Nicki Elson's Blog, page 13

Let the Stomach Churning Begin: Revealiing #Vibrizzio @SwoonRomance

Today's the day the cover for VIBRIZZIO gets plastered all over the book bloggerverse! If you haven't bumped up against it yet, you can see it at Will Read for Feels. Or A British Bookworm's Blog, Collector of Book Boyfriends, The Phantom Paragrapher, BookSkater, Carol Oates, The Book Addict,  etc. etc. etc. Thank you to Xpresso Book Tours for organizing such a smashing event!

I'd love it if you'd come back here to let me know what you think of the cover.

The blurb is posted along with the cover, but at my place I'd like to give you just a smidgen more. Below is a teensy excerpt from a conversation between our leading lady & her BFF.  It's the gist of the story in few words:

“Just because he’s a guy doesn’t mean he and I can’t be just friends.”“And just because you don’t have to insert batteries into him doesn’t mean you can’t be more."
VIBRIZZIO has it's first review! The lovely Jennifer Lane, author of chart-topper BLOCKED, a NA sports/political romance, was my valuable crit partner on this story. She's the partner that keeps on giving and took the time to write out a wonderful review. Thanks, Jen!

Add VIBRIZZIO to your to-read list at Goodreads

Something Wicked is Here! Congrats @CarolOates

It's heeeere, Something Wicked by Carol Oates.
Now availableKindle * Nook * Trade paperback
For the enticing blurb & author bio,
please visit my cover reveal post.
Carol took time during her busy release week activities to stop by and answer one simple question:
If you had to choose one song that best captures the essence of SOMETHING WICKED, what would it be and why?
There were quite a few songs on an eclectic playlist when I started writing this. It’s difficult to pick just one.

For writing the 19th century scenes, I preferred something with a classical feel. I love Divenire by Ludovico Einaudi and listened to it while writing an early scene, which was particularly horrific for the main character. It was the scene where Henry goes through the final moments of his transition to a vampire. He doesn’t realize the extent of what has happened to him and is, in fact, filled with a sort of hope that he’s still alive and will see his family and his precious sister once more. This hope is cut short, followed swiftly by devastation and the corruption of his humanity when Henry takes his first taste of blood. The title is ‘To Become’.

A couple of times, Henry reflects on his nature as being somewhat stagnant, he talks about patience and habit as though he is stuck, which in his mind he is. He doesn’t see that the opposite is true and he is always in a state of evolution and on his way to becoming something other than what he is at any given time. As soon as one part of his journey completes, another begins. So, I think ‘To Become’ is very apt.

When I listen to a musical score in a movie and it is telling me how to feel through every second of imagery, I get frustrated sometimes. I like the idea of beautiful music and horror so my ears aren’t telling my brain I should be scared. I like the idea of being softly lulled with a rising dramatic score and feeling it in my heart rather than my ears.



When not writing, Carol can be found exploring history, old buildings, castles, and tombs.Website * Twitter * FacebookAmazon.com * Amazon.uk * Simon and Schuster 

Insecure Writer's Support Group: January 2015

Hello, hello, hello! Welcome to the first 2015 meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group, founded by the one and clonely Alex J. Cavannaugh. (If you haven't joined the club yet and are interested in learning more, click on either of the links in the preceding sentence.)

JUST read the memo about the brief introduction, so here it is: I live in the Chicago 'burbs w/ one husband, one bunny, one teenaged son, and a daughter who also lives across the state border at university. I work in digital and print marketing for a local retail icon so I get to do lots of writing at my day job. I realize now that I've written fiction in my head my whole life but I didn't start putting my stories into words until the summer after I turned 40. I'm so happy I didn't wait any longer.

I burrowed pretty snuggly into the Land of Offline the past several weeks, so I'm excited to bop about today to see what's up with all of you. My insecurities are the same ol' same ol' for January---a year's worth of new goals and concern that I won't be able to do it all. I've learned by now that setting a schedule & sticking to it is key, so that's what I'll do...and when I trip over inevitable obstacles, you'll get to hear all about it at future IWSG meetings, hehe.

The first super exciting thing that'll happen for me this year is the January, 23 cover reveal for my upcoming chick-lit romance VIBRIZZIO, If you'd like to post the cover on the 23rd (and get a slightly early peek at the goods), please sign up at Xpresso Book Tours.

