Nicki Elson's Not-So-Deep Thoughts

Welcome to Blogfest 2012, hosted by A Journey of Books .  It's all about hopping from blog to blog to widen your circle and WIN PRIZES! Since September is Back-to-School month, I though it would be appropriate to help you build your library - the prize at my place is a collection of Omnific eBooks by authors whom I've featured here: Contemporary Romance: Indivisible by Jessica McQuinn Three Daves  by Yours Truly With Good Behavior by Jennifer Lane Paranormal Romance: Seers of Light by Jennifer DeLucy The Guardian's Wildchild by Feather Stone Young Adult Paranormal Romance: Breaking Point by Jess Bowen To enter to win the collection, simply take the one-question "Pop Quiz" in the Rafflecopter below (the tweeting & following are optional but will earn you extra credit). a Rafflecopter giveaway Now, to keep this blogfest moving, please visit these awesome blogsters who are also hosting giveaways: Kelly's Lucky Y...

This is the third installment of The Next Big Thing.  To see what it's all about, see my first post on TNBT and let me know if you're in so that I can link to you on my future posts. My answers pertain to my upcoming novel Divine Temptation , to be released by Omnific Publishing in early 2013.  (This week I'm posting on Wednesday instead of Thursday because tomorrow I'll be getting ready for Blogfest 2012 .) Question #3:  What genre does your book fall under? Paranormal Romance.   Also, I think Women's Fiction would apply. Christian Lit is pushing it (as I don't believe in fading to black ), but the story does have Biblical elements.  It's slightly Suspense too. This is a departure from the Chick Litty feel of my first novel, Three Daves . What can I say? I don't write from a marketing perspective---I write the story I want to tell and that's not going to line up neatly into a consistent genre. But as I said in the press release:  Wh...

This is the 2nd installment of THE NEXT BIG THING, a blog challenge in which we answer 10 questions about our current works in progress. The challenge was started by  Gail Baugniet , and the idea is to answer one question each week and by that point have our WIPs moved on to the next phase. I'm basing my answers on my upcoming novel, Divine Temptation (due out from Omnific Publishing in early 2013). By the end of the 10 weeks I hope to have  it through the meatiest part of the editing process. You can play along by either answering this week's question in the comments below or posting your answers at your own blog. See my first post on TNBT for the full set of questions.  Right then, ready for the second question? Where did the idea come from for the book? If I recall correctly...I was in the midst of reading too many Young Adult paranormal novels, and I thought it would be interesting to instead see how an adult woman---an experienced, mature, responsible,...

Welcome to the Genre Favorites Blogfest , hosted by the illustrious AJC .  Today we're going to fess up to our favorite genre in 3 categories plus a guilty pleasure.  Here are mine: Movies My gut answer is classic Romantic Comedy,  like When Harry Met Sally , Four Weddings and a Funeral , and Notting Hill . But if we consult my favorite movies ever: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Pirates of the Caribbean (all of them), and Star Wars IV,V & VI , we can't ignore my thirst for Adventure .   Music Come on, who are you talking to here?  The answer to that would be 80s Alternative , like the Cure, Madness, INXS, The Clash, REM, etc, etc. etc, though I'm liking lots of current alternative bands as well, like Stone Sour, Hollywood Undead and Egypt Central Books Fantasy , with The Hobbit , all the Harry Potters, and  The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe  being among my all time favorites. But I'm also a sucker for a Classic Rom...

Cover reveals might just be my most favorite part of the whole publishing biz, and today I get to host my very first. And it's extra cool because its for the awesome YA author, Trisha Wolfe, who you might know from her debut novel earlier this year: Destiny's Fire . Right then, shall I stop babbling and show you the cover already? Fireblood: Fireblood #1 By  Trisha Wolfe Release Date: 2013 From Spencer Hill Press To save a kingdom, Zara must choose between a prince who could be the answer and a rising rebellion that threatens to take control. When Zara Dane is chosen to marry Prince Sebastian Hart, son of the man who ordered her father’s capture, Zara knows she must fight to save everything she loves from ruin. Being betrothed to the prince means a life trapped behind the towering stone walls of the Camelot-forged realm. Under the watchful eye of the prince's first knight, Sir Devlan Capra, changing her future becomes difficult. When an unlikely rebel...

I've been tagged by  Jennifer Lane  in THE NEXT BIG THING blog challenge to answer 10 questions about my current work in progress. The challenge was started by  Gail Baugniet , and the idea is to answer one question each week and by that point have your WIP moved on to the next phase. I'll base my answers on my novel that was recently accepted for publication by Omnific Publishing.  By the end of the 10 weeks I hope to have  it through the meatiest part of the editing process.  Okay, first question... 1. What is the working title of your book? Divine Temptation How does that strike you?  This one didn't come easy for me. Do you remember way back when I first started thinking of titles and threw out  three (horrible) options ?  With the help of a few friends & experts, we came up with this one and I like it much, much better, and I hope you do too.    Apparently I'm not the only author to have trouble picking a title. ...

In my past year of blogging, I've been tickled (pretty in) pink to discover that other authors I've met here have also set their books in the 80s.   Susan Oolier , Karen Gowen , and Elliot Grace to name a few.  And then this summer I finally got to devour two popular books I'd been wanting to read and guess what---1980s, that's what! And so I've been inspired to create my very first Listopia at Goodreads in which I include books that have been written this millennium and set at least partially in the 80s.  Please  check it out and add more titles or at least vote for your favorites among those already listed. Thanks! 80s Flashback (Current Books with 1980s Settings)

For this month's meeting of the Insecure Writers Support Group (thanks, Alex!), I'd like to ask a question: Do you think swag---as in bookmarks, character trading cards, coffee mugs, magents, anything you can imagine with the image of a book cover slapped onto it---really helps sell a book? I have a pretty firm opinion on this but that doesn't mean it's accurate, so I'd like to get yours.  Let's do it this way---I'll tell you my views on the topic and then you tell me where you agree/disagree, okay? Right, so I think an author should be continuously armed with a set of attractive business cards (possibly in the form of a bookmark) that gives basic info. on the book, web address & contact info. I also think an occasional coffee mug or some such as a prize is fun, but beyond that I don't think all the swag in the world makes a bit of difference.  It might if every other author wasn't also pimping their books in the same way, because you...