Nicki Elson's Blog, page 47

What I Love about "Research" and a Mini Review: Swim Recruit by Jennifer Lane

Review: Swim Recruit by Jennifer Lanein theSummer BreezeAnthology
Abby's a senior in high school being recruited by Northwestern University's swim team.  Although there's most definitely a romantic element in this story, it's really more about team dynamics, and Jennifer Lane, a psychologist by day and former college swimmer, gives us interesting angles from which to examine a dynamic gone terribly wrong.

Swim Recruit shows that bullying isn't just a high-school phenomenon.  It can and does happen at any age.  Many times the bullies themselves don't even realize it's happening—they've been swept up in the flow and don't consider the consequences of their actions.  I like that the story explores this aspect.
While Swim Recruit deals with weighty issues, Lane weaves humor and lightheartedness throughout---like in the opening airport scene, which had me cracking up as Abby's mother says goodbye to her daughter: "Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?"  I didn't know Jennifer knew my mom!   The characters' fun personalities keep the story moving at an enjoyable pace, and the story ends on a hopeful note. A great read any time of year.  
And now for what I love about research
Quite simply, this:


My latest MC frequents a garden, and I'm blessed to live near suburban gem
Cantigny Park.

My "research" made for a lovely Sunday stroll with my daughter.


And she even got in some driving practice on the way home. *gulp*

Here we are at Monday again, time for the Meet an Author Monday blog hop, which is hosted today by fabulous Irish vixen Carol Oates.

It's a chance to see what's up with authors from around the globe.
Hope on & hop along.

Guten Tag, Meine Liebster

Tara Tyler gave me an award!    
The Leibster Blog <3 award was created especially for blogs with less than 200 followers.  Apparently, liebster has multiple translations ranging from favorite to dearest to sweetheart. Either way, I'm honored Tara bestowed this on me.  Thanks!
I pass the Liebster Love on to five worthy blogs:
Karen G and L.A. DeVaul at Celery Tree 
This the the blog for the upcoming  cozy on-line bookstore by the same name.   The blog is a great resource for writers with the latest facts and opinions on the world of publication and writing.

Wendy at Fabulosity Reads 
Wendy is a power reader, and we get to benefit by getting her great insights into an eclectic assortment of books.  She'll even let you look into her book bag! 

Cherie Colyer
Cherie is a writer with her debut novel slated for publication this upcoming winter.  At her blog she shares wonderful information on what she's learning along the way. 

Britta at Witty and Pretty
Britta is a foxy dish whose fun, honest posts on style and whatnot always seem to be a positive boost for self image.  She's got another great blog at Gardening in High Heels 

Susan Oloier at Memoirs of a Writer 
Susan has a wonderful way of mixing in writing topics with the rest of life. She also has a separate blog that chronicles the challenges and triumphs of her son who has Trisomy 18 (a chromosome disorder): My Life With Zane  

A visit to any or all of these Liebster Blogs would be well worth your time.

Petermore

I consider myself a Harry Potter fan, even if perhaps I haven't quite earned the "atic."  I loved the books, read most of them more than once, own a collector's edition of Beedle the Bard, saw all the movies, wrote a novel length fanfiction to cope with the series ending, and heck, even started up a Harry Potter Finer Things Club with my sister and nephews.

But I have limits, and honestly...the idea of Pottermore creeps me out.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's a brilliant marketing strategy for Rowling Inc., and I admire good business, but come on, when is enough enough already?  Or is it just fickle me that thinks this way?

Irregardless, my attention has been stolen all of the sudden by a whole 'nother P-man.  If its a fresh iteration on a magical English boy you're looking for, I've got an excellent recommendation for a series of books that scratches that middle grade fantasy itch.  It doesn't get as deep and dark as the Harry Potter series (ahem, Suze) but it's got plenty of colorful and scary characters and is so much fun, not to mention hilarious.

I speak of the Peter and the Starcatchers series by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson.  It's an alternative universe prequel to Peter Pan and answers all sorts of questions I've always had.  If that's not enough to entice you---the stories include talking dolphins.  Talking dolphins!



