Nicki Elson's Blog, page 52

Let the Blog Challenge Begin!

So here we are at the A to Z Blog Challenge. :) Each day of the challenge, I'll bring my visitors back in time to a hit TV Show from the 80s---one for each letter of the alphabet. And I promise to keep it bite-sized.  Today we have:

ALF
1986-1990
Click image to watch 22 second clipRemember this furry, cat-eating, smart-ass from the planet Melmac? 

Quote:"Putting humans in charge of the earth is the cosmic equivalent of letting Eddie Murphy direct."

Trivia:ALF is actually an acronym.  Know what it stands for?

More info on ALF and other 80s TV Shows

Harry Potter Finer Things Club

For Michael's Blogfest, rather than telling the fictional tale of me and my imaginary buds at Hogwarts, I thought I'd tell you about my real life Harry Potter mates---the Harry Potter Finer Things Club that started out as a trio, just like Harry, Ron, and Hermoine.

In the midst of the Harry Potter Series, me, my sister, and my nephew used to huddle together at family gatherings to discuss all things Harry P.  This didn't go unnoticed by the others, and at one family party my brother claimed we'd formed our own Finer Things Club (ala The Office).  Little did he know we'd sink our grimy meat hooks into his joke and turn the "club" into a whole thing---engraved bookmarks and all.

Here's a new video I made in tribute to my HPFTC mates.  If you watch, please note: a major perk of club membership is getting to taunt non-members regarding their non-membership, so sorry 'bout that.  But hey, if you can answer the initiation questions contained in the video, who knows---we just may grant you a blog-level membership. ;)

The Countdown Begins...C...B...A...

I got a really nice surprise last week when I found out that one of my very favorite writers has published her first novel---and it promises to be like nothing else you've ever read.

Katella's stories are filled with biting sarcasm that makes me laugh out loud every time. But her characters aren't just hilarious---they've got true depth, and Katella has a great way of revealing them layer by layer throughout the story.  And oh yeah, they're werewolves! 

Here's the blurb: 
Book One: An American Werewolf in Idaho(Available on Amazon Kindle)
This is a novel based on the notion that it doesn't matter what you look like, because beauty lies within the soul. Age, race, and sex are all meaningless because when it comes to being human we are all the same. Each chapter is packed with humorous themes of government control, individuality, and battles between the sexes. It tackles cultural differences and discrimination in a language that young minds can understand. It will speak to anyone who has never had anywhere to belong.


In the meantime, I'm getting set up for the A to Z Blogging Challenge, which begins April Fools Day...hey wait a minute, I wonder if there's any significance to that...

Well, too late now!  But not too late for you to sign up if you haven't---just click on the tasty apple in my sidebar.  Last time I checked there were well over 600 bloggers singed up.  That's more than double Arlee's initial goal.  It's going to be nuts!  Which is precisely why I'm in. ;)


And speaking of nuts, here are some wild and crazy authors for you to hop around and meet during the Meet an Author Monday blog hop hosted by Cali Cheer Mom.

Authors---hop on!

Self-Promotion Sucks

That's why I don't do it. But if there are people out there who I think might enjoy my book, then I feel it's only right to do what I can to let them know Three Daves is out there. I mean, if I don't do it, who else is going to? And if I'm joining a super awesome blog challenge to improve myself as a blogger, why, it would be selfish to not spread the word any way I can, wouldn't it?

That's why I took A to Z Challenge founder Arlee Bird up on his second challenge---to get a story about the event in a local paper.

Turns out it wasn't challenging at all. Arlee gives a lot of great tips for how to go about crafting an article that highlights both you and the challenge. Then it's a matter of getting it to the right place---many towns have local e-papers that allow community members to directly submit articles, or at least events.

Once you've got the article written and submitted there, it's a press release you can e-mail out to the submissions department of local print papers. There's really nothing to lose, and it's a very small time investment.  So far the reaction I've gotten is editors thanking me for the contribution.  So see, it's a public service. :)

Here are three things I've learned about press coverage in my first year after publication:


1. What Have You Done for me Lately? 

I don't believe in trying to sell somebody something they don't want or need.  So it's important to know who might actually give a ratt's butt about what you've got to offer---what's it going to do for them?  Why do they care?

