Nicki Elson's Not-So-Deep Thoughts

On this New Year's Eve, there is extra excitement in the air with the release of Debra Anastasia's sequel to Poughkeepsie , a   romance novel different than any other that has attracted a large and passionate fan base. Here's what you're in for in Return to Poughkeepsie : Beckett Taylor is a murderer. His calling, his craft are destruction and intimidation—whether he wants it that way now or not. He left Poughkeepsie to keep his brothers safe, to keep Eve safe. Set up with happy lives to live, they’re better off without him, right? But all his willpower crumbles when he hears his brother Blake’s frantic voice on the phone. An unknown enemy has moved in on his old territory, and Livia’s been taken. In an instant, Beckett knows it will take an attack only he and Eve can execute to bring her back. All his self-imposed embargoes are torn to shreds, perhaps along with the new man he’s struggled to become. “Brother, call Eve. I’ll be there soon.” ...

Thank you Mark Koopmans  for coming up with this wonderful Christmas-time hop . For my 50 States of Pray contribution (representing Illinois), I'm combining something I learned this year with a hope for next year. What I learned: Rahab, the harlot of Joshua 2 fame is the very same Rahab listed in Jesus' family tree ( Matthew 1:5 ).  Yes, Jesus' great great etc. grandmother was a prostitute. Why this is fabulous:  Because it shows that Christianity isn't just for the squeaky-clean. Christ came for everyone,  and not one single person on this Earth is beyond redemption. What more evidence do you need than that God chose a prostitute to stand in the line of His only son? My hope: That in the coming year, we open our hearts and minds even more to the true message of Christ and do what we can to help each other along on our paths to redemption. Find more hopes & reflections at the Linky list at Mark's place .  Merry , merry Christmas ! ! ! ...

Abby Reynolds is burned out. Since clawing her way into a great position at a Boston museum, she’s been saddled with a scheming intern and a nagging boss. She’s scuttled her own painting dreams, her cat refuses to be box trained, and now the most boring man on the eastern seaboard just told her, “It’s not you, it’s me." Her bestie Sarah offers a much-needed escape: a summer of sand, sea, and younger men in Santa Cruz... Hot young bike racer Jason is sexy, unattached, and completely ready to spend a summer in uncomplicated flirtation. Since Abby has decided love is off the table, he seems like the perfect match.Then she meets Matt. Sculptor, surfer (and age appropriate), he’s everything she gave up wanting and then some. He’s a grown-ass man with his own life issues. Abby has to decide whether she’s satisfied with leaving behind the idea of Mr. Right and settling for Mr. Right Now.Grown up love. It’s complicated. AMAZON * BARNES & NOBLE * GOODREADS I love tha...

Today is the Cheersfest for one of the blogosphere's favorite and hardest working fellas----king of the A to Z Challenge, the one, the only (I hope)...(wait, was that out loud?) Mistah Arlee Bird!!! This superfun blogfest is brought to you by  Mark Koopmans,   Morgan Shamy ,  David Powers King ,  Stephen Tremp , and The  Ninja Captain  himself. Visit any and all of these bloggers for the full list of Festers.  Please allow me to tell you a little bit about Arlee... Why did Lee come up with the A-Z Challenge? I believe he made it up as a colossal joke that we all fell for. If someone dreams about being a juggler, what does it mean? It means that he has the balls to dream big. Is a post by Mr. Bird worth two in the bush?  Um, I have to take a pass on this one. Way waaay too many inappropriate responses popping into my head. Who could play Lee in a documentary? (Living or dead.)  I think only...

[You can find my entry for Lexa & Julie's Dream Destinations Hop here . ] Last week I told you about a 1,000 Posts Giveaway that Janie Junebug is doing, and now I'm going to make it even easier for you to enter by including the Rafflecopter here. The biggest thing Janie hopes to accomplish through this giveaway is to round up 80 birthday cards to send to her mother-in-law, Margaret, on her 80th birthday. You can learn more about this fantastic lady here . When you send a card, you'll earn 10 entries in the giveaway (though I know your real motivation is simply to be the kind person that you are). The cards have started coming in, but time is ticking and 80 is a big goal, so if you can, please send a card for Margaret to: Janie Goltz PO Box 61371 Jacksonville FL 32236 To SWAY you further, after you mail the card, e-mail me at elson.nicki@gmail.com with subject heading: "I sent a card to Janie" and I'll send you a free digital copy...