Barry and Pearson didn't intend to write a fourth book, but they had so many fans ask for it, they drummed up some fantastic inspiration and wrote Sword of Mercy.  I'm not quite finished with it yet, but it's probably my favorite of the series.




Prize Announcements:
Congratulations to Liz Fichera on the recent release of Craving Perfect, and on a much lesser scale for winning a signed copy of Three Daves and a little 80s mood music over at Liza Sanchez's Romance Author blog.

Thanks for entering to win, Liz, and thanks for hosting me, Lisa.

And congrats to me for winning two books!  The Summer We Came to Life by Deborah Cloyed at the super fun Chick Lit is not Dead blog
 &Sondrae Bennett's Arctic Winds in the Sizzling Summer  Author Extravaganza.

I'm excited to read both!

Since I'm so book happy today, I'd like to share a couple photos of Three Daves and the Summer Lovin' Anthologies on tour at RomCon in Denver with other OminiBook Buddies.  Much thanks to Omnific Publishing's hard working marketing staff. 



The lovely Killian McRae is hosting today's Meet an Author Monday blog hop.  
It's your chance to hop on and hop along to mix & mingle with new-to-you authors and those you already know and love.

Dinosaurs, Monkeys and Authors, oh my!

For the blog hop today, I'd like to direct you to a few authorly places:
With the eBook revolution, are signed books going the way of the dinosaur?  No way! says Marcus Clearspring, author of Writing Investigated. He's got an interesting guest post over at Arlee Bird's place about   Electronic book signing.   If you check it out, please be sure to let me know if you think this is something worth trying. 

Here is an excellent post by The Fallen Monkey on the top three grammatical errors she sees in manuscripts, complete with a punctuation cheat sheet.  The article is concise, clear, and provides great examples. The Monkey is a  former high school English teacher, current manuscript editor, and all around cool chick.


At Thoroughly Smitten, you can read my take on one of the most famous couples in literature:  Fictional Felicity:  Rhett & Scarlett (by far the least authorly post of the four---be warned!)


Omnific Publishing has started an "Ask an Editor" feature!  Stop by and ask a question to be answered by a professional editor.
  

 

Happy Birthday, Harry!

Today is Lisa Galek's Happy Birthday, Harry blogfest in honor of Harry Potter's birthday.  My contribution is an excerpt from my fanfiction Professor Burbage and the Potions Master . This scene occurs in Harry's 5th year.  I thought it would be fun to give the professors a little love.

Excerpt"A New Year"Professor Burbage and the Potions Master

Charity returned to her second year as a Hogwarts professor after spending a good portion of her summer holidays in America. While there, she and her parents had visited Salem, Massachusetts, site of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Quite hilarious really, seeing that as far as anyone knew, witches and wizards hadn't appeared in America until the late 1800s.
Charity declared that the first staff meeting of each new school year was like a birthday for Hogwarts, and so she returned from her travels with gifts for each of the Hogwarts teachers. She gave them out as they gathered in the moldy staff lounge.
"For you, Professor Sinistra," she said as she handed the Astronomy professor a zodiac wall hanging.
"Why, those Muggles have almost got it right!" Sinistra commented with surprise as she studied the woven map of the stars.
"Magical Beans for you, Professor Sprout—they're supposed to grow bean stalks to three times their normal size."
Sprout shook the package.  "I'll bet I can get them up to ten!"
Charity gave a mug with the words "Stop by for a Spell" to Professor Flitwick, an East Coast Witches T-shirt to Madam Hooch, and a stuffed black cat to Professor McGonagall.
For Hagrid, she'd purchased a pewter Pocket Dragon with crystals embedded in the eyes.  Muggles said it brought good luck. Unfortunately, Hagrid was not to be found, and Professor Grubbley-Plank was taking over Care of Magical Creatures lessons for an unspecified amount of time. Charity pocketed the dragon and would make a point of getting it to Hagrid one way or another.
She turned to Sibyll Trelawney, professor of Divination and all things clairvoyant.  "I'll bet you already know what this is."
"Of course, my dear, and it's just exactly what I knew you would choose." 
Trelawney opened her box to find a fortune-telling tea cup, complete with instructions painted right on the saucer. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion while McGonagall sniggered in the corner.
"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten you," Charity said to Snape, who stood with his arms folded tightly and a scowl on his face, apparently impatient with the whole production. She handed him a small box, which he opened to reveal a silver and glass ring. Inside the glass was a thick liquid.
"It's a mood ring," Charity explained. "You wear it, and it changes color depending on what kind of mood you're in. I thought it might be useful for us to know when it would be a good time to approach you and when it would be a good time to, eh, not."
Her comment drew general chuckles in the room, and Charity caught and held Snape's eye for the briefest moment. This was the year she was going to come through on her promise to make him like her.
The final gift was for Dumbledore. It was a liquid-filled ball point pen with a little witch on a broom that glided when he tilted it. His eyes sparkled and he chuckled as he watched the little witch fly to and fro.