For example, I've found local papers have an interest not just because I'm a local author, but because the setting is nostalgic for many local residents.  The alumni association of my alma mater, Eastern Illinois University, has been wonderfully supportive because the setting is heavily influenced by EIU's campus. I've also had some success with 80s websites.  So who might have a particular interest in what you do?

An area in which I've hit a brick wall is radio stations.  Music plays a significant role in the book, so I sent my press release to local stations as well as national 80s stations, but they are so not into me. If anyone has any tips on how to break through in that venue, I'd love to hear them. 



2. One Thing Leads to Another

 A year ago, when I peppered the world with my press release---I must've sent that thing to at least 50 different venues---I heard back from two people.  Two.

Ah, but the article in the free weekly newspaper (which I was sure was destined to become nothing more than shredded bird-cage litter) posted on-line, and since I made mention of my former university, the alumni office picked it up and included a link in their monthly newsletter. And an alum from another newspaper saw it and contacted me for another interview. And the director of the local TV station read the article in the local coffee shop (where I'd asked the owner to pin it up), and she contacted me for an interview, and so on and so on.

So you never know where a mention, no matter how small, might lead.


3. A Thousand Points of Light.

As I said in my earlier post titled Fifteenth Time's a Charm, not every article is going to result in a huge response, and sometimes crickets will chirp.  But getting your name in front of people has a cumulative effect.

The first time they hear it, it may slide right through their brain, but when they see your name again, or another image of your book, or someone at a party mentions the article they read about you, they'll start to pay attention.  No effort is wasted, no matter how small, so take advantage of any reason you can think of to get your name out there again---like, say, participation in a super awesome A to Z Blog Challenge...



Hey, why not get your name out there in this week's Meet an Author Monday Blog Hop hosted by Cali Cheer Mom!  It's your chance to mix & mingle with other authors. 

Authors, please join, place this icon in your blog post, and hop away!

Self Promotion Sucks

Uh, sorry anyone who's here from the link on your dashboard.  I hit the wrong button [image error] and didn't mean to publish until Monday.  The post is on self-promotion in print media (which I know is intimidating, but necessary if you want people to know you're out there, so I don't actually think it sucks, I just can't let myself think of it as self-promotion or else I won't do it.  Don't worry, this'll all make sense on Monday. ;))

-Nicki

Write Hard

Hey!  The amazing Jen Daiker has interviewed me at her unedited blog.  It would be tremendously fun to see you over there. 

I am doubly honored because Fallen Monkey, a talented writer with an always insightful and inspiring blog, has bestowed upon me the Write Hard award (created by Aaron Polson: see rules here).

Now I get to pass it on to three more writers who I feel live up to the "write hard" spirit (i.e. writers who work at their craft, writers who never give up despite the odds, writers who constantly turn out quality work).  I give this award to:

 Jen Daiker at unedited, whose blog is uber-successful for good reason.  I greatly admire her energetic and engaging posts as well as her discipline to post regularly. And all the while she's writing her own promising creative works as well as getting out there and meeting other authors both in the cyber world and at real life book signings.




Jennifer DeLucy, author of Seers of Light and Whisper of Light.  Awesome writer, awesome series of books.  She's currently working on the third in the series, and while we all wait...some more patiently than others...the Light series is getting quite the buzz.



Jess Bowen, author of Breaking Point , first book in The Order of the Elements series.  Jess is a writer who's shown she's up for any writing challenge and comes through brilliantly.  I cannot wait for the world to discover and fall in love with Breaking Point the way I have.





If you haven't joined the A to Z Blogging Challenge yet, what are you waiting for?  Click on the shiny green icon in my sidebar to learn more about it.

A Deep Thought for Your Monday Morning

Not feeling terribly verbose on this Daylight Savings Monday, so I think I'll let Jack Handey say it for me:




I wish I would have a real tragic love affair 
and get so bummed out

that I'd just quit my job 
and become a bum for a few years, 



because I was thinking about doing that anyway.


