Nicki Elson's Not-So-Deep Thoughts

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 ...

A rockstar would probably be miffed at seeing her name on the marquis just above "Dog Training"...not squeal with glee and demand a photo. A rockstar would probably expect people to show at her gig...not exclaim "Really?!" when told there were fourteen registrations plus walk-ins. A rockstar would probably have rehearsed ahead of time...not relied on the grace of God and the wonderful questions and insights from attendees to keep the presentation flowing. A rockstar would probably have a whole stable of pens ready for merchandise signing...not wait for one of the purchasers to say "You're going to sign this, right?"   And I'm guessing a rockstar doesn't need to grasp on to her own hands during the "show" to keep them from wildly flailing about.  Ah, but a rockstar probably doesn't give out cookies, either, does she?  I do. :)  And today I'm giving them out to fabulous authors Trisha Wolfe and Killian McRae for hel...

We did it!  Ever since blog friend Michael Di Gesu and I discovered our birthdays are only three days apart---and that he's in Chicago and I'm in the western 'burbs---we've been talking about getting together.  And last Friday we made it happen.  Of course we made it happen; we're both stubborn Tauruses (or would that be Tauri?), after all. This is us at the Grand Lux Cafe on Wabash I'm happy to report that Michael is just as lively, open, warm, and wonderful in real life as he is on his blog.  The conversation and laughs flowed easily all through lunch...and about 45 iced teas/Diet Cokes. But that wasn't enough, so after having the waiter snap a photo of us, we wandered over to a Starbucks that had the most AMAZING view of Wacker Drive and continued the conversation.   If you ever get the chance to meet up with someone you've clicked with in the blogosphere, I highly recommend it.  Thanks for the fun, Michael! During A to Z, Michael won a copy ...

Alrighty then, here are the final 80s TV Shows Trivia answers.  Much thanks to everyone who played. :)  If you see your name below, this badge to the left is all yours.  Remington Steele One of the show's early writers and producers, Glenn Gordon Caron, quit after the first ten episodes to start his own production company.  He went on to write and produce another hit 80s TV show, also about a pair of bickering "I hate you/I love you" detectives.  Know what it was? A: Moonlighting Who got it right? Tara Tyler ; Alex J. Cavanaugh ; Anne Gallagher ; Lynn Reed .  I'm on the bubble about Michael Di Gesu because he was going for "McMillon & Wife" but did switch to the correct answer when he saw other guesses, so, hrm, 1/2 point? Saved by the Bell Only four of Saved by the Bell's seven regular characters (pictured here) appeared in each of the TV show's eighty-six episodes. Can you name them? A: Zack, Slater, Screech & Lisa Who go...

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 unde...

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 o...

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 W...

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!  

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 pe...

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 brook...

Last year, Jessica McQuinn graciously granted me an interview on the release day of her latest novel, Indivisible , an emotional tale of love and survival in a military family. Jessica McQuinn is also the co-author of Passion Fish . Both Indivisible and Passion Fish are part of Omnific Publishin's Freedom Sale through July 31, 2012 at only $2.99 each. Even though Indivisible deals with some pretty weighty issues, McQuinn's vibrant personality shows through in her writing to make the book a fun as well as an insightful read.      For more on the military aspects of Indivisible , read the Coffee Time Romance interview. 1. The military plays a strong role in Indivisible, so the story obviously had to be set near a military base, but how did you decide on San Diego as the setting for Indivisible? Well, since Gideon is a SEAL, the options were limited. While at any given time, a SEAL team can be anywhere, there are only a few actual bases that they call "hom...

I've been wanting to post about this for a long time, but finally got motivated by one of Lisa Galek's new year's resolutions at her blog Read, Write, Repeat .  By her own assessment, she's gone over the edge and has resolved to curb her emoticon abuse in the new year.  We discussed it further and agree that emoticons in moderation aren't bad, but we worry that we've become too dependent on them. Hey, why does it sound like I'm talking about an addiction?  Oh, maybe I am...  Hi.  My name is Nicki Elson and I'm an emotiaholic.  Which is extremely ironic because I used to be an emoti-snob.  I refused to use them.  I said, "I'm a writer. I shall use only words to express my meaning."  But then, as I became more active in the world of on-line writing, my e-communications through reviews, responses to reviews, private messages, e-mails, etc. increased, and I found a quick-fix to let the person on the other end know I was just joking was to tac...

