Nicki Elson's Not-So-Deep Thoughts

Let this post also serve as my Shelfie for Tara Tyler & Co . It's hard to see, but writer freinds' books are next to my head. Bobbing head dolls & classics on top shelf Book I'm reading by Erik Reichenbach, former Survivor I'm doing it! For the longest time I've been wanting to start a Survivor blog, and...well, I'm not doing that , but I'm starting up a Friday feature here in which I spew my take on the week's episode. As you see, I'm calling it "A Day Late & a Million $$ Short" because #1: I'll be posting a day later than most Survivor pontificators, and #2: I obviously can't win the cool mil until Probst finally breaks down and casts me. If you're a regular visitor to my blog and you don't watch Survivor, please don't feel bad about bailing on the DLM$S posts (look at that---it's already an acronym!). I'm going to write these posts as if readers have watched the episode, so if you're n...

Today is the newest of Alex J. Cavannaugh 's famous & fun blogfests: Underrated Treasures , in which we tell you about movies, books, TV shows and/or songs that don't get the attention we think they deserve. I'm sure no one will be surprised that my underrated treasure dates back to the 1980s. The Big Picture  (1989) fell victim to the Hollywood politics it pokes fun at and was only in theaters in limited release before going to video. According to IMDb , it had a box office take of a measly $117,000. The movie is about a promising film school graduate (Kevin Bacon) who is seduced by Hollywood's ways and doesn't see the big picture until everything falls apart. It's got a good message for creative types who hope to make it big one day, but mostly I like it for it's sarcastic, quirky humor. Martin Short , anyone? It's been a long time since I've actually watched the movie, yet I think about it often and still make The   Big Picture  references...

Today is the Big C Blogfest created by Michael Di Gesu and Melissa Bradley , who is currently laughing in the face of cancer as she gets treatments and kicks the nasty disease's bum. The funny and uplifting stories told today will be put together in an eBook to help Melissa offset her medical costs and also to benefit Gilda's Club Chicago , an organization that helps women fight endometrial, cervical, and ovarian cancer. "Snow Treatment" My family was struck by the big C earlier this year when my father was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. The man never smoked a day in his life and felt great and healthy, so when the doctor saw something strange in Dad's routine bloodwork and scheduled him for an X-ray of his lungs, we thought nothing of it. When they saw that his lung was surrounded by fluid and wanted to do a CT scan, it was like a small slap in the face. When the results came back and the bottom of the X-ray showed several "nodes" on his o...

I was invited to Settler, OR by M. Pax to celebrate the launch of her  Rifters Series . I've learned much about the beautiful and unusual town of Settler since my initial visit and will learn even more now that I've downloaded The Rifters for FREE onto my Kindle , but on my first visit, I was a little,,,eh...let's say, naive. Here's what happened... The helicopter spins a whirl of dust all around me as it takes off. Grinding the granules between my teeth and spitting out what I can, I take a look around at where the whirlybird has brought me. It's pretty here---gorgeous mountain peaks all around, lots of serene nature. Lot's and lots and lots of nature, as a matter of fact. But no bachelor in sight. Oh, excuse me, no "settler" in sight. Several weeks ago, I was contacted by M. Pax ---great name for a Hollywood producer, right? She asked if I'd be interested in coming to Settler. I'd naturally presumed it was a twist on The Bachelor . ...

Welcome to the September 2014 edition---which also marks the THREE YEAR anniversary---of Insecure Writers Support Group , brainchild of the one and clonely Alex J. Cavannaugh  (thank you, Ninja Master!). We've lamented more than once during our monthly meetings about the scariness of releasing our literary babies into the world and the fear of what reactions we might get. I won't have to face those fears full-on for a few more months with my upcoming novel , but as it makes its way through the publication process, the time has come to give my family a few more details beyond my "oh, it's just a silly office romance" copout. Today I thought it would be fun to share their reactions with you. The first two sentences of the book's summary should clue you in to why sharing the deets with my family was a somewhat stomach-churning prospect for this mild-mannered suburban mama:  Lyssa Bates doesn’t need a man. Not when the world is fully-stocked with double A batt...