Nicki Elson's Not-So-Deep Thoughts

I'm very excited that I now get to share a Book Birthday with an author and wonderful person whom I feel very fortunate to have met through our mutual publisher. I speak of psycho author, Jennifer Lane.  Streamline turns one-year-old this week! We're celebrating with a giveaway. Seems like Leo Scott has it all: looks, brains, and athletic talent. He's captain of his high school swim team with a bright future in college and beyond. But Leo has secrets. His mother's crippling car accident has devastated his family and left Leo to deal with his father's abuse, battered and alone. Leo's girlfriend Audrey Rose is poised for her own share of success. As one of Florida's top high school swimmers, Audrey dreams of college swimming stardom. But there's an obstacle to her glorious rise to the top. Her number one supporter--her father--is in prison for murder. Part murder mystery, part tale of young love in a military family, this gripping story takes ...

Today I'm popping the bubbly at: Cover Girls (a bit of insight into Divine Temptation 's Cover + Giveaway) Angela Felsted  (her thoughts as she reads the blurb) Bouquet of Books (Book Trailer + Giveaway) Entertaining Interests (Book Trailer + Giveaway) Omnific Publishing (Interview) Jen Lane Books (Blurb & Three Daves review) Talk Supe (Excerpt...um, not sure if it's today or later in the week) M.Pax (Friday shoutout) I'm also  celebrating at Twitter with 24 hours of #angel quotes. Feel free to pop over & add your own  or simply reTweet your faves.  Divine Temptation is now available in Paperback , Kindle  and Nook .

My answer to the final question in The Next Big Thing piqued the interest of at least one reader---Arlee Bird, Mr. Controversy himself.  And so he's invited me to his Tossing it Out blog today to talk a bit more about one of the sticky wickets in Divine Temptation (to release tomorrow!).  I'd love to get your two cents on the issue.

In a publishing world that likes to stick everything in neat little boxes, it’s easy to feel like a misfit. Especially when your books crossover between genres that are thought to be incompatible. With the impending release of my steamy romance featuring lots of spiritual elements (see the countdown on the sidebar. Ah! Is getting close!!), I’ve gone searching for others who like to push genres beyond their limits. Did you know that there’s a whole sub-genre out there known as Edgy Inspirational ? Everywhere I looked to find more information about this genre, I came across mentions of author Michelle Sutton . She’s not only got a full catalog of books that push Christian fiction to the edge, she founded the Edgy Christian Fiction Lovers  group and has been instrumental in gaining more exposure for this genre. Well, who do you go to when you have questions? The expert, right? So I was thrilled when Michelle agreed to answer a few questions for me to share here: Me:  Wha...

Yay, today's the day for another of Alex. J. Cavannaugh's famous blogfests. I'd like to thank him not only for hosting, but for keeping it simple & fun---coming up with this list and looking at posters of my most favorite movies turned out to be quite a cathartic exercise. I hope you found it to be the same (assuming you were in need of catharting). Thanks, Big Al. These are in the order of my affection for them: 1. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl 2. Raiders of the Lost Ark 3. Star Wars: A New Hope 4. When Harry Met Sally 5. Return of the Jedi 6. The Empire Strikes Back 7. Toy Story 8. Mystic Pizza 9. Goodfellas 10. Jaws  I'm allowing myself two more because I think it was really good of me to count the original Star Wars Trilogy as three separate entries: 11. Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring 12. Pirates of the Caribbean: D...

First : Happy Birthday, Albert! Second : Thank you Stephen ,   Luanne , and  Laura  for imagining and organizing this clever hop: What would you do or where would you go if you could traverse a wormhole through space or time just once? One safe round trip passage.   Third : What am I gonna do with my wormhole? Since it's only one trip, I'd go to the time and place that would best prepare me for the long haul once I returned to here and now. So I'd go to Galilee about 28 A.D. I'd jimmy the wormhole to put me near the crowd that listened to Jesus deliver the Sermon on the Mount . I wouldn't understand the language he was speaking, though he might make it so I could, but even if he didn't, I think just hearing his voice speak those crucial lessons and watching the early Christians drink them up for the very first time would drive them into my heart in a deeper, more indelible way than they ever have been before. And that would be pretty cool. :) Visi...

