Nicole R. Locker's Blog, page 16
June 4, 2016
A Few Chapters Left #Amwriting Second Thoughts
It's the weekend once again, when I dedicate some time to writing in my latest book. As of today, I only have a little over three chapters to go to finish Second Thoughts, the second book in the First Impressions series.
I am pretty excited at how this book is turning out so far. As a female, it was a little difficult for me to get into a male-mindset to be able to write this book from my character Dylan's perspective. Once I was able to channel Dylan, it started to just flow, and it was like Dylan's personality started coming through on its own.
One of the overlying themes to this second book is that, there are two sides to every story. In First Impressions , Zia tells the story as it happened from her own account. In Second Thoughts, Dylan is telling the same story from his own account. What does this mean? It means there will be characters introduced that were not in Zia's story. It means there will be things going on when Zia isn't around that we will now be privy to. It means that some things will be brought to light that were not known in the first book.
How does Dylan really feel about Zia? How involved was he in the whole process of Zia teaching him how to find the right girl? What does Dylan do when Zia isn't around? Find out soon in Second Thoughts: A Novella!
May 30, 2016
LIMITED TIME ONLY - First Impressions - Free Book Promotion
I am pleased to announce that First Impressions will be available for a limited time only on a Kindle Direct Publishing FREE Book Promotion.
When: May 31, 2016
CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE COPY
Marzia Benagli – Zia – is a psychology student who enjoys people-watching in her free time. Dylan Porter is a playboy athlete from a wealthy family. Zia’s first impression of Dylan is that of an over inflated ego, which she is not attracted to despite his undeniable good looks. While Dylan admits that he can get any girl he wants, they all seem to be the same, and he’s hoping to find something different. Circumstances bring them together and they work out an arrangement that Zia will use her psychology skills to teach Dylan how to find the right girl. They go out to various places while Zia teaches Dylan what to look for and what to stay away from. By the time Zia realizes her first impressions were wrong, she’s already established herself in the friend zone with their arrangement, and she can’t see any indication that Dylan might see them as anything more than friends. Will Zia have the strength to walk away when the time comes, and if so, will Dylan let a good thing slip away?
First Impressions is the story as told by Zia. Don’t miss Dylan’s side of the story, coming soon, in Second Thoughts.
May 28, 2016
E-Book Now Available on BN.com
I am pleased to announce that First Impressions is now available for your reading pleasure on the Nook app through Barnes & Noble.
(Paperback is also available on BN, though I'd recommend getting the paperback edition through Amazon for a much better price.)
Happy reading!Nicky
May 25, 2016
Unofficial Music Soundtrack to First Impressions
3. Falling In Love In A Coffee Shop by Landon Pigg – Chapter 3 – This is another song I mention in this chapter that the cover band plays. Both of these songs were used and actually mentioned in the book for a reason… hello foreshadowing!4. Jealous by Labrinth – Chapter 6 – I think of this song when Zia gets left behind in the yoga studio and starts realizing that she has some unresolved (and likely unrequited) feelings that are becoming harder to deny.5. Chandelier by Sia – Chapter 9 – This is the perfect song to describe the part of the story in Chapter 9 when Zia is sitting at the Book Shelf alone, trying to drink away her sorrows. If you can’t understand all the lyrics, definitely check those out!6. When A Heart Breaks by Ben Rector – Chapter 10 – I think of this song at the very beginning of Chapter 10, the morning following the night at the Book Shelf and the subsequent, questionable decisions she had made that may have cost her everything she had with Dylan.7. Almost Lover by A Fine Frenzy - Chapter 10 - This is another song I think of for the same part of the story as listed in number 6 above. Just another way of looking at it. Both songs, I feel, capture the emotion I tried to portray in this particular part of the story.
8. Who Am I To Stand In Your Way by Chester See – Chapter 10 – This is the song I think of when Zia runs into Dylan after she and “others” run into Dylan after his soccer game they attend, and maybe even in Chapter 11 when Zia and Dylan have their final session at the Book Shelf... back where it all began!
At this point, I can’t really add any more songs to this list without including any pretty obvious spoilers, so I will leave it at this list for now. I hope you enjoyed it, and until next time!Nicky
May 21, 2016
#AmazonGiveaway - Just 2 Days Left
CLICK HERE TO ENTERE-Book Giveaway! First Impressions: A Novellaby Nicole R. Locker
Prize:First Impressions: A Novella (Kindle Edition)
Winner:Every eligible entry has 1 in 50 chance to win, up to 10 winners.Requirements for participation:Resident of the 50 United States or the District of ColumbiaFollow @NLocker_Writer on twitter18+ years of age (or legal age)Start:May 7, 2016 6:08 PM PDT
End:May 22, 2016 11:59 PM PDT
Nicole R. Locker has paid for all prizes, sales tax, and shipping. Entry requires an Amazon.com account and Twitter account. Amazon will ship prizes to winners. Your account information is not shared withNicole R. Locker, except winners' names may be made public.Amazon is not a sponsor of this promotion.
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Every eligible entry has 1 in 50 chance to win, up to 10 winners. This giveaway started May 7,2016 6:08 PM PDT and ends the earlier of May 22,2016 11:59 PM PDT or when all prizes have been awarded.
May 20, 2016
COMING SOON! Second Thoughts (First Impressions Book 2)
There are two sides to every story.Dylan Porter is a playboy athlete from a wealthy family. He has always gotten by on his devilish good looks, money, and family reputation to get what he wants, and dating is no exception. Girls have never been a challenge to Dylan. That is, until he meets Zia.