Lyssa Bates doesn't need a man. Not when the world is fully stocked with double A batteries and a wide array of options in Amazon's health and sexual wellness category. Coming April 21, 2015 from Swoon Romance.

Yesterday I revealed the wicked awesome cover of SOMETHING WICKED by Carol Oates. Take a scroll down to see it. :)

Something Wicked...wait for it...Awesome! @CarolOates

I'm taking part in the cover reveal of SOMETHING WICKED by Carol Oates.

I think you're gonna like it...








New AdultHistorical/Contemporary Supernatural

Releasing January 20, 2015
from Omnific Publishing 
Hooray!!! Carol is a wonderful writer and I love it when she goes dark, so I'm really looking forward to this one. Here are some more deets:



Infected by the vampire virus on the streets of Dublin in 1886, the search for a cure brought Henry Clayton to London and to the brink of madness. Salvation and friendship arrived in the form of Dougal, an immortal Highlander with a devilish sense of humor and a love of life.
Amidst turmoil in vampire society, Henry returns to modern day Dublin. The Circle, a cult determined to awaken their Celtic blood god, the first vampire, is once again active.
When Henry meets a young American woman who sees past his human pretense, he fears exposure. However, his fear is overshadowed by curiosity. What is the source of the strange energy between them? Why are vampires stalking her? Determined to find answers, Henry takes Ari into his home and under his protection.
As their connection grows, Henry begins to suspect Ari isn't what she claims to be. Their shared history may hold the answers to his uncontrollable bouts of rage and thirst. Perhaps, even a cure for his wicked blood.
Add it at Goodreads 

About the Author 
Carol Oates came into the world on Christmas morning, in an elevator. Raised just across the street from the childhood home of Bram Stoker, author of Dracula, it was only a matter of time before Carol’s love of all things supernatural would emerge. 

She began experimenting with fiction at school and keeps the notebook containing her first unpublished novel in her desk drawer. Over three decades later, all her stories still begin life scrawled on paper. 

When not writing, Carol can be found exploring history, old buildings, castles, and tombs. 
Website | Twitter | Facebook 
 

Midwinter's Eve Giveaway Hop. Enter whether you've been naughty or niiice. #Prizes #Vibrizzio

Welcome to the Mid-winter's Eve Giveaway Hop sponsored by the I am a Reader blog and organized by Mary at Bookhounds.net.

Things are getting pretty exciting with my upcoming Chick-lit love story with good vibrations, Vibrizzio .

"Lyssa Bates doesn’t need a man. Not when the world is fully-stocked with double A batteries and a wide array of options in Amazon’s health and sexual wellness category."

Looks like we'll have the big cover reveal in January and then all sorts of fun things to follow. You can now read a very few teensy excerpts at my website (I'd put them here but I'm afraid they might cross a line on the G-rating of this hop).

To enter my giveaway, just follow the link in the Rafflecopter below to check out the full blurb for Vibrizzio at Goodreads---if it sounds like your cuppa, please add it to your to-read list. The prizes are a $5 gift card to Amazon, a choice of eBook (either Three Daves, a New Adult romance, or Divine Temptation , a love story of angelic proportions), and a beaded owl charm bookmark like the ones pictured to the right.

Since Three Daves is set in the 80s, I'll leave you with this super cheesy video that still makes me giggle three decades later. Merry Christmas!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

More fabulous prizes to be had at these participating blogs:
Free wordpress sites and other that can’t run script:
Powered by Linky Tools
Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list...

A Day Late & a Million $$ Short: Finale #Survivor

And so we have the predictable end to an unpredictable season. Overall I'd say San Juan Del Sur ranks about middling for me amongst all Survivors. It was fairly boring up until the merge, then it got interesting...but in really weird ways. It's dissapointing that of the final five, Natalie was really the only one still playing the game (but props to Jac for the impressive comeback win in the final challenge). It's pretty bad when Nat had to resort to making supposed "big" moves just to do something.

A trend in the game that I'm not personally excited about is the making of big moves simply for the sake of making them. Sometimes they're necessary to get to the finals, sometimes they're not, and I can appreciate a player who's stayed on the right side of alliances the whole way through whether or not they've had to make a big move to be there. Natalie's strength in the game was her subtle play and quiet manipulation. In my opinion she didn't need the big moves to be the strongest Survivor standing.

