Nikki Duncan's Blog
May 6, 2015
A Free Book and Other Things You Don't Want to Miss...
Tangled in Tulle
I wanted to take a moment in this brief window of freedom to make sure you all know of some things coming down the line. If you subscribe to my newsletter you're already aware, but I wanted to make sure everyone else is clued it.
Effective immediately, hints about the individual Tulle and Tulips stories are being shared on the Tulle and Tulips Pinterest boards. If you haven't checked those out, please do. I've been having great fun hunting up the clues and pinning things all the planners would love.
This month, I'm one of the sponsors of the Find Your Next Great Read Scavenger Hunt that's taking place in May. Entering the hunt is fun. 100 Amazon Gift Cards and 38 eBooks are up for grabs. The grand prize is a $250 Amazon Gift Card. Enter Now!
Also this month, teaming up with Ever After Romance and Colin Cowie Weddings , Samhain Publishing and I are giving away digital copies of Tangled in Tulle for the month of May. Details can be found on the Colin Cowie site or on my Facebook and Twitter accounts.
At the Romantic Times Convention, Tangled, Twisted and Handcuffed will be available in print for the first time. I hope to see you there getting your copy.
In June, I'll be at Lori Foster's RAGT . I'll have a Tulle and Tulips basket that will be filled with some awesome goodies for one lucky winner to win. If you're going to be there, be sure to watch for that.
Later in the summer I'll be releasing Engaged in Embellishments. This is installment 5.5 of the Tulle and Tulips series. It will be a forever free short story.
If that's not enough for you, also this summer, there will be a #TulleTulips contest where you'll be asked to share a picture from your special day. There will be four winners throughout the course of the month. Free books will be mixed with other great prizes.
And very soon I'll have a cover of Engaged in Embellishments to share. I've seen the draft and am in love!
Nikki Duncan
April 16, 2015
Being a Girl is HARD
I posted this at
After Midnight Fantasies
today, but I wanted to share it here too.
It’s no secret that being a girl is hard. Extremely hard. And it doesn’t matter how young or old we are or what we do every day of our lives.
As a mom of two daughters, I’ve always prided myself in being honest with them. One instance, that seems to be happening often with the youngest, I’m always honest regards the subject of bullies, or mean girls.
So often parents tell their children things will get better as they get older. I don’t. I tell my girls that people, some people, are mean and will always be mean. The only thing that will really change, or get better, is our individual ability to handle the bullies. I tell them that no matter how old we get there are always going to be people we do not like or want to be around. People who cannot find it in themselves to be genuinely kind to others. I then tell them it is up to them to find a strength inside themselves, a strength I know we all have inside, to stand against the bullies.
Now, most recently for example, this advise was dished out to my elementary aged daughter. I told her there will be nothing easy about it, but that her best defense against mean girls is to be a happy girl. I told her that nothing pisses off a bully intent on ruining your day more than being happy in the face of their meanness. My girls, being the sarcastic and expressive creatures they are, always laugh at me when I tell them this. Yeah, I admit I see the insanity of the idea.
My girls thrive on music. One plays flute and the other is a singer. This makes it feel natural that I should use music, this seemingly small thing which they connect to, to help my youngest come up with ways to combat the negativity. My current promise is to help her build an Empowering Playlist. A playlist she listens to in the morning before school, in the afternoon after school and in the evening before bed. A playlist that can live in her head and give her something to turn to in those moments when she needs to tune out the negativity around her.
So my question for you, no my plea, is what music empowers you to be a stronger you? What song helps you stand against those who would oppress you? What would you suggest for the sake of inspiring a young girl trying to find her way in an emotion filled world?
Nikki Duncan
It’s no secret that being a girl is hard. Extremely hard. And it doesn’t matter how young or old we are or what we do every day of our lives.
As a mom of two daughters, I’ve always prided myself in being honest with them. One instance, that seems to be happening often with the youngest, I’m always honest regards the subject of bullies, or mean girls.
So often parents tell their children things will get better as they get older. I don’t. I tell my girls that people, some people, are mean and will always be mean. The only thing that will really change, or get better, is our individual ability to handle the bullies. I tell them that no matter how old we get there are always going to be people we do not like or want to be around. People who cannot find it in themselves to be genuinely kind to others. I then tell them it is up to them to find a strength inside themselves, a strength I know we all have inside, to stand against the bullies.
Now, most recently for example, this advise was dished out to my elementary aged daughter. I told her there will be nothing easy about it, but that her best defense against mean girls is to be a happy girl. I told her that nothing pisses off a bully intent on ruining your day more than being happy in the face of their meanness. My girls, being the sarcastic and expressive creatures they are, always laugh at me when I tell them this. Yeah, I admit I see the insanity of the idea.