We're celebrating the release of Julie Flanders' The Ghosts of Aquinnah   and Lexa Cain's  Soul Cutter   with a Dreams Destinations blog hop. Aaand Lexa & Julie are hosting a great GIVEAWAY.  Visit either Lexa's blog or Julie's blog to enter and also to find the Linky list so you can travel to more dream destinations. It was unbelievably difficult for me to settle on just one place. I decided to make it somewhere I'd never been before...and then I decided to stop over thinking and just pick a place already...and I landed at Piazza San Marco in Venezia, or as we call it for some reason, Venice. (Does anyone know why we don't all call it Venezia?) I would stroll the square, sidestepping pigeons and saying buongiorno to people whose eyes met mine, not worrying about my sorry accent. I would have tickets for that evening's opera in my pocket and a caffe-flavored gelato in my hand. I'd be wearing a darling scarf I'd just purchased, arr...

It's the first Wednesday of the month, time for another round of posts for the Insecure Writer's Support Group , founded by Alex J. Cavannaugh . Click on either of those links to see whassup with other insecure writers. The malfunction I'm having this months is...technology. One of the reasons I chose to set Three Daves in the 1980s was because I didn't want to have to deal with modern technology. So that novel is purposely dated. But my WIP is set in current times, and I'd rather not have it feel out of date for at least a decade or so, but at the rate technology is advancing, I'm afraid the manuscript might become technologically obsolete before I even finish the second draft. I dealt with this issue in Divine Temptation  by minimizing the use of technology and keeping any references very general, but this new one is an office romance, so it's not quite as easy to avoid. I've got the MC using a laptop to pull up spreadsheets and update a PowerPoin...

# 1: My knightly prizes arrived! Thank you, thank you, M.Pax for your generosity and for hosting this most awesome joust. I'm extra excited to dive into The Renaissance of Hetty Locklear AND to wear my steampunk knight pin by Dire Steampunk . In the spirit of giving I'll let the kiddos have the chocolate...really! #2 The sassy, sweet & sexy Janie Junebug is hosting a great giveaway of books, gift cards, T-shirts & editing !  And because she's such a giver, she's giving bonus points for anyone who contributes a birthday card for a special person who's celebrating a BIG birthday.  #3 It's here - the  Black Friday Extavaganza!!!  Enter to win one of four $50 Amazon Gift Cards by following authors of these fabulous books. Laura Howard has been the amazing ringmaster of this event, and you can visit her blog to enter. Also, if you're on Facebook, be sure to stop by  the event page  for additional Black Friday giveaways all day lon...

Sing it with me... We are the champions, my frie-ends, we'll keep on fightin' 'til the end...  Or if you like it 2005 World Champion White Sox style... Don't stop believin' ...  But you know who says it best? YOU! Your faithful cheers and poetry and songs not only made my day every single day last week, they took us straight to the top. Thank You! And thanks for your comments on the animaknights featured here---I'm so happy everyone enjoyed them as much as I did. Let's let the Fallen Monkey say it for all of us, eh? This was her 3-part Joust comment on Friday: I sought a soothsayer to divine Lady Elson’s fate, and what she had to say was great! “Gather three vine leaves with spots,” said she, “as the first of which you must bring to me..." “Next fetch me twenty rodents’ toes, and you will ease Lady Elson’s woes. But not before you bring of thine that which you hold most divine…” “But Lady Elson is whom I hold divine!” ...

I've be dying to share this clever cat with you. Isn't it freaky? And it turns out Lady Elson just may be the dark knight of this joust---I had no expectations of getting this close to the lead; I just didn't want to show up with nothin'---but yesterday we closed the gap to 6 votes!!! So I humbly ask, if thee hath energy left for one last push, get thee to the final joust and cheer Lady Elson , Divine , and Three . Each cheerer will be allowed to leave three comments, earning a total of 9 points, if it be not too much trouble... Let us make the other knights  Feel the forsooth*! (*quoted from Sir Chris Fries , who spoke Medieyoda yesterday The prizes at today's Joust are:  ebook copy of either Being Human or Snapshots by Patricia Lynne A signed paperback of choice by M. Pax CD of Czech Fairy Tales by Dennis Strachota $25 Amazon Giftcard from  Kimberly Afe Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for making this week so funneth!