I was thinking about Natalie's "big" moves, and I'm not sure any of the them actually did anything to improve her position. Let's have a look at them, shall we? (Please let me know if I've left any out).

First was Alec. She said Alec was enamored with Jon & Jac, but he'd already shown his willingness to screw over Jon at an earlier vote. She thought she'd have more loyalty from Keith, which is probably true, but his big mouth was unpredictable and made him dangerous as an ally. Also, Alec wasn't nearly the threat that Keith was in challenges, and we all saw how desperate she was to get Keith out in the final five, so I'm not convinced she improved her position by prolonging unpredictable Keith's time in the game.

Next was Jon. That vote improved her position, but it wasn't really all that big of a move now, was it? The edit showed Missy being hesitant, but come on, she wasn't not going to vote him out. He had the idol that he'd have played the next tribal so this was their very last chance. Getting him out earlier would've been bigger.

Finally, giving the idol to Jac and voting out Baylor. That was pure showboating---which juries are encouraged to reward whether or not the move serves a purpose, so it is good strategy from that standpoint, buuuuut it did absolutely nothing to improve Natalie's position and could've possibly even hurt it. First, she sent someone to jury who absolutely wouldn't vote for her unless Missy landed there on the next vote. Second, Baylor had been her loyal little puppy since they'd met at Exile Island! In no way could Nat trust Jac more than Baylor.

I guess that's all I have to say about this season. I'm looking forward to the White Collar, Blue Collar, No Collar angle for next season! How about you?

Nicki has spoken. 

Two Days Late & a Million $$ Short #Survivor

If Jon has learned one lesson from this game, I hope it's to LISTEN TO HIS GIRLFRIEND! It must've been fun for those two to watch that episode together. Moreso for her than for him.

Since this is my last post pre-finale, I'm going to break down the remaining five from the perspective of a jury member---i.e. if I were on the jury and knew everything I currently know, would I give her/him my vote for the mil at the final tribal council?  This is NOT necessarily how I see the real jury voting.

Baylor - No vote from me. She's been spunky but has been led like a little lamb the whole way through.

Jaclyn - Too wishy washy. No vote from me. It's good to be flexible & willing to make big moves but she relied too much on the swing vote position and didn't build depth in alliances with anybody but Jon, who she knew was a primo target.

Missy - She hasn't been my favorite, but I could see possibly voting for her. She formed solid alliances and made herself the most trusted player, earning valuable inside info. Playing on through the busted ankle and never considering quitting doesn't hurt my opinion of her.

Natalie - She probably deserves the win the most of anybody left. She played a quiet strategy, earning the solid trust of others along the way. I was frustrated that she didn't make her move against Jon earlier, but I can see why she wanted to wait until more of the wildcard players were eliminated before moving against her solid alliance. After seeing how she played the Alec vote off as an accident, I sort of see why she didn't make the bold Jac move last week---but it was awfully risky to hope that Jon wouldn't win immunity. She earns points back for having been the one to beat him after returning from two days at Exile.

The only reason I might not vote for Nat is because of personality. At various points throughout the game, she's come off as mean-spirited and a blatant suck up. It's one thing to get rankled over a competitor that's bested you, but many of her comments about Jon are too personal and just plain mean. Certain of her actions, like giving up rewards and volunteering for Exile, were truly vomit-worthy in their obvious suckuppage. I don't think Survivor winners need to necessarily be nice people, but I do like to see stronger character than what I've seen in Natalie.

Keith - I can't imagine a scenario in which I wouldn't vote for Keith if he made it to the final. Yes, he's made some really, really horrendous mistakes, but he's also shown that he can learn. He was awesome at this week's tribal! He's great at challenges, and let's not forget he found that hidden immunity idol and kept it a better secret than almost any other player in the history of the game. Well, until we found out that he held onto the note, der. But come on, who doesn't love an underdog? Not to mention that in the end, we can see that he's a truly good guy. He was so great with Missy after she got hurt and even won over little Baylor. He made some chauvenistic mistakes earlier in the game but seems to have ended with a decent social game.

Nicki has spoken. Who do you want to see win it all? Who do you predict for a final three?