My girls thrive on music. One plays flute and the other is a singer. This makes it feel natural that I should use music, this seemingly small thing which they connect to, to help my youngest come up with ways to combat the negativity. My current promise is to help her build an Empowering Playlist. A playlist she listens to in the morning before school, in the afternoon after school and in the evening before bed. A playlist that can live in her head and give her something to turn to in those moments when she needs to tune out the negativity around her.
So my question for you, no my plea, is what music empowers you to be a stronger you? What song helps you stand against those who would oppress you? What would you suggest for the sake of inspiring a young girl trying to find her way in an emotion filled world?
Nikki Duncan
March 8, 2015
Inspiring Readers
This last weekend I took my children to the North Texas Teen Book Festival. Now, as an author I'm pretty used to going to reader conferences, but it's been a very long time since I've attended one on the reader side. I've never attended one with young kids as the readers. It was an awesome experience.
Like I do for every conference, I printed out the schedule to plan the day. As expected, my oldest daughter (who rescheduled a college tour for the sake of attending this festival) had her own list of authors she wanted to see. So we split up a couple of times with her going her way and me taking the youngest her way.
The youngest, who does enjoy reading, discovered a new level of excitement. She was there specifically to see one author, so you might be able to imagine that our schedule for the day was fairly focused on finding that author. This meant going to every panel he was going to be in, but being in the same room with him wasn't going to be good enough for her. No, she needed to be on the front row of his workshops even if that meant I had to sit four rows back because the rooms were completely packed.
Between panels, she sat in the hallways and read his book. After his last panel, she hustled, and I do mean hustled, to where he was going to be signing so she was one of the first kids in line. When there was enough space, she was all out running to get in his line. Then, when she saw him entering a room or approaching she would poke or punch me over and over telling me "He's coming. He's right there."
Then when the time came, she would walk right up to him to ask a question that didn't get asked during the panel. And during all of that, she befriended another girl who was stalking the same author and we ended up finishing the day with them. I've seen readers connect with each other at conferences. I've seen an outgoing reader draw a less outgoing one into conversation over the shared love of books, but this weekend I watched a 10 year old girl draw a shy 13 year old into conversation.
I witnessed a little girl who often thinks she doesn't fit in with anyone (at school) jump into conversations with kids her age and older without a moment's hesitation. I saw her find a place where she knows she can always belong, and when that happened I watched a flicker of interest in reading blossom into the brighter burn of a love of books and the worlds they can introduce readers to.
In addition to the impressive efforts of all the event organizers and volunteers, the miraculous day was primarily possible because of the authors who are willing to share themselves with their readers.
As a reader, what author made a difference in your life? Tell me your story.
Nikki Duncan
Like I do for every conference, I printed out the schedule to plan the day. As expected, my oldest daughter (who rescheduled a college tour for the sake of attending this festival) had her own list of authors she wanted to see. So we split up a couple of times with her going her way and me taking the youngest her way.
The youngest, who does enjoy reading, discovered a new level of excitement. She was there specifically to see one author, so you might be able to imagine that our schedule for the day was fairly focused on finding that author. This meant going to every panel he was going to be in, but being in the same room with him wasn't going to be good enough for her. No, she needed to be on the front row of his workshops even if that meant I had to sit four rows back because the rooms were completely packed.
Between panels, she sat in the hallways and read his book. After his last panel, she hustled, and I do mean hustled, to where he was going to be signing so she was one of the first kids in line. When there was enough space, she was all out running to get in his line. Then, when she saw him entering a room or approaching she would poke or punch me over and over telling me "He's coming. He's right there."
Then when the time came, she would walk right up to him to ask a question that didn't get asked during the panel. And during all of that, she befriended another girl who was stalking the same author and we ended up finishing the day with them. I've seen readers connect with each other at conferences. I've seen an outgoing reader draw a less outgoing one into conversation over the shared love of books, but this weekend I watched a 10 year old girl draw a shy 13 year old into conversation.
I witnessed a little girl who often thinks she doesn't fit in with anyone (at school) jump into conversations with kids her age and older without a moment's hesitation. I saw her find a place where she knows she can always belong, and when that happened I watched a flicker of interest in reading blossom into the brighter burn of a love of books and the worlds they can introduce readers to.
In addition to the impressive efforts of all the event organizers and volunteers, the miraculous day was primarily possible because of the authors who are willing to share themselves with their readers.
As a reader, what author made a difference in your life? Tell me your story.
