An American Werewolf in Idaho (Available on Amazon Kindle) This is a novel based on the notion that it doesn’t matter what you look like, because beauty lies within the soul. Age, race, and sex are all meaningless because when it comes to being human we are all the same. Each chapter is packed with humorous themes of government control, individuality, and battles between the sexes. It tackles cultural differences and discrimination in a language that young minds can unde...

That's why I don't do it. But if there are people out there who I think might enjoy my book, then I feel it's only right to do what I can to let them know Three Daves is out there. I mean, if I don't do it, who else is going to? And if I'm joining a super awesome blog challenge to improve myself as a blogger, why, it would be selfish to not spread the word any way I can, wouldn't it? That's why I took A to Z Challenge founder Arlee Bird up on his second challenge---to get a story about the event in a local paper . Turns out it wasn't challenging at all. Arlee gives a lot of great tips for how to go about crafting an article that highlights both you and the challenge. Then it's a matter of getting it to the right place---many towns have local e-papers that allow community members to directly submit articles, or at least events. Once you've got the article written and submitted there, it's a press release you can e-mail o...

Uh, sorry anyone who's here from the link on your dashboard.  I hit the wrong button and didn't mean to publish until Monday.  The post is on self-promotion in print media (which I know is intimidating, but necessary if you want people to know you're out there, so I don't actually think it sucks, I just can't let myself think of it as self-promotion or else I won't do it.  Don't worry, this'll all make sense on Monday. ;)) -Nicki

Hey!  The amazing Jen Daiker has interviewed me at her unedited blog.  It would be tremendously fun to see you over there.  I am doubly honored because Fallen Monkey , a talented writer with an always insightful and inspiring blog, has bestowed upon me the Write Hard award (created by Aaron Polson: see rules here ). Now I get to pass it on to three more writers who I feel live up to the "write hard" spirit (i.e. writers who work at their craft, writers who never give up despite the odds, writers who constantly turn out quality work).  I give this award to:  Jen Daiker at unedited , whose blog is uber-successful for good reason.  I greatly admire her energetic and engaging posts as well as her discipline to post regularly. And all the while she's writing her own promising creative works as well as getting out there and meeting other authors both in the cyber world and at real life book signings. Jennifer DeLucy , author of Seers of Light and W...

Not feeling terribly verbose on this Daylight Savings Monday, so I think I'll let Jack Handey say it for me: I wish I would have a real tragic love affair  and get so bummed out that I'd just quit my job  and become a bum for a few years,  because I was thinking about doing that anyway. -Jack Handey    And now for more orange icons.  It's Meet an Author Monday, hosted by Cali Cheer Mom , your chance to mix & mingle with other authors.   Authors, please join, place this icon in your blog post, and hop away!  

One of the best---and most nerve-wracking---things about having a story published is knowing that friends and family members are reading it...and wondering which character is them. The truth is, even though it's fiction, as writers we draw from our reality, so it's only natural that certain physical characteristics, personality traits, and even experiences of those we know will find their way into our stories in some form.  But as I've explained over and over again, even though bits and pieces of reality make it into my stories, they're all split up and scrambled and then melded together in new ways so that none of my characters are wholly based on any one real person.  And...well...now it's confession time. There is one character in Three Daves that was written with one and only one real life person in mind. That'd be Aunt Lou, my MC's Godmother. For the part, I needed someone warm and honest and fun and with that certain je ne sais quoi that draws pe...

Any other Chuck fans out there?  Looks like the show is on the bubble for NBC's fall line-up, so if you need you some Chuck , here are a couple ways to help keep the fun and quirky show alive for another season. While you're at it, you can get this darling lambie for half price---how cute would he look in an Easter basket?    How to get a Sleep Sheep 50% off coupon   First round of voting for Hulu Best in Show (Vote for Chuck and all your other favorite TV shows) Did you miss the sleep sheep's TV debut?  Check out this clip   (I promise you'll laugh even if you don't watch the show)