Dylan and Zia strike a deal after a chance meeting when Dylan admits that, although he can admittedly get any girl he wants, the girls he has dated all seem the same. Zia offers to employ her psychology skills to teach Dylan how to find the right girl, not realizing that it's her he is hoping to win over.
Being who he is, Dylan has to play it cool and not give too much away until he knows that Zia might return his feelings for her. When all the signs point to saying otherwise, will Dylan give up or risk it all for an unlikely chance?
Second Thoughts is the story as told by Dylan. Read Zia's side of the story in First Impressions: A Novella (Book 1).
May 15, 2016
Two Sides to Every Story
This weekend I’ve had some time to sit down and dedicate to writing, and I’m pretty excited about what I’ve been able to accomplish as well as what is to come.
After hearing some feedback on First Impressions, I decided to move forward with a sort of sequel. Second Thoughts will be told from Dylan’s point of view, and so far I am just about to wrap up Chapter 2 of Dylan’s story.
I already have a rough outline for all 11 chapters, along with notes for what things happen in that chapter in the first book, as well as what things happened in Dylan’s story that we didn’t see in Zia’s. What goes on in Dylan’s mind? What things happen when Zia isn’t around? Well, you’ll soon find out in my upcoming installment!
If you’re curious to know when to expect Second Thoughts, I anticipate having it done within the next few weeks to possibly a couple of months. First Impressions was about 25K words, and I expect Second Thoughts will be somewhere around the same length once all is said and done. First Impressions took a total of 2 years to write from beginning to end, but once I actually sat down and really got to writing it, the process really only took about 5 months. Since I already have a storyline, I’d calculate maybe half that time or less to finish this one.
What are you reading this weekend? Let me know!
May 14, 2016
New Book Cover, and WHY?
I’ll be the first to admit that, when it comes to artistic design, I am not the most creative person in the world. In fact, I’m not even close. I’ve tried drawing, painting, even coloring in those fancy adult coloring books they have now days. When it comes to envisioning something really beautiful and visually inspiring, my talents and skills fall significantly short. What I see in my head does not translate well.
When I was close to finishing writing my book not too long ago (like a few weeks ago), it occurred to me that if I wanted to self-publish as I had planned, then I would be required to come up with some kind of visually appealing book cover. Instead of panicking and giving up, I did what any technologically savvy girl would do in 2016. I took to Google.
Search term: book cover creation software
Those search results led me to Canva. In theory, this was exactly what I needed! I had a vision for what I wanted on my book cover, but since I’m not a photographer and don’t know any Kate Beckinsale or Matt Bomer look-alikes that I could hit up for a photo shoot, I scrolled through hundreds and hundreds of stock photos that I could use instead.
The process was frustrating, to say the least. Finally, I gave up on my initial vision, and I ended up with my initial book cover. Don’t get me wrong… it’s not terrible, and I’ve seen much worse in print.
But it just wasn’t right. This feeling kept nagging at me, and nagging at me, until I decided that I would try again. I want something that better catches the story of my book and doesn’t look like a self-help book instead. Not to mention, the coloring on the print copy was entirely too dark, so it looked completely wrong in print anyway.
So I took to Google once again. This time, my approach was a little different. I wanted to do my research this time, and I even considered paying someone to do the cover for me. That made the most sense, after all. I don’t have the artistic talent, but I can find someone who does.
Search term: book covers for sale
Turns out there are quite a few websites dedicated to individual artists who list their artistic work for purchase. And I must say, there are some really talented people out there. But what ended up happening was, nothing I found was exactly right. I wanted to keep in mind something that I could use that I could create a similar cover to later for a 2nd book I’m writing , that would be visually consistent with the first. (Yep, that’s right! Dylan’s side of the story will be available soon!)
The good thing about scrolling through thousands of pre-made book covers is, I was able to get an idea of how I could do one for myself that was more in line with what I really wanted in the first place. Here is what I was able to come up with.
This, I feel, looks more like a romance novella than what I initially came up with. The blue eyed brunette represents my main character, Marzia (Zia) Benagli. In my book, I describe her as having light blue eyes, and these are dark blue, but perfection is hard to achieve in all things, and I’m okay with that.
So at any rate, please tell me what you think about the new cover versus the old one. No worries for anyone who’s read the book already… the story inside remains the same.
May 10, 2016
Goodreads Book #Giveaway – ENTER TO WIN!
It’s Tuesday, and that may not mean much, but what it does mean is that my Goodreads Book Giveaway is now LIVE. Click HERE for a chance to win 1 of 5 free paperback edition copies of my new book, First Impressions: A Novella. I’ll even sign them for good measure! The giveaway runs from today until May 18, 2016.
Book Giveaway For First Impressions: A Novella
First Impressions: A Novella
by Nicole R. Locker (Goodreads Author)
Release date: Apr 28, 2016
Enter for a chance to win one of five Paperback editions of First Impressions: A Novella by Nicole R. Locker.
Marzia Benagli is a psychology student at …more
Enter Giveaway
Giveaway ends in: 8 days
Availability:5 copies available, 63 people requesting
Giveaway dates:May 10 – May 18, 2016
Countries available:US
Format:Print Book
ABOUT NICOLE R. LOCKER
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Nicole R. Locker is a resident of Lubbock, Texas. She has a Master of Science in Psychology and a love for pit bulls, pilates, and romance novels. Nicole dreamed of becoming a writer since grade school after writing her first poem in 4th grade at the age of nine. A Social Worker since 2008, she has published life-coaching books on self-esteem and personal relationships, and has now added Fiction R …more