Nikki Duncan
Remade Through Fire
Once upon a time I blogged on a regular basis, but my approach and topics lacked focus which made it hard for me to come up with things to talk about. I've been thinking about blogging again, and if I were to do it what my focus would be. I've figured it out. My blog will have the same focus as my stories do, and that means my topics will be about family, triumphing over obstacles we face, things that inspire us despite challenges and finding love in everyday life.
To kick things off I thought I'd share a little bit about the book I'm currently working on and some of the research I've found so far on the topic. Controlled Burn is book one in the Scarred Hearts series. In this first book, a rookie firefighter pulls a burn victim from a building in the opening chapter and then begins the journey of the victim's recovery and reintegration into life and society, which will include the firefighters that saved his life.
As you can guess, a Google search of images about burn victims can result in some horrific images. Stories about survivors abound, and then there are stories that take an unexpected turn. An emotional turn.
One such story is that of Tony, a victim caught in an explosion. With burns over 95% of his body he had a 1% chance of survival. I found myself captivated by the documentary, ReMade, about his experience.
Have a story of your own? I would love to hear it.
To kick things off I thought I'd share a little bit about the book I'm currently working on and some of the research I've found so far on the topic. Controlled Burn is book one in the Scarred Hearts series. In this first book, a rookie firefighter pulls a burn victim from a building in the opening chapter and then begins the journey of the victim's recovery and reintegration into life and society, which will include the firefighters that saved his life.
As you can guess, a Google search of images about burn victims can result in some horrific images. Stories about survivors abound, and then there are stories that take an unexpected turn. An emotional turn.
One such story is that of Tony, a victim caught in an explosion. With burns over 95% of his body he had a 1% chance of survival. I found myself captivated by the documentary, ReMade, about his experience.
Have a story of your own? I would love to hear it.
November 16, 2014
A Color Coded Post It Girl
I seem to have officially become a color coded Post It girl. I’m can’t say it’s something I planned, or would have expected. For years I’ve kept a running list of things needing to be done on a legal pad. And for those years I found myself irritated by the messiness of the list with all the lines through it. Always wanting a clean list, this meant I was rewriting the list over and over, which isn’t as effective as just doing the item. You know?
Then, I made a change in my workspace. I got rid of the large desk in the open area upstairs and instead moved to a small writing desk in a corner in my bedroom. It was an adjustment, but the move has forced me to rethink my organization. I cut down on the clutter, which always makes me happy, and I’ve figured out the most effective way to use the space.
One change to using the space was to move from the never ending list rewrite to sticking Post It Notes on the wall I now face. I’ve found that with the stickies staring me in the face I’m more inclined to get things done because I would rather look at a blank wall than an Post It filled one.
I’ve also found that color coding the Post Its makes things easier. Apparently I like to compartmentalize, because I’ve gone so far to do Green for Day Job, Orange for Personal, Pink/Melon for Band/School and Red for Writing. There’s also a major feeling of accomplishment when I empty things off the wall.
This has me wondering, though, what kind of person are you? Semi-organized? Scattered? Obsessively methodical? Somewhere in between? Do you like lists or do you just have an amazing memory that doesn’t requires lists?
Nikki Duncan
Then, I made a change in my workspace. I got rid of the large desk in the open area upstairs and instead moved to a small writing desk in a corner in my bedroom. It was an adjustment, but the move has forced me to rethink my organization. I cut down on the clutter, which always makes me happy, and I’ve figured out the most effective way to use the space.
One change to using the space was to move from the never ending list rewrite to sticking Post It Notes on the wall I now face. I’ve found that with the stickies staring me in the face I’m more inclined to get things done because I would rather look at a blank wall than an Post It filled one.
I’ve also found that color coding the Post Its makes things easier. Apparently I like to compartmentalize, because I’ve gone so far to do Green for Day Job, Orange for Personal, Pink/Melon for Band/School and Red for Writing. There’s also a major feeling of accomplishment when I empty things off the wall.
This has me wondering, though, what kind of person are you? Semi-organized? Scattered? Obsessively methodical? Somewhere in between? Do you like lists or do you just have an amazing memory that doesn’t requires lists?
Nikki Duncan
June 6, 2014
Own FIERY and Make a Thunderclap!
The one way they don’t rub each other wrong is in each other’s arms.
Carmen Smith’s artist’s eye saw inspiration wherever she glanced as soon as she set foot on the cobbled streets of Whispering Cove, and among the inspiration she’s found the slower pace she always hoped for.
But as warm as her new life is, she harbors a secret dream to find a man who sees her as an equal and who loves her for who she is, rather than out of charity. The man she’s been partnered with to re-design the town square gets her fired up—but not in a way she expected.