The force is strong with my loyal cheering section! My goblet overflows with gratitude. Today's peanut gallery is open here  if ye be not too hoarse to shout another round of Lady Elson , Divine & Three .  A simple sentence will do, but below you'll see two knaves true, who hath taken their service to the extreme. In yesterday's cheers,  Sir Chris Fries  hath created his his own language I call it Medieghties: Like wow and forsooth! Methinks it would be most totally gnarly if Lady ELSON were to win this rad and regal joust. Fair Dudette, I’d be quite enchanted and all like, “Wow! How un-bogusly DIVINE and huzzah-ish!” Verily, I would refrain gagging myself with a spoon at least THREE times by the morrow, lest I miss the bitchin’ merriment that would ensue! If ye be the kind to start you day with a song, be enchanted by  Lady Jennifer Lane 's seranade: She’s a Lady Whoa-oh-oh She’s a Lady Lady Elson is fine She’s damn near di...

Aww, dost though think yon squirrel is verily stuffed into yon suit of armor? The Joust continues at the fair M.Pax's blog , so if ye be so inclined, pray thee go thither , my lords and ladies, and speakest these good words (cheering open until 8pm EST): Lady Elson * Three * Divine   Ugh. You have NO idea how long it took me to write that. Every time I try to talk Medieval, it comes out all piratey...or drunk Irish. So now I revert to 80s-speak: I, like, totally appreciate all the awesome comments you're leaving at the Joust. You guys are cracking me up! Totally. Don't forget, your way cool comments at the Joust  get you entered to win prizes. Cool beans, right? Today's awesome prizes are: ebook copy of either NeverLove or The All Fall Down by Angela Brown $25 Amazon gift card from Melanie Schulz copy of The Newstead Project by Melanie Schulz Medieval Poison   80s Poison

I found exactly five adorable pictures of animals all knighted up, which means you can expect one each day of the Realms Faire & Joust . Here's a link to today's post , where you have until 8pm EST to cheer for the knights. I just realized that Lady Elson counts as one of my words, so, if you'd like to cheer for me, simply leave a comment at M. Pax's daily post using any combo of these words: Lady Elson *  Three * Divine If you're not sure what to say, here are some of the comments that made me smile big yesterday. Cutting and pasting is not against the rules. ;) This is Three times Divine Divine things come in threes ! Huzzah for the divine Lady Nicki Elson . Three cheers for her quest and what-not…Hip, hip huzzah! The tale of Lady Elson is indeed most divine , with her daring-do against the Daves a- three ! Thank you, thank you for helping this Lady to not feel like a loser. Your comments at the Joust get you entered to ...

The Realms Faire and Joust, a blogstravaganza hosted by M. Pax and lots of other great bloggers, has begun, and this wayward knight needs your help!  I'm precariously perched on a pony with a reaallllly long stick in my hand, and I have no idea what to do with it. You can keep me from getting pummeled by getting thee to the daily Joust and leaving a comment that includes the words " three " and " divine ". When you leave a comment at M.Pax's post by 8pm EST, you'll be automatically entered to win that day's prize package. The joust is going on all week with a new prize each day. I'm one of Monday's featured knights (with a little story about how Lady Elson came to be ), so Monday's prize includes a choice of eBooks from both me and Mary Waibel as well as what you see below (a ngel wing earrings,  set of 4 chalice charms &  beaded angel wing bookmark) : Huzzah! And thank you. Also, happy Veterans Day!  Where would we be wit...

My mind went running in so many directions for this month's  Insecure Writer's Support Group  , but in the end, I think I'll piggyback on Crystal Collier's post about keeping the faith , which I'm so happy I didn't miss (thanks to D.L.'s Blog Blitz ). You can go ahead and read that first. I'll wait. Oh good, you came back. :) You see, I live my life based on the cues I get along the way. I tend to not ask a lot of questions when making life choices; a gut instinct is generally good enough for me. The danger in living on instinct, however, is that the Good Guy isn't the only one trying to get through to me. Lesser forces are whispering to us all. the. time. and it's often difficult to know the difference. Sometimes I go skipping off down the wrong path, at times get pretty far along it, but at some point I've always hit a wall of resistance---and it grows barbs when I try smashing through it. That's how I know I've been listening t...

First up, check out this super cool cover for Jay Noel's Dragonfly Warrior. It'll be released on January 6 Dragonfly Warrior Blurb: The Mechanica Wars : Savage Machines Are Afoot...  At the age of twenty, Kanze Zenjiro's bloody footprints mark the bodies of those who stood in his way to protect the throne of Nihon. Now, the tyrannical Iberian Empire is bent on destroying his kingdom, and they send their steam-powered giants and iron spiders against him.  Zen embarks on a quest that takes him on the most dangerous journey of his life. To succeed, Zen must live up to his nickname, the  Dragonfly Warrior , and kill all his enemies with only a sword and a pair of six-guns. He is called upon to somehow survive a test of faith and loyalty in a world so cruel and merciless, it borders on madness. Book Information : Dragonfly Warrior is a steampunk adventure like no other. It's a dynamic mix of Asian and European mythology, the Wild West, martial arts, traditional f...

