Nicki Elson's Not-So-Deep Thoughts

Congrats to Debra Anastasia on the release of THE REVENGER! As you'll see, it's a different kind of superhero story. I dare you not to be intrigued after this blurb, trailer & a short excerpt... The real hero of this story is dead. You should have met him. He was a beautiful man. The love of my life. I didn’t deserve him. Now what’s left are the jagged edges of the person I am without him, and what I have to do to get by. This isn’t even a story about love. Not really. It’s a twisted tale of revenge and hate—a happily never after. The only man in my life now is the one I have to kill. I’m Savvy Raine. I used to be a wife. I used to be a mother. Now I am the Revenger. Excerpt “What the hell are you?” He searched frantically for the door latch, his panic making him oblivious to the open top of the Jeep above him. He didn’t deserve an answer, and he wouldn’t get one. Only in her head would she respond. She pulled him from the backseat and held him aloft...

Congrats to author Aria Glazki! Yesterday was the re-release of her debut novel, MENDING HEARTSTRINGS! Here she is to give us a little more insight into the book (you'll be positively shocked by the question I asked her ... or maybe not.) Take it away, Aria... When we were discussing my visit here on her site, the lovely Nicki Elson asked me to name one song that captures the essence of Mending Heartstrings . While I can't quite do that, because a book usually runs through far more emotions than one song does—especially a book with a musician!—there is one song that absolutely always brings to mind the first chapter and how these two first meet. Sabella and Kane meet when she's on a research trip to Nashville. They literally bump into each other at a bar, and at first the brief introduction that follows seems like that will be that. But Kane's charm and a few drinks and the beauty of the city at night keep drawing out the time they spend together until they ev...

Holy schmoly, January's already over and we're barreling ahead straight through 2016. But my fear of time is more appropriate for a different kind of therapy group. Today we're talking writing. Last fall I faced something that, upon reflection, I think very well had the potential to cripple me as a writer. I dug into my original novel with an aim to make a few changes (you can get the full scoop in my January newsletter ), and while I was in there, I figured I'd clean out some adverbs & whatnot. But what I found inside was much, much worse. I'm one of those writers who doesn't read her books once they're out in the world. I know it'll only cause itchy fingers to tweak more. After a whirlwind editing process on this particular novel, all I'd ever read were small excerpts pulled for promo. With the full manuscript cut open and once again in front of me, I saw not only excessive adverbage; I found way too many dialogue tags and repetition in the...

Congratulations to Aria Glazki on the upcoming re-release of MENDING HEARTSTRINGS. The fun begins with the reveal of the brand new cover. Mending Heartstrings Cover Reveal The long-awaited release of the gorgeous new cover for Mending Heartstrings is here! What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments, and don't forget to enter the giveaway! Cover design: Christa Holland at Paper & Sage Publication date: February 9, 2016 Kane’s a country singer who’s tangled with too many deceitful women. He’s learned his lesson: girls are for flirting and fun; emotions are for his music. But after spending a night with an earnest woman unlike any he’s known, he can’t force her out of his mind. So he goes in search of the woman he knows only as “Elle.” On her last night in Nashville, the staunchly pragmatic Sabella found herself in a situation more suited to a romance novel than reality. Swept away, she ignored her rigidly self-imposed rules, succumbing to the fantasy...

I go into the new year with big plans and tempered expectations. It's quite nice to have reached this stage of maturity in the publishing biz. This year I'm finally, finally going to keep my writing life focused on where it should've been all along---on writing. As I said in a previous IWSG post , I believe a book's commercial success all comes down to: 1) compelling story, 2) appealing cover/blurb/premise, 3) the right timing, and 4) magic. I only have control over the first two, so that's where I'll focus my efforts. If 3 & 4 don't come through for me---or if I get 1 & 2 wrong---I'll no longer waste time and energy in a scramble to build a false fire under my books with a bevvy of online promotions as kindling. You know what I'll do, instead? I'll write something else. Not because I buy into the theory that  more books automatically lead to more success, but because I like writing. It makes me happy. And every time I do it, I get b...

It's happened. My obsession with the 31st season of CBS's Survivor ( Survivor Second Chance: Cambodia ) has spilled into a playlist. This has to be my all-time favorite collection of final seven players. Below is my tribute to them---with a theme song for each player at this point in the game, plus a bonus for all those who've been voted out.    (File this post under: What Happens When Nicki Cleans Her House. My imagination has too much time to play and usually ends up stuck somewhere completely unproductive...is how I became a writer in the first place.) The order of songs isn't random, I've ranked the players by who I think has the best chance of making it to final tribal AND winning the whole shebang. I explan my choices below. Even if you don't watch Survivor , I hope you enjoy the playlist .  #1 Spencer - " Levitate "   I've admittedly been in the young lad's corner since before he set foot on the beach, but he's playi...

Today's meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group coincides with the release of a writer friend's book. Not just any writer friend--- Jennifer Lane has become one of my best writer friends. Not only is she an invaluable critique partner, she's a safe place to vent and an infallible voice of reason. She's a big reason insecurity doesn't keep me down for long. My Christmas wish for all of you insecure writers out there is for you to have your very own Jennifer Lane. :) The other thing about her is---she writes great books! Her new release. Aced , is the 2nd in her Blocked series, which I've found to be a fresh approach to New Adult. Below is my review at Goodreads . If you've already read Aced , get your review up on Amazon today and you'll automatically be entered to win a $25 gift card.  Join today's  Facebook Party   w ith  o ver 25 authors (including me from 5-5:30pm EST) and prizes. Jennifer lets us in on the musical inspira...