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...