Friday, May 3, 2013

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

20 comments:

  1. This is a book I think I'll really enjoy reading, and I don't have that feeling about a lot of books I find from reviews.

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  2. A sassy-ish interview on both sides in my opinion! Well done.

    I can't do spinny rides OR roller coasters any more. Very sad.

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    1. Fortunately, the flying Dumbos do not spin. Dumbo floats as gently as the feather he believes he needs in order to fly.

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  3. I'm so happy to know you're kicking arse, Janie. The thing about roller coasters is, they end. You'll be back flying on Dumbo soon.

    I very much enjoyed answering your interview questions. You made me have to really think - it's good for me to do that every once in a while. Thanks.

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    1. I suspect you do quite a bit of thinking, my dear.

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  4. Great interview. As always, you ask great questions. And I am suitibly intrigued enough to buy the book this weekend :)

    And I have to add, you are an incredibly strong and amazing woman. Much love to you.

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    1. Thank you very much, Kianwi. I hope you love the book.

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  5. ' 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.'

    I love everything about this answer. Nick, I love reading your interviews because I always learn something but also just feel a strong sense of camaraderie.

    Junie, thanks for hosting Nicki. A worthy interviewee. I want to see her just continue to grow and soar because she has so very much to offer, thoughtful and full of substance but never losing her sense of fun. Good stuff.

    Kudos to you both! Great weekend, ahead. Enjoy it.

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    1. I look forward to more great things from Nicki as well.

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  6. Dear Janie, the questions you came up with for the two parts of this interview really brought forth, I think, new thoughts from the author. And that's the sign of a good interviewer. So thank you for all the time you must have spent coming up with those engrossing questions. Peace.

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    1. Thanks, Dee, but questions are easy for me because I'm nosy.

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  7. Great job, ladies. We learned a lot from the Q&As, but it was also easy to see you were both having fun with it.

    Happy weekend!

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    Replies
    1. I'm looking forward to reading YOUR book and interviewing you about it.

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  8. Nice interview! I imagine it could be a challenge to write sex scenes without coming off as too weird.

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    1. Nicki is really good. Her sex scenes aren't too graphic.

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  9. Hello Nikki, I enjoy your answers to Janie's interesting questions. I like your picture. Nice meeting you Nikki and I wish you success with your book.

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    1. Thanks, Lisa. I'm glad you enjoyed the answers - I enjoyed giving them. Thanks for your compliments on the picture too. Credit for that goes to photographer Sherry Simonetti who can work magic!

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    2. Thank you, everyone, for your very nice comments. And I totally agree that Janie asked great questions, really different from the usual. And yep, she really did bring forth new thoughts from me, Dee. Suze, you're such a sweet little groupie. Thanks for reading all my interviews.

      THANK YOU, Janie, for having me over. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

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