"Thank you, Professor Burbage, for this delightful start to the school year. Now, down to business," the headmaster commanded.
Thanks for hosting the party, Lisa!

Hey, last night I saw the movie for the first time---and lourved it! (although I could've done w/ a bit more celebration after Voldy bit it, you know?)---and thought I'd share a photo of me w/ my Potter Posse, better known as The Harry Potter Finer Things Club.  One key member couldn't be there :( but I wore my London b-day gift from her to represent.  

Fictional Felicity

I've got my second post up in my new monthly series at Thoroughly Smitten.  "Fictional Felicity" is all about the couples we love to love---and those we don't.  This month Rhett Butler & Scarlett O'Hara are on the examination table.

If you're looking for in-depth character analysis and unemotional wisdom...eh...you should definitely go elsewhere.  But if you're up for a little Friday fun and want a chance to vote in a meaningless poll, come on over!

Life, Liberty, and Some other stuff

My daughter's friend Rachel, who also happens to be my friend's daughter, read Life, Liberty, and Pursuit by fellow Omnific author Susan Kaye Quinn, and loved it so much that as soon as she finished---she dove right back in again!

Since LLP is a Young Adult book, and Rachel is a young adult (age 15) I asked her to take a break from her summer reading and reckless cake-baking escapades to write up a review for my blog.  As a thank you, I'm giving her a copy of the Summer Breeze Anthology to benefit Save the Ta-Tas (the anthology just so happens to feature a very sweet short story by Quinn that's a mini-sequel to her novel).
Take it away, my Nirvana-loving friend:
Anyone looking for a good read need not look any further than Life, Liberty and Pursuit by Susan Kaye Quinn. Life, Liberty and Pursuit is the perfect book for anyone who loves a good romance novel. Filled with detail and exceptionally well written, it's cute without being overly cheesy and unrealistic, and Quinn makes you feel like you know the characters personally. For this, I loved every single page of it.
Life, Liberty and Pursuit keeps the reader hooked from page one, and gives the reader just what they want- a charming love story. As a summer fling turns into a devoted relationship, follow Eliza and David as they embark on a heart-warming journey of finding yourself and following your heart. Life, Liberty and Pursuit is a truly captivating novel that will leave readers with a warm, fuzzy, all around happy feeling by the time it's over.-Rachel
Thanks, Rachel!  I'm honored to have you call me "mommer" ;)

Other Stuff
Remember when I told you I'd remind you about voting for my book trailer over at You Gotta Read Videos?  Well, ehe, I neglected to arrange for someone to remind me!  But that's okay, because voting is still going on through 12:01 July 27 CST.  So if you're reading this before then and you like my lil' video (created by the amazing Barb Hallworth & featuring music by Intervox) please do stop by to vote.  You can find Three Daves in the #9 slot.

There's also still time to:
1) Leave a comment at my guest post at Lisa Sanchez's blog and be entered to win a copy of Three Daves.  Cookies go out to: Judy, Michael Di Gesu, Jennifer Lane, Liz Fichera, L. Dian Wolfe, M. Pax, and Theresa Milstein, who've already stopped by. :)      

2) Enter Lisa Galek's Happy Birthday Harry Potter Blogfest to take place this coming Sunday, July 31.  