-Jack Handey 

  And now for more orange icons.  It's Meet an Author Monday, hosted by Cali Cheer Mom, your chance to mix & mingle with other authors.  
Authors, please join, place this icon in your blog post, and hop away!
 

Reality and Fiction Collide: A Letter from Aunt Lou

One of the best---and most nerve-wracking---things about having a story published is knowing that friends and family members are reading it...and wondering which character is them.

The truth is, even though it's fiction, as writers we draw from our reality, so it's only natural that certain physical characteristics, personality traits, and even experiences of those we know will find their way into our stories in some form.  But as I've explained over and over again, even though bits and pieces of reality make it into my stories, they're all split up and scrambled and then melded together in new ways so that none of my characters are wholly based on any one real person.  And...well...now it's confession time.

There is one character in Three Daves that was written with one and only one real life person in mind. That'd be Aunt Lou, my MC's Godmother. For the part, I needed someone warm and honest and fun and with that certain je ne sais quoi that draws people to her. And I wanted someone gorgeous, a real presence in the room. Lucky, lucky me that my real life Godmother just happens to be precisely that woman.

So "Aunt Lou" has read the book and her reaction is in---last week I received a letter from her. Wanna hear it? I thought you would:

Darling Bev,

You are one bad girl. I always knew you were one cool. smart, good-looking chick [see why I love her so much?] but I didn't know how raunchily hilarious you could be.  I read your book in three nights. I couldn't wait to get to the next chapter. I was literally laughing out loud at 4 a.m. all by myself. I don't know if you've read any of Lisa Kleypa's books. They have plenty of sex but not your ability to make it so funny.

My favorite character besides Jen was, of course, me!  I couldn't have described myself better. I am eagerly awaiting the sequel.  How lucky am I to have you as a Godchild?

Love,
Aunt Lou

Major *whew*!  Isn't that note the sweetest?  And yes, she actually signed it "Aunt Lou." I hate to inform her there's no sequel planned, but I'll certainly do my best to come through on my raunchy hilarity in the next story. ;)

So how about you---any "fictional" characters in your stories not quite so fictional?


A few more items:1. Enjoy the show Chuck & want to see it return for season 5?  See post below.

2. Think you know your 80s Movies?  See the Three Daves Facebook Wall.

3. Join us for the Meet an Author Monday blog hop, hosted by Cali Cheer Mom, where you can mix & mingle w/ other writers.

Save Chuck and Sleep Well at Night

Any other Chuck fans out there?  Looks like the show is on the bubble for NBC's fall line-up, so if you need you some Chuck, here are a couple ways to help keep the fun and quirky show alive for another season.

While you're at it, you can get this darling lambie for half price---how cute would he look in an Easter basket? 

 How to get a Sleep Sheep 50% off coupon 
First round of voting for Hulu Best in Show (Vote for Chuck and all your other favorite TV shows)
Did you miss the sleep sheep's TV debut?  Check out this clip (I promise you'll laugh even if you don't watch the show)  

Michael Di Gesu. Nuff Said.

Here is my promised interview with Michael Di Gesu, talented interior designer, writer, illustrator, former model, and blogger extraordinaire.

Right now he's celebrating the awesome news that his newest novel, The Blinded Gardener, made it through the first round of the American Breakthrough Novel Award! (Here's an excellent description of ABNA at erica & christy's blog).

Congratulations, Michael.  I'm sure he's almost as excited about that as he is about winning my Junk in a Box competition. ;)

The Interview:  
1. When did you start writing, and what made you realize you loved it---was there a single moment or more of a realization over time?

I started writing two years ago. With the economic crunch hitting at that time, interior designers were the first to get cut. Clients were not parting with their money. They were scared. I found I had much more time on my hands. Too much time.

I had always loved fantasy novels and J.K Rowling and Terry brooks are my favorite fantasy writers. I had always wanted to write a novel and for once I had the time. So, in March of 2009 I began to write Amber and the Whispering Willows. I felt like the words exploded out of my fingertips directly into my laptop. I loved it from the first word. It felt right. Comfortable. Three months later my first 125,550 word draft was finished. Then came the editing....


