Nikki Lynn Barrett's Blog, page 5

Promotion....how you deal with it

So, once upon a time there was a woman that had an idea about a contest. Woohoo, right? Yeah, not so much. My organizing skills..they suck!

I have a new release coming sometime next month. I'm in the midst of revisions as we speak. (OKay, not quite that literally, obviously I'm writing this blog post right now.)  I wanted to find a fun way to get my book noticed, to get the hype up BEFORE the release.  Then I thought, why not have other authors involved and make it a bigger event?

Needless to say, I had to make a decision today to postpone that contest, because I'll admit, I got in way over my head. I had the best of intentions, really. I just wanted to find a good way to make myself known (or at least, my book) I'm a self published author, so I don't have the backing of a publisher. I love, love love the freedom of self publishing, but it certainly has its drawbacks.

So my question: How do YOU do it? It's not as if I can afford an assistant, because I'm not really bringing in that much with my writing as a debut author.  Would that make my life simpler? Maybe. In some ways, anyway. But that's not happening at the moment. I'm knee deep in revisions, at a loss as how to easily and successfully run a contest to get the word out about a new book, and make it fun.

What has worked for you to gain the hype before a release? What's helped you when the book is out that isn't crazy time consuming, or uuber expensive?

And if anyone sees the smoke coming out of my ears with a new idea, before I jump the gun, just slap me and make sure I've got ALL the bases covered so I don't run around freaking out going "How the hell am I going to do this?"

I promise, as long as you don't leave any permanent marks, really, feel free to smack me. :)

Sneak Peek Sunday- February 17

Hello! This is my first time in participating with Sneak Peek Sunday. I'm all excited but nervous at the same time.

To gear up for the release of Baby Stetson in about a month, I thought I'd share a sneak peek from that story. Now, this is unedited, first draft, but here's a teaser anyway.



   I shouldn't have come in. Now it's too late. Now I'm going to-   Oh hell. Forget throwing caution to the wind. Lucas was already a goner. He wanted Avery as much as she wanted him. He couldn't keep his hands off of her, he couldn't stop thinking about her.   “I want you too, Avery.” Lucas pressed a kiss to her forehead. She fit so well right there. It had been a long time since he'd held a woman so close to him, let alone one that he cared about more than just lust.   Avery repositioned herself so she could be face to face with Lucas. Her lips parted, and Lucas took the invitation and took her lips again. To finish what he'd started earlier. His cock strained in his jeans. “The things you do to me, Avery.”    Wordlessly, she got to her feet and reached for his hand, pulling him up. She lead him upstairs. It was too late to turn back now. Avery took him to her bedroom. When she opened the door, he took in the sights of Avery's room. Beautiful. Elegant. Unique. Just as she was. He didn't know who started it, but the next thing he knew, they lay in a tangled heap on her bed.    Lucas laid Avery on her back, leaning up over her. Her hair splayed all over the bed behind her, and she looked up at him with those kiss-me lips, her intense eyes, and creamy soft skin begged to be touched.   

There you have it! :)

Check here to see the other participants in this weeks Sneak Peek Sunday. Thanks for stopping by! 

How Well Do you know your Characters?

I hit a milestone yesterday. I finished the first draft of Baby Stetson, a contemporary romance.  The book comes in at just over 96,000 words. As i reflect on my thoughts of the story, and how it differs from how it's written, I wonder, how well do you know your characters? How much do they change and grow from how you originally created them during your writing process?

For instance-

There's a character in Baby Stetson that I hadn't planned on making him a 'good guy'  He's Avery's ex, and you'll meet him in the beginning of the book, but it turns out that I happened to like Jameson, and I didn't want him to be a bad character. He changed my mind. Now, Jameson will get his own story in the next Love and Music In Texas book.  Funny thing with that is, I'd had the heroine's story planned out for that book, although at the time, I didn't plan it to be a series, but now I want that heroine, her name is Melody, to be paired up with Jameson. It's perfect!  You'll even get to catch up with Avery and Lucas, and there will be some big happenings with the band.