Two Days late & Still a Million $$ Short: Episode 11 #Survivor

This week, though it was a double episode, I've just got one question - WHY didn't anybody talk about voting out Jaclyn? As soon as Jon won immunity, it was like Jac became invisible. If Natalie was willing to show her hand by voting Alec, why didn't she take it a step further and actually accomplish something by voting Jac, thus weakining her prime target?

As I typed that, I had a thought about a possible reason. Nat knows Jon has a hidden idol...right? Is it possible she thought he might be spooked enough from tribal last week to give it to Jac? She wouldn't have had enough support to split the vote between Jac & Kieth or Jac & Alec, so maybe she didn't want to take that chance??

I give a salute to Reed for playing hard till the bitter end. And dammit, I'm back on the Keith train. He does't have any idea how to do subtle, but he does his best to get into peoples' heads, and he's kicking bum at the challenges against all those young 'uns. If he makes it to the final tribal, I'd give him my vote over anybody else still in the game.

 

Claiming Excalibur

This week is the promo tour for Claiming Excalibur by LH Nicole, the upcoming sequel to Legendary (featured here during the Realms Faire). Claiming Excalibur's release date is set for December 16. On that day, you'll find excerpts and other fun stuff at my Facebook page.
Today you can:
Enter a Rafflecopter to win that eBook plus others
Add it to your to-read list at Goodreads 
I asked LH one simple question: If you had to choose one song that best captures the essence of the Legendary saga, what would it be?  Here's her answer:


Meet LH Nicole 
I am a seasoned Pastry Chef in our nation’s capital and a lifelong fairytale (Disney and Grimm) lover, believes in love at first sight, is addicted to 80’s & 90’s cartoons and anything that can capture my ADD-way-to-overactive-imagination. Joan Lowery Nixon and L.J. Smith were the first authors I became addicted to and who inspired me to steal away whenever I could to read and write. 
JUST A LITTLE MORE ABOUT MY SERIES:

Legendary is a story I've had in head for years. The idea came to me during an english project about you guessed it- Arthurian legends. My teacher was against web research and allowed us to use textbooks only. I discovered different ways to spell the characters names, including Mordred. There are five spelling variations that I found, and I chose to use one that is much less known: Mordrid.

Other names I kept the same, and some I changed for the sake of the story. My reason for changing the names and/or spellings is this: my Knights of the Round Table, their enemies and allies are very different from what people are used to. I don't want to offend Arthurian purists and the "Arthurianlegend/history."

Legendary is pure fiction, straight from my imagination. I took some liberties with the different stories and incarnations. I changed the things I didn't like to the way I wanted them to be. I changed things to make them my own creation and tell you a new story. Hence Legendry’s summary "everything she thought she knew about Arthurian legends was wrong."

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS: * Legendary Saga website * Facebook * Pinterest ** Tumbler * Twitter * Blogger * Goodreads *

#IWSG: I Heart Writing and #FeedTheHungryEH 

Welcome to the December 2014 meeting of the Insecure Writers Support Group, brainchild of Alex J. Cavannaugh. I hear there's big news about the new guide a whole bunch of us contributed to, so head over to Alex's or the IWSG website for details.

Last month I told you about my own private NaNoWriMo, in which I vowed to spend 90 unplugged minutes a day writing. I'm happy to tell you that I succeeded in doing just that. I didn't set any word goals, just required myself to move forward each day, so I'm rather surprised to find that during the month of November I added 30K words to my WIP.

I actually found that it was good for me to set an upper limit on my writing time. On the few days when I had hours stretched in front of me to do nothing but write, my progress was sluggish. When I knew that I absolutely had to stop writing at the end of 90 or 120 minutes, I wrote with a greater sense of urgency and  therefore was more focused.

The best thing about this NaNo excercise was that it helped me give myself permission to make writing a priority. Instead of my writing getting lost at the bottom of the never-ending pile of to-do's, it was right up near the top.  And you know what? It's going to stay there through December. Because I'm knee-deep and totally in love with this story---and determined to finish draft one by the end of the year.

Whassup with you this month?

Before you go, please check out the cyber food drive sponsored by MJ Joachim at Effectively Human and consider joining in the effort. All you have to do is post about your local food bank on your social networks Dec. 4-6. I'll be promoting the Northern Illinois Food Bank. #FeedTheHungryEH