2. I just discovered that you are also an amazing illustrator! How long have you been drawing, and what drives what---did the story of Amber and the Whispering Willows inspire the illustrations or did the illustrations inspire you to write the story?

From the age of three I had always been creative. Never was there a time I didn't have paper, pencil, crayon, and markers in my hands.

I wanted to write a story I could illustrate. I had planned to illustrate the moment I finished the first draft. It had been years since I illustrated so I wanted to see if I still had my talent. In interior design you do sketches all the time, but nothing figural. Luckily, the illustrations flowed as easily as the prose. I was so surprised that I could still draw and paint as intricately as I had in the past. It excited me to bring my characters to life.

Michael's original illustration for Amber and the Whispering Willow


3. From what I gather from your blog, it seems The Blinded Gardener wasn't something you really planned on writing---more like it demanded to be written.  What was your strongest driving force to write that story?

It's funny you should ask that, Nicki. The Blinded Gardener came to me in a dream. Originally I was going to write a sweet story about how a blinded kid influenced another through his amazing garden. I wrote the first few pages and something didn't gel.

I started again and the story came to me. My MC, Aidan surfaced as a bad-assed abused seventeen-year-old son of a Marine Corp Captain. I eventually had his father drag him to South Carolina where he meets Danny on his first day of school. Aidan's intrigued, and wants to know everything about this blind guy he had just met. Only Danny isn't thrilled to be stalked by Aidan. Over the course of time their friendship takes many twists and turns.

I wrote the first draft in six weeks and in first person. I wanted intensity and passion. I had written a short story in this style and it became a finalist in the Open City magazine contest. So I needed to see if it would work for The Blinded Gardener. It worked well.  This edgy y/a contemporary called to me. The y/a market screams for real life and in-your-face-drama.



 4. Modeling in NYC has to have been a completely different life than that of an interior designer & writer in Chicago---what do you miss most about those modeling days?  What do you miss the least?

I started to model at sixteen. It was quite exciting for me. Although I lived close to Manhattan in a nearby suburb, my parents only took us into the city once or twice a year. That all changed when a photographer discovered me while I was shopping.

What I miss most is the money. No question. I made twice as much in a day than the average person makes in a week. My teenage modeling payed for my college education and kept me in a very comfortable lifestyle. As an adult I had everything I wanted. Outstanding apartment, designer clothes and accessories, and partying with the 'beautiful people.' I also met many famous people and traveled the globe. Which is another exciting perk.

Sounds great, Right? Remember, every pro has its con. Two major things:

The first, and it happens all the time, unwanted advances from photographers or clients. On one of my first jobs I was sexually assaulted. Luckily I can take care of myself. I was a tall, muscular kid and I knocked the perv out. Throughout my career it was a major problem. This they never tell you in America's Top Model.

The second is drugs. Everywhere you looked cocaine. Especially at the time I worked. Mid 1980's throughout the 1990's. Since that was something I wasn't into, it made it difficult to stay in the mainstream.



5. You said you've met a lot of famous people in your past, so I have to ask what I know everyone else must be wondering---did you ever meet Jeff Probst?

No, sorry. I'm afraid not. He is another ball field. 
The people I met where famous models, like Brooke shields, Carol, Alt, Kim Alexis. I met them at parties and such. I also met Cher....yes, don't be impressed. She is a real BITCH! And she really wasn't much then. Linda Evans of DYNASTY.... an absolute sweetheart. Bette Midler, awesome lady, Marsha Mason of stage and screen, Judy Collins folk singer, Diana Ross-THE Diva, Michael Caine an absolute scream, and I've save this one for last Madonna. That was in like 85  she had just come out with Like a Virgin... What a down to earth and fun person. We hung out a couple of times .... LOVED her.
I don't usually like to name drop because it was such a long time ago. A whole other life. Yes, it was great. Yes, it was amazingly exciting. Yes, it wore me out.

Thank you so much for having me at your blog today Nicki. I hope that more bloggers will stop by and look at the illustrations the next time they visit.

Thank YOU, Michael!


To meet more interesting authors and to introduce yourself, join us for the weekly Meet an Author Monday blog hop!   

Much thanks to Lisa Sanchez at CaliCheerMom for setting up the hop each week.