Monday, April 29, 2013

AUTHOR AUTHOR: THE DIVINE NICKI ELSON

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

Today I bring you an interview with our sweet blogger friend Nicki Elson of Nicki Elson's Not-So-Deep Thoughts (click HERE to visit her blog).

Nicki recently published her second novel, and I'm just as proud of her as I can be.


This is the photo from the cover of her book, Divine Temptation.

And here's the synopsis of the book (also from the cover):

Maggie Brock has everything under control. Even her divorce, though painful at the time, only registers as a minor blip in her carefully constructed universe. Her life in Prairie Oaks has once again returned to a smooth predictable pace . . . until an angel shows up in her bedroom.

The angel is just as bewildered as Maggie about why he's been sent to her; but their unsuccessful efforts to gain understanding of the mystery fade to the background as their relationship grows. Soon, Maggie's biggest problem becomes the angel himself, as her feelings for him develop into something less than saintly.

While Maggie struggles to keep her desires pure, a nefarious being lurks in the shadows of Prairie Oaks, watching and waiting for the opportunity to fulfill his ambiguous purpose. Preying on her conflicted emotions, the demon manipulates her at every opportunity, but the one to deliver Maggie directly into his hands is the last person she'd expect.

Doesn't it sound exciting? It is. It's such a good book.

Now, let start our interview with Nicki:




Q.. What's the very first thing that popped into your head that led to the plot of this book? Was it an incident or a character, or did something happen in your life that led you to this story? It's okay to have more than one answer. I read in the Acknowledgements that the seeds for this book were sewn at a Bible study. What were you studying?

A. The very first spark came from an Abercrombie & Fitch bag. That's right, a bag. Want to see it? Yes, I thought you would (attached). His knowing, earnest eyes led me to to dream up a wise, beautiful stranger from another realm. The darker aspect of the story came to me while studying Death by Suburb: How to Keep the Suburbs from Killing Your Soul. I became smitten with the idea of evil lurking behind every perfectly pruned shrub and Pilatesized PTA-mom's bum. 

Here's Nicki's inspirational fellow.


Q. What's your writing process like? How did you stay organized? A lot is going on in this book. Did you plan the entire plot in advance or did the characters control the action? If you planned it in advance, how did the finished product compare to your original plan?   

A. When I decide to get serious about writing a novel, I have to designate large chunks of sacred writing time---usually that's only possible on the weekends. With Divine Temptation I made a deal with myself to bang out one chapter every weekend with no looking back or editing until the first draft was complete. But before fully diving into the writing, I make a rough outline of the sequence of events and have a general idea of the characters' personalities and relationships with one another.

I tend to do a lot of getting to know the characters during the first draft, so sometimes their personalities or relationships evolve a bit in future drafts, but I rarely let a character change any of the major plot points, so Divine Temptation ended up fairly well in line with the outline, although a few opportunities to mess with readers' minds revealed themselves while I was writing, and I just couldn't resist. Before I created the outline, however, I'd done a lot of twisting the story around in my mind, so the finished product is much more complex than I originally envisioned. 

Q. What if Divine Temptation was made into a movie? Who would you want playing the lead roles?

A. Can bags act? I have a really hard time with this question because I have such specific visions of the characters that it's difficult to find an actor who perfectly matches, so it's comforting to know that if the movie rights were picked up, I'd simply be handed a wad of cash and then relegated to the sidelines, not having to worry about things like casting. But before slinking quietly away, I'd put in a request for Richard Burgi to play Maggie's ex, Carl.  


Forgive me, please, but we'll stop here for today. Be sure to join me tomorrow for the rest of the interview. I'm going to ask Nicki how she writes such great sex scenes. You won't want to miss that.

Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

P.S. You can buy Divine Temptation at http://www.amazon.com/Divine-Temptation-Nicki-Elson/dp/1623420083. You'll be glad you did.

18 comments:

  1. I have to admit, that plot line is one of the most intriguing I've read in a long time. Great interview- thank you for sharing!

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  2. My inability to stay organized is one of the reasons why I've never finished writing a single book. I guess I've got the attention span of a ten-year-old. Strangely enough I can listen to my 400 Elvis records and never lose interest...

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  3. Good morning, Janie. Thanks for doing this interview. Great idea splitting it into two posts - not everyone can handle too much Nicki at once. ;) So, do you think anyone's going to believe that it was actually the inspirational fellow's eyes that held me so captivated?

    I hope you're day is off to a good start. Thinking about you.

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  4. Dear Janie, what a fine interviewer you are. I'm eager to read the second installment.

    As soon as I began reading about Nicki's book, I thought of a very old movie that was entitled something like "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir." It starred Gene Tierney who was a favorite actress of mine during the 40s and early 50s.

    I hope you are well, Janie. I've been away from posting and from reading blogs for some time now due to a minor health problem. But the temperature is supposed to hit 83 here today and I'm feel "fine and dandy, like sugar candy." And so here I am back visiting my blogging friends--like you. It's so good to be reading blogs again and being able to take in what's being said. A blessed day. Peace.

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  5. Thanks for bringing the gifted writer to my attention.

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  6. The book sounds great! Falling in love with an angel -you have to like that!

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  7. I checked out this book on Amazon and Goodreads, and all that combined with your review...it looks good!

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  8. Sounds wonderful. I will have to buy it soon!

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  9. Sounds wonderful! I will have to buy it soon!

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  10. Sounds wonderful. I will have to buy it soon!

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  11. I need some sacred writing time. :) This interview has inspired me to start writing again soon.

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  12. Angel love in a whole new way--LOL! Sounds interesting. :) Great interview. Love that the bag started it all.

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  13. Hey, how are you doing? Something just flashed across my screen. Downton Abbey will soon have their first black character. A hot looking man person. Thought you'd want to know, but I expect you already do.

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  14. Oooh, this sounds like a super book. Thanks for the heads up. I'm glad I came back online in time to catch this interview.

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  15. HA! I just went to order this book and (SURPRISE!) I already had it on my Kindle. I'm a little behind (actually I'm a medium to large behind, but that's another story...) in my reading.

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  16. wow from a bag! I wish I got ideas like that;)
    www.thoughtsofpaps.com

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  17. Maybe I should do more planning when writing. Nah, that will never happen. It is interesting to hear how people come by their ideas and how they write.

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  18. 'I have a really hard time with this question because I have such specific visions of the characters that it's difficult to find an actor who perfectly matches, so it's comforting to know that if the movie rights were picked up, I'd simply be handed a wad of cash and then relegated to the sidelines'

    Ha! What a great answer. Took me by surprise, too, but when I think about it -- it's totally you. The Divine Nicki Elson. Love it!

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