I'd say Jameson was my biggest surprise, but he wasn't the only one.  There's a few others that surprised me with they way they turned out, but it worked out for the best.

I've also noticed that my last two heroes, Lucas and Jacob from The Secret Santa Wishing well, are both very jaded. I loved helping them come alive just by finding love.   And yes, fans of Jacob, Cheyenne, Ben and Desi will get to catch up on their lives too, as this summer I'll start writing Robin's story, and will of course include Cheyenne and Jacob's wedding.

Can I just say I love being a writer? Well, I just did say it, lol. But I do! I love creating stories of love and life, and yes, I cry and laugh and get angry right along with my characters. It feels great.

So tell me, how have characters surprised you in your books?  How much do you let them run away from your own idea and make their own?

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2013! Man, does time every fly by or what? Didn't we just ring in 2012?

2012, I know, was a mixed year for various people.  There were definite events that people won't soon forget, and sadly, some of them aren't good memories.  Let's hope for a better year this year, shall we?

What can you expect from me this year? Well, I'm hoping for three book releases, at least.  I'm hoping that my contemporary romance 'Baby Stetson' will be ready to go and released in March, April at the latest.  After 'Baby Stetson', I'm shifting gears a little bit and will be working on a paranormal romantic suspense.  I don't know how much writing I will get done in the summer, as my rambunctious 3 year old (Well, he'll be four by then) will be home from preschool for the summer. Unless I can find something for him to do a few days a week that doesn't cost ridiculous amounts of money, and it's a place that can understand and meet his needs.  If i can write in the summer, I could release four books this year. If not, well I'll hold onto my sanity LOL.  In August, I will start writing (hopefully) Robin's story. Those of you that have read The Secret Santa Wishing Well know who Robin is, of course, and for those who haven't, Robin is a secondary character that's important to Cheyenne. Along with Robin's story, I'll be revisiting with Cheyenne, Jacob, Ben, and Desiree, and you'll all be invited to Cheyenne and Jacob's Christmas wedding!


Some non author goals for me this year is to keep working on Storm Goddess Book Reviews and helping it grow. Also, work to get my craft business that I partner in with my mom off the ground. Then of course there's always the ever so wonderful goal of getting into shape and losing some weight.

What are some of your goals for the year? Or, do you not even do goals and just wing it?

Again, Happy New Year! Write on!

Secret Santa Blog hop WINNER!!!

The Time has come. Are you ready?.....

First off, thank you for everyone that came by, commented, and followed. This has helped get my author blog out there and for that I am grateful. There were so many wonderful comments, and the responses were great.

Now, I chose my winner via Random.org, and this is the winning comment!

ZDecember 19, 2012 1:34 PMWhen our little town of Westerly flooded we met lots of people at the shelter and when I got left at the Middle school after we had been bussed in for showers some of the other people that had a car let me ride back to the shelter with them. Later I found out their car broke down and so I started to pick them up to take them to and from work 6 days a week and church on Sundays. I did this for about 8 months until they could save up to get another car.zseawitchreviews at yahoo dot comCongratulations, Z!
I will be contacting you by your email so you can claim your prize. If you live in the US, you get a signed print copy of my book, outside the US, i will gift you a copy in ebook. 
Thank you again for the comments, and happy holidays!

Secret Santa Blog Hop: December 17-19

Welcome to the Secret Santa Blog Hop! I'm glad you stopped by here on my blog. I'm a debut author, that actually just came out with a Christmas romance a month ago! And...it has the phrase Secret Santa in the title. lol.

Anyway, enough of my giddy-ness.

I took a twist on the old secret santa type thing when writing my book. I originally had an idea of a secret santa match where the couple falls in love.  But as the idea came out more and more,  I came up with the premise of my book.

The hero, Jacob Winston, is a little jaded this Christmas, but with good reason.  He's playing a Santa at the mall, where people cam come up and make a wish when they throw a coin in the well. Kind of like collecting money for donating?  One little boy makes a grown up wish and Jacob can't get him out of his mind. When he meets the boy's mother the next day and finds out more about Ben, Jacob just has to do something for this kind little boy.

