AUTHOR AUTHOR: THE DIVINE NICKI ELSON, PART II

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

I'm terribly sorry I've made you wait for the rest of my interview with Nick Elson from Nicki Elson's Not-So-Deep Thoughts. I have been pulled onto a roller coaster not of my own design, and I do not like roller coasters. I'm more of a ride the flying Dumbos at Disneyland kind of girl.

Order must be restored, and it will be to the best of my ability. Please be as patient with me as my loving Z-Boys are here in Dogtown.

Nicki recently released her second novel, Divine Temptation. To read the first part of my interview with her, please click HERE.

And now heeeeeeere's more Nicki:

Q. How did you get to be so good at writing sex scenes? They're titillating without being pornographic.

A. Oh goody, that's exactly what I was going for. I try to focus more on what the character is feeling, emotionally and physically, during the encounter rather than describing the specifics of what precisely is happening. There are certain body parts that can't be named without sounding silly, so I avoid naming them, and I think that helps keep readers in the moment rather than sidetracking them with a giggle. Also, I like to show satisfaction for both participants, not just for my female leads. 

Q. Did your personal beliefs about religion, and especially Catholicism, play a major role in writing the book?

A. All along I wanted the story to be more spiritual than religious, by which I mean addressing relationships with God and evil in broad terms rather than getting into the nitty gritty of a specific dogma. Maggie works at a Catholic church, her children go to Catholic school, and two Catholic priests play important roles, so Catholicism is definitely present, and I did my best to portray it in an accurate light, but the religion itself isn't the focus of the book, and Maggie doesn't always play by its rules. I'd say my personal beliefs came into play mostly in the portrayal of the angel---I allowed myself some wiggle room with the gray areas, but tried to keep him...reasonably...Biblically-correct. 

Q. Tell me something about the book that makes you feel really good.

A. I like that when I go into it to pull out an excerpt, I stay there longer than I meant to, reading further and wanting to stay when I have to yank myself out. 

Q. I see a more mature style in this book than in Three Daves. Is that because of the more adult subject matter or because you've matured as a writer? Maybe a bit of both? How do you think you've changed as a writer during the time that elapsed between the two books? 

A. Why thank you for noticing. :)  It's partly because of the intended differences in the tones of the stories---going from spunky college co-ed to adult divorcee---but I've also matured as a writer. I've learned a lot since writing Three Daves. If I were to do that book over again, I wouldn't change a thing about the storyline, and I'd keep the smart aleck narration, but I'd scrub out a whole lotta adverbs and do other tightening. From a marketing standpoint, I might consider porting it from the 80s into current times, but in the end I'm pretty sure I'd stick on the 80s.

Q. What do you most want the world to know about you and Divine Temptation?

A. Expect the unexpected---that goes for both of us.

Q. Are you planning another book yet? I look forward to seeing more from you.

A. I'm cookin' up a little something. I'm swinging back toward lighter fare, with an office romance for a girl in her mid-twenties. It gets naughty, in a quirky kind of way. I've only barely started, but so far I'm having a lot of fun with it.  Good to know you'll be looking forward to reading.

Thanks so much for having me over and for reading the book. I just loved getting your comments along the way. 

And that's my interview with Nicki. On Monday, I'll review Divine Temptation. I realize today should be Movie Weekend, but maybe we'll have two movie weekends next week. Nobody knows. As Nicki said, expect the unexpected.

Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug, who is still alive and kicking ass