Nicki Elson's Not-So-Deep Thoughts

Yay! I'm so excited that I got to ask my favorite authorly question to a whole bunch of the fabulous authors with stories in the brand new  Hero Lost anthology. Here is your awesome Hero Lost playlist: The Question: If you had to pick one song that best captures the essence of your story in the Hero Lost anthology, what song would you choose and why? Jen Chandler The song I would pick that best sums up the essence of my story would have to be Sarah McLaughlin's song "Building a Mystery" . When I first got the idea for "Mysteries of Death and Life", that song crept into my mind and never left. Honestly, the story that came to me was a lot darker than the one I wrote. I'd love to really dive deep one day, find the darker essence of my characters and their stories. Alas, word counts require condensing. Perhaps there's a novella here waiting to be written one day? Renee Cheung “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas is probably a good embodiment of “Me...

Hey, fellow insecure writers. How's it going? My writing lately is mostly for the quarterly newsletter I write for my day job - but hey, writing is writing, right? And since space in the newsletter is limited and I have a LOT to cover in it, I get great practice at making every single word count. But it keeps me too busy, so this month I'll move right into the optional IWSG question: What is the weirdest/coolest thing you ever had to research for your story? Well, if you've read the blurb for my latest release , I ... uh ... yeaaah, forget that one. I'm gonna go in a different direction here. I'd say the weirdest research I've done for a story was to identify a tasteless poison that could be easily disguised on something like, oh, say ... Smarties. Want one?   This post is part of the monthly blog hop/therapy session known as  Insecure Writer's Support Group , founded by the one and clonely  Alex J. Cavanaugh . Click below to join the grou...

Welcome to the latest giveaway hop hosted by The Mommy Island & The Kids Did It . What's a great way to spend a rainy day? Why, curled up with a good book, of course! So the giveaway at my blog today is a $5 Amazon gift card. You'll find lots of great books there. ;) From now until Friday, April 21, you can download my chick lit/romance When It Hits You absolutely FREE at Amazon . What is it about rain that sparks the imagination? I'm not usually flowery with my writing, but while pulling excerpts from my newest series , I noticed that introducing rain into a scene seems to inspire fantasy-like imagery. Below are three excerpts to show you what I mean: Rainy Day Excerpt from WHEN IT HITS YOU Lyssa lay on the high, overstuffed bed with the blankets clutched to her chin, her heart thudding against her ribs. Pounding rain had started twenty minutes earlier, waking her from a light sleep. Every few minutes, an electric show of lights glittere...

The Insecure Writers Support Group has started a Book Club at Goodreads! The club is all about honing our craft as writers, so visit the page to learn more and join. The 2017 A to Z Challenge is on - good luck to all of those participating!  This month's optional question for the IWSG is:  Have you taken advantage of the annual A to Z Challenge in terms of marketing, networking, publicity for your book? What were the results? I'm not participating in A to Z this year since I knew I couldn't commit to daily blog visits, but I've had great fun completing the challenge in the past. I have to be honest and say that I've never looked at A to Z as a marketing opportunity for my books or even as publicity to increase my blog following. I just did it because it was fun. I usually think it's a blessing to not take myself too seriously, but the flip side of that is I often don't take myself seriously enough, and I know that holds me back from achieving all that...

  Score Big during the $250 March Madness Cash giveaway where you have the option of choosing between $250 PayPal Cash OR an Amazon E-Gift Card! This event was organized by The Kids Did It & The Mommy Island and sponsored by the awesome bloggers, authors, and Etsy shop owners listed below! Give some love to the March Madness sponsors and follow them on social media: March Madness Sponsors: The Kids Did It The Mommy Island Zombie Parenting Healthy Happy Thrifty Family   Parenting Healthy   Easy Enter Sweepstakes   Savvy Sweeper's Tidbits   Mom To Grandma   Home Jobs By Mom   Krazy Kat Freebies   PaulaMS' Giveaways,  Reviews, & Freebies   bookroomreviews   MajorLeagueMommy   Author Mary Ting   Misadventures with Andi   Nicki Elson's Not-so-deep Thoughts   Miss Molly Says Confessions of a Frugal Mind   Hip Mama's Place   FROG Reviews and Rambli...

I'm so excited to feature Cathrina Constantine's brand new release, Incense and Peppermints!  Incense and Peppermints Cathrina Constantine Publication date: March 10th 2017 Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult Peace demonstrations, sit-ins, and burning the U.S. flag following the escalation of the Vietnam War are leading to a catalyst known to the world as the Sixties, and a musical revolution, flower power, hippies, marijuana, and drugs are carrying the generations—young and old—into a new decade. All the while sixteen-year-old Mary Monroe is caught between being an innocent good girl and an autumn of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll.   When her brother offers a solution to her dilemma in the form of a little pill, Mary ignores the rumba in her brain and takes a walk on the wild side. Plunged into popularity and a life she’s only imagined, she meets Michael Covington, the hot newcomer, and she’s instantly drawn in by his less than flawless exterior and bad boy...

I swear I've had my latest insecurity picked out for the last month - and then I go and almost miss this month's meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group. I guess it's not all that surprising, though, seeing as my insecurity is that I've become awash in an utter lack of discipline when it comes to writing. I've declared 2017 to be a Year of Writing for me - as in, a year of writing, writing, writing without a thought to the tasks that go into publishing. I'm, SO excited to go back into the writing bubble...it's just that I seem to have trouble getting myself in there. All of February has passed and all I've got is a rough outline of a novel and a first draft of a first chapter plus a few paragraphs into a second chapter. My fear is that without any set deadlines, I won't make progress. So here's a deadline - entire first draft written by the end of September. No probs, right? How do you keep yourself on task without a hard deadlin...