Christmas is the season of giving, and I think in the midst of all the commercialized way Christmas is viewed nowaways, I made my book have more of a true meaning of Christmas feel. About giving back, finding love, and bringing cheer to others.  My book isn't inspirational in the sense of the genre, but it has been dubbed as an inspiring book by readers.

What is something that inspired you do do something for someone else?


Thanks for stopping at the blog. As my prize I will give away a print copy of The Secret Santa Wishing Well to one commenter. US only. So if you're not from the US and you get chosen, I will instead gift you a copy of the book in either Kindle or nook format.



BLURB: The magic of Christmas has been lost to Jacob Winston. At the suggestion of his ill sister, Jacob takes a job as a Secret Santa at the mall, hoping to restore his Christmas spirit. Even that doesn't seem to work, until a special little boy ambles up to make a very special wish...
Cheyenne Jensen is struggling to raise her two kids without the help of her ex-husband who refuses to acknowledge his daughter's existence and doesn't provide for the son he does. This Christmas is shaping up to be as heartbreaking as the last, until her son Ben's kind actions lead a stranger to them.
Ah, but it's Christmas time and the magic has begun.
When Jacob and Cheyenne meet, neither can deny their immediate attraction to one another. As situations arise that require they spend more time together, their feelings grow stronger and stronger.
With Christmas fast approaching, the pair learn what matters most in life. Now, if only they could ditch the ghost of Christmases past.
Maybe this holiday will bring some wishes come true- for everyone after all.


EXCERPT: It didn’t take long for her to come back. Jacob moved to the living room, standing and waiting. When he saw her coming, he closed the gap between them. Before he could think twice, he touched her shoulder gently, wanting to thank her for the evening.

But instead of talking, he leaned in and kissed her. Just a light kiss. Gentle. Friendly.

Until she responded. She had her arms around him, pulling him for another kiss. Deeper. Sweeter. She tasted so sweet. Her need made him swell. He could do this all night. Jacob pressed her against the wall, their kisses deepening with urgency. He ran his fingers through her fine hair. Hers wrapped around. his neck, rubbing lightly.

Jacob pulled back abruptly. “Cheyenne,” he ground out. “We have to stop.” Before I lose it. He didn’t want to stop. He never expected her to reciprocate like this. Wow. Maybe it wasn’t one sided after all. Jacob sighed.

That halted everything. She pulled away, looking at him with wide, beautiful eyes. “I’m sorry. I pushed. You must think I’m a fool. I thought, when you kissed me…” Cheyenne attempted to move out of Jacob’s embrace. Oh, damn. She thought he didn’t want her. He did, oh, how he did.

“No, no. Honey, that’s not it at all. Kissing you was magical. Amazing. But we just met. I don’t want to take things too far. But I would love to see you again.” He pushed back loose strands of her hair that hung over her face when she’d moved. She looked so vulnerable. Was she going to cry? Oh hell, he wouldn’t be able to handle it if she did. The last thing he wanted was for her to be upset with him.

“I’d like that, too. It was a wonderful, amazing day, and I have you to thank for it.” She nearly whispered the words, choking up on the last part. “God, I’m a mess. I’m sorry. There’s been so much going on, and my signals are going crazy at the moment.”

Yours aren’t the only one, Jacob thought. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket, typing in her name in the contacts and handing it to her. “Can I have your number?”

She laughed. “Of course.” Her fingers brushed his as she took the phone from him, tapping in her number. She handed it back to him. Electric shocks of awareness zipped through him. His gaze lingered on her, knowing he needed to get the hell out of here before he lost it completely.



Here is the link to check out the other stops on the Blog hop!


http://www.tabithablake.blogspot.com/p/secret-santa-blog-hop.html 


  Barnes & Noble

Hot Winter Nights Giveaway Hop

Wow, so it's December already!  That means so many things- winter, Christmas, and cooler weather? I say that because I'm in Phoenix, and we're still in and around the 80's...that doesn't feel winterish to me!