If you know Karen G, then you know Celery Tree. But just in case you haven't had the pleasure, let me introduce you to this exciting new website for writers and readers.  It's set to launch very, very soon.  The brains behind the concept can explain it better than me, so I've put together excerpts from the Celery Tree blog (along with links to the full posts) to help me out: The book world needs a vehicle to help overlooked but talented authors get discovered. The real judge of a book's worth should be made by the readers, not by the marketing dollars behind it. But how can readers find those books that don't have the big bucks behind them? That's where celerytree.com comes in. It's like a cozy neighborhood bookstore where you can feel comfortable browsing for hours and discover some hidden gems of your own. Read full post. * * * Authors helping authors, in an environment of books, blogs and reader reviews--similar to Goodreads but without th...

We can say it doesn't, but we all know it does.  So tell me---exactly how big do you like 'em? This'd probably be a good time to tell you that I'm talking about chapter size.  One thing I've learned through writing and editing is that there are often multiple potential chapter breaks.  Sometimes an obvious stopping point screams out, but what to do when that doesn't happen?   Should word count be considered? For example, I've finally gotten back to my WIP and hammered out at least the beginning of a first chapter. I've reached a point where I could end the chapter...or I could keep going.  Either way it'll work just fine from a story perspective. As it stands right now, I'm at 2055 words, roughly 8 pages in print.  That strikes me as rather too short.  Is it?  Or is short a good thing? And do I need to aim for consistent chapter length throughout the story (I typically try to)? Or is content all that matters and I should stop asking these qu...

I've received another entry in the 80s Junk in a Box Competition !  This is a splendid 80s diroama from two young gals who weren't even born until the mid-90s.  But they got in the spirit and when they came to me for guidance,  I explained that if it's bright and slightly obnoxious---it's 80s!  So here's what they came up with: Note the Pac-Man backdrop and the Rubik's Cube flooring. Nice job, ladies. The entrants don't have a website or blog, so I've linked their image on the sidebar to a related You Tube video one of the girls made with her cousins...it's got a slightly darker theme than the diorama: Barbie's Bloody Dreamhouse .  You've got until January 31 to get your 80s junk in a box!  Please send photos to: elson.nicki@gmail.com. You will make my day---who am I kidding, my entire month!---if you do. :D  The prizes are a One Hit Wonders of the 80s CD, a signed copy of Three Daves , and your book or blog or whatever you want featured in...

I can't believe it, but I've received the first submission to my Junk in a Box competition!  The rules are to design an 80s-themed diorama and e-mail a photo of it to elson.nicki@gmail.com by January 31, 2011 . (Now that I've seen people might actually do this, I've extended the deadline to the end of January.) It's that simple. The prizes for the winning diorama are: One Hit Wonders of the 80s CD Signed Copy of Three Daves Your blog & your book (or whatever you want) featured in a post  Plus, all entries will be invited to be a guest blogger here at Not-So-Deep Thoughts and will get a link to wherever they want on my side bar!   Want to see the new entry? It's a recreation of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back ,  released in 1980.   I'm told this is the entrant's first diorama attempt ever.  Nice job! :)  He doesn't have a blog, so I'm linking his diorama image on the sidebar to his excellent Star Wars fanfiction: Such a Q...

Something extremely way cool happened---the alumni magazine from my Alma mater, Eastern Illinois University, did a truly fabulous feature article about my book ! I've had a very good response---the biggest since launch---and I've gotten confirmation of something I suspected all along... My book was published in February of this year, and pretty much from the get-go I've been out there marketing-wise.  I've done signings and website interviews, gotten articles in local papers, finagled my book onto shelves of local businesses, delved into an e-life, etc. etc. Some efforts have been modestly successful, some not so much, and I've wondered many, many times whether any of it's even worth it.  But during my recent bubble in book sales, people have commented something to the effect of: "I've been hearing about this book and keep meaning to check it out, but then I saw this article and I have to read it." So that's it---it might ...