Lastly, it's Meet an Author Monday!
Your chance to mix & mingle with other authors.
Hop on and hop along.

Book Signing 101

Hey, kiddos!  Today you can find me over at Lisa Sanchez's Sizzling Author Extravaganza!  I've attempted to impart a bit of book-signing wisdom, and I'm giving away more than cookies this time---if you leave a comment at Lisa's site, you'll be entered to win a signed copy of Three Daves & a One Hit Wonders of the 80s CD.

It never ends, and it's never enough

You're a senior in high school.

Where are you going to college?

You go to college, get a degree.  In the middle of a recession.

Where are you interviewing?

You land a job paying peanuts.  To compensate you take the company up on its offer to reimburse tuition and begin a masters program.

When are you getting married?

You get married.

When are you going to graduate?

You receive your M.B.A. 

When are you getting a better job? 

You get a better job.

When are you buying a house?

You buy a house.

When are you having a baby?

You have a kid.

When are you having another?

Fine. You have another and quit your job to stay home with your babies.

Is he walking yet? Is she potty trained? Where will they go to pre-school?  Can they ride a bike? Can they read?  Which soccer camp will you send them to? 

Seriously?

When are you getting a bigger house?  

You get a bigger house.  Your youngest enters first grade.

Now what are you going to do with all your free time?  

*inhale*  You decorate the hell out of your new house, get a variety of part-time jobs, become a "professional" volunteer at the school, and oh yeah, write a bunch of stories and get a novel freaking published.

When's your next book coming out?

*exhale* "I just had a short story released."

No.  I mean a real book. 

You struggle to keep from uttering the following words aloud:  Well, maybe if you hadn't invited yourself over and usurped my entire evening, I'd be working on that right now.

So when does it end?  Will it ever be enough?  Even if you veered from my course at any point above, I'm sure it only led you to a different track of questions.  As my very wise friend explained, it's just the way people show an interest in what's going on in others' lives.  I get that, and it's very nice.  But why do the questions always push forth into the future? Why are people always looking for more, more, more?  Is it not okay to take a moment to just be satisfied?  Ever?

All that being said, this past week I've started working in earnest on my next original manuscript.  :)   I got tired of answering with "I will ... Soon ... It's all up here in my head ... Blah, blah, blah" and I'm delighted to be back at it.  So maybe I'm the kind of person who needs that gentle pressure or I'd never accomplish anything.  How about you?  How do you respond to incessant question of "What's next?"



Here's what's next for  young adult author Carol Oates---her newest novel, Ember, will be released tomorrow!  Congratulations, Carol.

Carol is being interviewed at the brand new Omnific Publishing blog, where you can win a copy of the Summer Lovin' Anthologies---signed by all the authors---just by becoming a follower.  

Deathly Hallows II Movie Scoop!

I'll not be joining the masses at the movie theater this weekend---I prefer a less chaotic experience---buuuut, that doesn't mean I'm not getting psyched for the big release!  Now that I've finally been able to sit down w/ my Chicago Tribune A+E section, I'd like to share w/ other Harryphytes something totally cool!

I generally don't like it when movies stray from the books, unless there's a really, really good reason, and this time I think production designer Stuart Craig has an utterly awesome reason for changing the location of a certain death in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows---Part 2.  Here, I'll let him tell you:

(per "Wizard of Destruction" by Rebecca Keegan):

"In the book (the character) dies in the Shrieking Shack.  I specifically asked J.K Rowling if she would mind if we transposed that to a boathouse.  I felt it would make a very interesting, very theatrical set.  There was a lot of glass in the design for the boathouse.  Through the glass, you're aware of Hogwarts in flames and the water inside the boathouse reflects the flames.  You get a great sense of the height and the drama." 

-Stuart Craig, production designer
Light. It. Up!  I'm now more excited than I ever thought I could be for a scene that ripped my heart out when I read it in the book.  Well done, Stuart.

So, which night will you be seeing the movie?
Also, Lisa Galek is hosting two contests, including a very fun blogfest on Harry Potter's Birthday, July 31.  C'mon, you know you're going to want you some more Harry after the movie's done. ;)