In case you don't already know this, Michael Di Gesu is amazing. Incredibly kind-hearted and talented. When I was handed the reins to arrange for my own cover reveal, I didn't even have to think to know that I wanted Michael to write up one of his unique, customized intros, and because I have such faith in his abilities, I wanted everyone to be introduced to the cover via his words, and so today his In Time... blog is the ONLY place you can see the Divine Temptation cover.  He gave me a sneak peek at the intro over the weekend, and as I told him, I'm stunned at how well he nailed it given only the cover and the back cover blurb to work from. Like I said, he's amazing. Please stop by his place for the Divine Temptation Cover Reveal , and help me spread the word via Twitter, Facebook or a mention on your blog.  Here are some pre-fab Tweetables to make it easier: Book cover challenge: Sexy + Angelic. The solution: http://ow.ly/iJXpl Nobody does cover reveals...

Despite my long-time crush on one Mr. Abraham Lincoln and my fondness for classic literature, I'm not terribly interested in history (unless of course we're counting the 1980s). And so all this time I thought I was a fan of Victorian Romance, when it turns out I'm not. What I like is Regency Romance. The reason I know this is because Anne Gallagher , author of my favorite new series---the Reluctant Grooms , a series of Regency Romance books---was kind enough to pardon my ignorance and explain to me the difference between the Victorian and Regency periods in a way that just might actually stick. In the hopes that I'm not the only one who has trouble making the distinction, I asked Anne if I could share her patient and very helpful response, and she gave me this awesome post. Enjoy & you're welcome.  The Difference Between the Regency Period and the Victorian Period in English History Anne Gallagher (c) 2013 Regency is a term used for the Regenc...

As I stated in the post below , my next book is going to be released very, very soon. 'Nuff said, right? My list of insecurities this month is too long to even think about much less put into words here. So I'm not going to acknowledge them on any level. I'll simply focus on the tasks I've laid out for myself in the post below until the insecurities have been zapped from existence. ...is it just me, or does anyone else get the distinct impression that I want them to visit the post below ?? The Insecure Writer's Support Group is a monthly bloghop hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh . Visit his blog for the full list of fellow insecurists .

Some of you may have noticed that I was all chit-chatty here for a while about my upcoming novel, Divine Temptation , and then... siiiiilence .  That's because we hit a snag in the editing process, and I convinced myself that I'd jinxed the book by talking about it too publicly. But I'm happy to report that it has passed on to the last phase of the pre-publication process ( tentative release date of March 26), and things are moving along well enough that I'm emerging from my vow of silence. The first exciting news is that my publisher has approved Michael Di Gesu as the exclusive host of my cover reveal! The reveal will be NEXT Monday, March 11 . Michael has begun writing the most clever and fun cover intro's so I'm absolutely thrilled about this development. The next piece of news is that I'm finally going to answer the last question in The Next Big Thing...and then I'm gonna celebrate with a giveaway!  10. What else about your book might pi...

(First paragraph modified to first person from Suze's lovely words) I'm up before dawn on a Saturday when the doorbell rings. I haven't brewed my coffee so I wonder if I imagined the sound. Plonking  the half-filled carafe in the sink, I go to the front door and cautiously swing it open. No one there. As I cast my eyes to the ground, I see a parcel addressed to me ... from me. I scoop it up and haul it inside, sensing something legitimate despite the extreme oddness of the situation. Carefully, I pry it open. Inside is a shoebox -- sent from ten years in the future -- and it's filled with items I have sent myself. Each item is contained in an envelope. Two envelopes are blank, but scrawled across one, in the eerily familiar penmanship that only I can accurately decipher, are the words: "The solution to the thing you're worrying abo...