But the nights are cool...and to me, Hot Winter Nights are ones made up  of spending it with the one you love. Often times, what my husband and I do is take a walk, though we take our 3 year old son, and tire him out!  We usually wind up at our QuikTrip for hot chocolate, or in my case lately, blueberry tea. Then, we go home, snuggle up, drinking our hot drinks, and watch something either on the DVR, or a movie we rent.

One of the things I used to love to do was walk with my husband in the rain. Yes, we're that crazy. But winter to us means long walks, because that's what we used to do. We were both going through a rough time, and ended up walking to talk about it. Long, late night walks and talking, and falling in love. So winter has a special meaning for me. It's almost to the five year mark for us dating, come this December, so I know we'll keep up our walking tradition for these hot winter nights. :)

What is a perfect hot winter night for you? What kind of winter nights do you enjoy reading about?  Does Christmas bring out the best in hot winter nights?



Nikki Lynn Barrett lives in Arizona with her husband and son. She's an avid reader, a dreamer, and loves everything about books. She runs a book blog, an online used bookstore, and writes various genres of romance. Nikki can also be found outside with her camera when a storm is near, snapping photo after photo. Her dreams of becoming a writer started when she was young, when she started writing books in one subject notebooks by the fifth grade. The Secret Santa Wishing Well is her debut book. You can visit Nikki's site at: www.nikkilynnbarrett.blogspot.com for more information. She is working on her next book. Nikki would love to hear from readers. Email her at nikkilynnbarrett@yahoo.com


The Secret Santa Wishing Well, a Christmas contemporary romance, out now!

(talk about hot winter nights!)

Blurb: The magic of Christmas has been lost to Jacob Winston. At the suggestion of his ill sister, Jacob takes a job as a Secret Santa at the mall, hoping to restore his Christmas spirit. Even that doesn't seem to work, until a special little boy ambles up to make a very special wish...
Cheyenne Jensen is struggling to raise her two kids without the help of her ex-husband who refuses to acknowledge his daughter's existence and doesn't provide for the son he does. This Christmas is shaping up to be as heartbreaking as the last, until her son Ben's kind actions lead a stranger to them.
Ah, but it's Christmas time and the magic has begun.
When Jacob and Cheyenne meet, neither can deny their immediate attraction to one another. As situations arise that require they spend more time together, their feelings grow stronger and stronger.
With Christmas fast approaching, the pair learn what matters most in life. Now, if only they could ditch the ghost of Christmases past.
Maybe this holiday will bring some wishes come true- for everyone after all.


Excerpt:


It didn't take long for her to come back. Jacob moved to the living room, standing and waiting. When he saw her coming, he closed the gap between them. Before he could could think twice, he touched her shoulder gently, wanting to thank her for the evening.
But instead of talking, he leaned in and kissed her. Just a light kiss. Gentle. Friendly.
Until she responded. She had her arms around him, pulling him for another kiss. Deeper. Sweeter. She tasted so sweet. Her need made him swell. He could do this all night. Jacob pressed her against the wall, their kisses deepening with urgency. He ran his fingers through her fine hair. Hers wrapped around. his neck, rubbing lightly.
Jacob pulled back abruptly. “Cheyenne," he ground out. “We have to stop.” Before I lose it. He didn't want to stop. He never expected her to reciprocate like this. Wow. Maybe it wasn't one sided after all. Jacob sighed.
That halted everything. She pulled away, looking at him with wide, beautiful eyes. “I'm sorry. I pushed. You must think I'm a fool. I thought, when you kissed me...” Cheyenne attempted to move out of Jacob's embrace. Oh, damn. She thought he didn't want her. He did, oh, how he did.
“No, no. Honey, that's not it at all. Kissing you was magical. Amazing. But we just met. I don't want to take things too far. But I would love to see you again.” He pushed back loose strands of her hair that hung over her face when she'd moved. She looked so vulnerable. Was she going to cry? Oh hell, he wouldn't be able to handle it if she did. The last thing he wanted was for her to be upset with him.
“I'd like that, too. It was a wonderful, amazing day, and I have you to thank for it.” She nearly whispered the words, choking up on the last part. “God, I'm a mess. I'm sorry. There's been so much going on, and my signals are going crazy at the moment.”
Yours aren't the only one, Jacob thought. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket, typing in her name in the contacts and handing it to her. “Can I have your number?”
She laughed. “Of course.” Her fingers brushed his as she took the phone from him, tapping in her number. She handed it back to him. Electric shocks of awareness zipped through him. His gaze lingered on her, knowing he needed to get the hell out of here before he lost it completely.

