Spring 2006
Hi All,
Well, it’s time for a Spring update.
I’m currently
writing my fourth novel!! The working title is
Of Men and of Angels. The rights have
been sold to Baker Books/Revell. It’s a
contemporary story about real people facing
issues that many Christian families face today.
It’s due August 1, 2006. My goal is to write it
in four months. It took me ten months to a year
to write each of the previous books. So this is
really pushing it. But my agent, Natasha Kern,
said if I want to build a readership large
enough to make a living I need to write two
books a year! So, I’m giving it a try. Still
selling real estate too. So I’m busy.
My second
book, In the Shade of the Jacaranda, came
out in February. Over half the run sold the
first month! I was really encouraged by that.
Book three, The Fragrance of Roses, comes
out in July.
The Winds
of Sonoma has been nominated for a number of
national awards. I found out last week that I
finalled in two, that means Winds was one of
four books chosen for further consideration and
a possible win. I’m a finalist for the Gayle
Wilson 2006 Award for Excellence and The Beacon
2006 Excellence in Romance Award. I was thrilled
to find out that my publisher nominated The
Winds of Sonoma for the very prestigious
Christy Award and also the Gold Medallion Award.
Needless to say, it’s a long shot, but if I even
make the first cut in those awards it will help
sales of my book. I won’t hear anything for at
least another month.
I’m having a
book signing at Barnes & Noble in Kennewick,
Washington this weekend. I stopped to see them
last November when I went on tour for Winds and
left the book for them to read. They loved it
and asked if I'd come back and do a book
signing. They have done lot of work promoting my
appearance in the area and we’re hoping for a
big turnout.
I’m going to
be speaking at the Benewah County Writer’s
Conference on April 22. I’m the guest speaker
for the lunch and I’ll be teaching a workshop
called, Story Structure for Commercial
Fiction. After studying with professional
editors for three years and writing three
full-length novels I feel like I’m qualified to
teach others. In fact, with my agent’s
encouragement, I’ve recently started my own
business, Writing With Fire. I teach emerging
writers how to write commercial fiction . . .
and I get paid for it!! But even better than
that, I find that I learn too.
The Winds of
Sonoma has been chosen as a Book of the Month by
a number of book clubs. One of them is local and
at the end of this month I’ll be meeting with
the club to discuss my book. They’re hosting a
dinner for me and then we’ll have a discussion.
I’m so looking forward to meeting these readers
and hearing their comments.
In September,
if all goes well, I’ll be flying to Dallas,
Texas to do a book tour for my third book,
The Fragrance of Roses. I’ll be in Dallas,
Austin, San Antonio, and Corpus Christi.
Natasha and I
are working on some ways to get my books in
front of more Hispanic readers. People have
loved the Regalo Grande series so much I’m
getting requests to continue with those
characters. I’m seriously thinking of writing a
proposal for three more books with characters
who are relatives of Antonio Perez, the hero of
that series. With that in mind, I’m planning a
trip to Tucson, Arizona in November to learn
more about the plight of the illegals there. I
consider myself an advocate for the poor
Mexicans, illegal or otherwise. I would also
love to write about the poor who are born here
and find the American dream through hard work,
courage, and perseverance. I’ll have to see what
doors God opens up. Have laptop, will travel.
On a personal
note, Antonio and I celebrated our 30th wedding
anniversary in March.
I’d love to
hear from you. If you haven’t signed my GUEST
BOOK, please do by clicking on the HOME tab at
the top of this page. Then scroll to the bottom
of that page. You’ll see the word “Sign” on the
bottom left.
If you’ve
read my books and liked them, please tell
others. Word of mouth is the best way to get
word of my book out.
Warmest
Regards,
Nikki
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2005
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