Now that's what I call a treat. :)  Made extra special because it was sent to me by the absolutely fantabulous Girl Wizard, or as you may call her, Suze at Subliminal Coffee . One of my goals in this life is to see David in person---sans the bag, of course. I was soooo very close once, but planes and trains didn't cooperate, so I was stranded in a darling string of villages on the Ligurian Sea *sigh* (poor, poor me, right). But until I finally meet him, this lovely card will get me through. Also, apologies for not being around your places of late---October has pretty much wiped the floor with me schedule-wise, but I have high hopes for a lighter November.  Praise God I'm not doing NaNo! But right now, I must rush off to the next disaster. Oh, but before I go---my words have been assigned for the Realms Faire  to be held at M. Pax's place November 11-15. The magic words are  Divine and Three, get used to saying them. ;) You can click here to see the super aw...

Today I get to tell you about something very cool. Author Debra Anastasia and all the people at Omnific Publishing who worked on her just-released novella, Late Night with Andres , did it as a labor of love so that 100% of the proceeds generated from sales of the book can be donated to assist in the battle against breast cancer. I haven't read the story yet, but I know Debra well enough to know anyone who reads it is in for a wild, hilarious ride.  Here's the linkage: Late Night with Andres at Amazon Late Night with Andres at Goodreads Deb's monstrous giveaway of books, goodies & gift cards   (plus a teaser & book trailer) Rising-star blogger Milla Kierce knows she's arrived when she sees the swag basket in her dressing room on the night of her late-night television debut. But before she can bite into the muffin that symbolizes her success, gunfire echoes through the TV studio. She's just hidden herself (mostly in plain sight) when the do...

Today I welcome author Isis Rushdan , who is celebrating release week of Protector of the Flame the sequel to Kindred of the Fallen . Congratulations, Isis! During her busy, busy time, Isis stopped by to answer a few questions for me. Here's our mini-interview: Me: You have such an interesting background with joining the U.S. Army right out of high school, moving on to be an officer in the U.S. Air Force, and then continuing in the Armed Forces in the reserves. What I'd love to know is whether any of your experiences in the Armed Forces have made their way into your writing and how. Isis: The sense of camaraderie I felt around other troops and the immediate bond whenever I’ve relocated has definitely translated into my Kindred series. The Kindred species I created are all connected through a tragic history and when they’re within proximity also by their energy streams if they so desire. Duty and honor play crucial roles for the warriors as well. Something I com...

From November 11-15, I shall be known as Lady Elson, a knight in M. Pax's annual Realms Faire & Joust . It's totally like cosplay...on the internet! To win the joust (or at least put up a respectable fight) I need loyal blogger friends to visit M's blog throughout the week of the Faire and use my Word of Valor (TBA)---that's where you come in... Your comments will get you entered to win tons of  PRIZES  at M's blog, and I'm offering up a BONUS PRIZE to my knaves (prize to be revealed in my first e-mail). I'm dangerously close to unvirtualling the cosplay and putting together an actual costume, so who knows---you may also get to see Lady Elson, herself. If you sign up to be one of my knaves, you'll receive an e-mail prior to Nov. 11 letting you know my Word of Valor, and then I'll send an e-mail each morning during the week of the fair (Nov. 11-15) with an easy-peasy link to that day's post where you can leave a comment using my Word of...

Welcome to Spooktacular 2013 , a massive giveaway hop hosted by I am a Reader, not a Writer . Each and every blog in the hop features a giveaway with a minimum value of $10. I have a treat for everyone! Through Halloween Hans & Greta, a Twisted Zombie/Fairy Tale Novella   will be specially priced at only 99 cents on Kindle. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! (If you don't have a Kindle, you can download free reading apps for your phone, tablet or computer right here .) TRICK OR TREAT? HANS & GRETA IS A BIT OF BOTH. Only 99 cents ON KINDLE FOR A LIMITED TIME You can also enter my Spooktacular giveaway below. The prize is a $10 Amazon Gift Card (or Barnes & Noble, if you prefer) plus an eBook of your choice of one of my novels. Choose either flirty New Adult chick lit  Three Daves  or contemporary Adult supernatural romance Divine Temptation .    a Rafflecopter giveaway