Buy on Amazon Kindle

Buy on B&N Nook

So, here's my prize offering! How about a $5 to Amazon? Just leave a comment! And, since I'm a newbie blog and debut author, I'd love a follow.

Now, that's just the prize I am giving away. There's also a GRAND PRIZE for following along the blog hop!!





$50 Amazon Gift Card - $10 Bookstrand Bucks - eBook prize package including:  11 eBooks.

It's HERE! It's HERE!

So, I posted all over FB yesterday, in several Yahoo groups, but SHAME on me for not posting it here on my blog! As a blogger for over a year, I should have known to come to my own author blog, lol.

Anyway, available now, on Amazon, is The Secret Santa Wishing Well!

It will be available on other e-tailers soon, and working on getting a print version up.

This is a very surreal moment for me. I've been writing for so long, have always wanted to be a writer. To see this day finally come is magical!

Here's the Amazon link!

http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Santa-Wishing-Well-ebook/dp/B00A9FIHOC/ref=sr_1_1?_encoding=UTF8&al_rs&keywords=nikki+lynn+barrett&qid=1353254832&s=dig#al_rp


Thank you for all the love and support.

Tuesday Talk: Insecure Heroines

Most of us in real life have insecurities one way or another. So when escaping to romance, do you read books about insecure heroines?  What would be over the top for you?  What are some of your favorite books with heroines that aren't perfect and have some insecurities? Can you relate to them?

In a romance, we all want to relate to the heroine. We want her to be likable. We dread that phrase, TSTL.  But to keep a story realistic, sometimes these things slip in.

What are your thoughts? As a reader, as a writer?

Welcome!

Thanks for visiting. I am Nikki Lynn Barrett, and my debut Christmas contemporary story is coming soon. Like, this month :)

A little about me- Well, I love books. Reading, writing, blogging about them. Oh, and I run an online used bookstore too. Can you tell I love books?

I hope to keep things updated here, but we'll see how that goes. There's already so much that I'm doing, but hey, why not add more to the mix, right?

I'm from Pheonix, Arizona. Well, that's where I live now, for the past sixteen years. I was born in El Paso Texas.  I lived in Germany for awhile, also Massachusetts. But I don't remember much about either, because I was very young then.

I write an eclectic range of romance genres. I'm coming out with  a contemporary holiday, but my love lies with romantic suspense. But contemporary, paranormal, YA, supernatural, sometimes horror, and thriller come to mind.  I have sooooo many ideas running around in my head, so hopefully my muse will allow me to write them ONE at a time, and then share them with the world.


Here is the blurb to The Secret Santa Wishing Well:
The magic of Christmas has been lost to Jacob Winston. At the suggestion of his
ill sister, Jacob takes a job as a Secret 
Santa at a mall, hoping to restore his
Christmas spirit. Even that doesn't seem to work until a special little boy
ambles up to make a very special wish...

Cheyenne Jensen is struggling to raise her two kids without the help of her ex
husband who refuses to acknowledge his daughter's existence and doesn't provide
for the son he does. Christmas is shaping up to be as heartbreaking as the last
until her son Ben's kind actions lead a stranger to them.

Ah, but it's Christmas time and the magic has begun.

When Jacob and Cheyenne meet, neither can deny their immediate attraction to one
another. As situations arise that require they spend more time together, the
stronger their feelings grow.

With Christmas fast approaching, the pair learn what matters most in life, now
if only they could ditch the ghost of Christmases past.

Maybe this holiday will bring some wishes come true- for everyone after all.






And, because I can, here's the magical cover! 




So, there's my first post! I don't really have much else to say right now, lol.
Nikki Lynn Barrett