Ryan Alden gave up his military career to help his father with the family business. He’s accepted his place in Whispering Cove, but still feels like an outsider at times. When he meets the bombshell babe with a vintage flare who challenges him like no other, he glimpses the life he has always longed for—but not in a way he anticipated.
From the get-go, they clash like oil and watercolor. And a relationship that looked good on paper might not be the right composition at all…
Own your copy now!
Fiery
Ever heard a Thunderclap? Now you can help create one!
Want to help spread the word about FIERY and the connected stories FEISTY and FLIRTY? Cathryn Fox, Mackenzie McKade and I are doing a Thunderclap. If we get 100 supporters before June 9 a Thunderclap will be sent to participating Social Media accounts on the 9th. If that happens, I will give away a $30 gift card (Samhain, Amazon or B&N) to one supporter. All you have to do is visit the Thunderclap link, allow Thunderclap access to your FM or Twitter for this one post and you're entered.
Show your support: https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/1...
May 21, 2014
The FIERY Countdown is On!
There are only 6 days left until the release of FIERY, a Whispering Cove story. Have you marked it on your To Read list?
What draws you to it?
Fiery
Nikki Duncan
May 7, 2014
A FIERY Teaser
“We could have more done if you’d reported on time.”She pointed to herself. “Artist.” She pointed at him. “Landscaper.”
She smiled with that pretty mouth of hers and all he wanted to do was wipe the cheer away. He just wasn’t sure if he’d do the wiping with his hand or his lips.
He was still trying to decide when she set her coffee on the bench. Then she stood and stepped up on the bench. The extra foot and a half put her closer to his height, and she gestured for him to come nearer.
“Guys,” he called to his crew without looking at them. “Would you excuse us, please?”
The men headed through the gate they’d erected and pushed it closed, giving him and Carmen complete privacy. Not one to back down from a challenge, Ryan took the three steps necessary to stand in front of her.
“Let’s get something straight, Gunny.” She curled her fingers into the collar of his shirt, leaned in close and spoke in that irritatingly haughty tone of hers. “You’re no longer in the Corps. I am not an enlisted grunt below your rank. The orders and militant expectations end. Now. Do we understand one another?”
Damn, but he wanted to throttle her and kiss her. Every spark that had been detonated at her touch yesterday fired in her eyes as they locked with his. His skin heated more than it had from the morning’s labor. His decision was made for him.
The woman had taunted him from a distance, awakened him with a touch and then haunted his dreams. He’d awoken hard and on edge, looking forward to seeing her. Then when she finally bothered to appear it was in a shroud of arrogance.
“Do you want to know what I understand, Woman?”
“I told you not to call me that.”
Ryan took another step. His toes bumped the bench. “You’re pissed that I didn’t ask nice enough.”
She leaned marginally closer, pinning her hand between them. “You didn’t ask at all.”
“I’m not a soft man. I don’t have the patience for female games like the other men in this town.”
“I am not playing games.”
“You’re just trying to prove you won’t be bossed around by me. That doesn’t make us equals.”
She leaned into his face, unblinking, and shook her head. “I am no man’s subordinate. If you want my help, you’ll take it on equal footing.”
He grinned. “Says the woman standing on a bench so she can have a chance of looking me in the eye.”
“But I have your attention, don’t I?”
“Oh yeah. I wonder if you captured it the way you’d hoped.” Proving the point, he placed a hand at the back of her neck and pulled her close. Her smile was gone, but he was still going to taste her sassy mouth.
Pre-order it now!
Fiery
April 25, 2014
An RT Update
USA Today Bestselling Author Cathryn Fox and I will be co-hosting a Saint table at Samhain's Saints and Sinner Party on Thursday night at RT in New Orleans.
Out question to you: How badly can we taint your saintly selves?
With a fun game for everyone stopping by our table, we'll be giving away an awesome prize to one lucky winner.
So, if you're attending RT, be sure you mark your calendars for the Samhain party and stop by our table to play! Cathryn Fox
Nikki Duncan
Out question to you: How badly can we taint your saintly selves?
With a fun game for everyone stopping by our table, we'll be giving away an awesome prize to one lucky winner.
So, if you're attending RT, be sure you mark your calendars for the Samhain party and stop by our table to play! Cathryn Fox
Nikki Duncan
April 14, 2014
Going to RT? Like Giveaways/1
I'm always giving things away, but at RT I am involved in a few really fun events. In addition to the two listed below, I will also be hosting a Saint table at the Samhain Saints and Sinners party. Yes, I know that's backwards for me. At the table, Cathryn Fox and I will be having a drawing for an awesome bag.
Are you going to RT? What are you looking forward to?
Are you going to RT? What are you looking forward to?
