Comments on Mysteries and Margaritas: Tuesdays Tidbits With Kari: Featuring Author Nicki...

Thanks so much Rebecca! I'm thrilled you enjo...

2010-06-20T17:37:52.555-07:00

Thanks so much Rebecca! I'm thrilled you enjoyed it, and incidentally, I can't wait to see more of your own work. BORROWED STILETTOS is one of my favorite kick-back-and-enjoy reads!

I'm a bit late to the party, but just wanted t...

2010-06-09T13:34:00.770-07:00

I'm a bit late to the party, but just wanted to tell you, Nicki, how much I enjoyed your book. Sexy and romantic, and just the right amount of suspense. Good job!

Nicki: You are very generous with your time. Again...

2010-06-01T18:08:05.698-07:00

Nicki: You are very generous with your time. Again, thank you. I think you have a lot to teach us. I look forward to seeing your words sitting on the shelf at my local independent bookstore!

More power to you being able to work on more than ...

2010-06-01T16:21:37.700-07:00

More power to you being able to work on more than one at a time. I tend to get so involved with the one I'm writing it's almost impossible to switch gears.
That doesn't mean I might not plot the next in the series bit that's the best I can do.

Hello Cassy, and thanks for visiting my blog post!...

2010-06-01T16:03:13.244-07:00

Hello Cassy, and thanks for visiting my blog post! I do write multiple works at the same time, actually. I am working on a separate series, and have skipped its third book to write the fourth. You have to write the one that's screaming to be let out first. :) It's really a matter of switching mental gears. None of the books in that series are published yet, so I have wiggle room if something needs to be added or deleted to make them all mesh. The Elemental Series itself is being written in sequence, however. For other books, I skim the most recent bits of what I've written so far to help me switch gears. Keeping a master character list, as well as storyboards for each book, helps me sort out who's who and what's what. Good luck with your work!

Hi Kari, and thanks for having me here today. The "voices" come to me fairly naturally. I like to write dialogue, so it flows well for me once I get my ear in gear, so to speak. A lot of it has to do with word choice and sentence structure. There's a big generational difference when it comes to communication. It helps to talk to people of the age range in which you're writing, watch movies, read similar-genre books, or check out forums where the posters are in that age bracket. That way, you get a feel for the syntax and word choices. Adults, for example, are typically more formal than, say, a pre-teen when communicating the same idea. I tend to immerse myself in characterization, and let the story flow once I get that character's "groove" down. I don't know that I give it real conscious thought until the editing stage! Thanks again for the great interview.

Congratulations, Nicki! Here's to great succes...

2010-06-01T11:22:33.267-07:00

Congratulations, Nicki! Here's to great success with the Elemental series. :)

Nicki, Your Element series does sound interesting....

2010-06-01T08:34:04.692-07:00

Nicki,
Your Element series does sound interesting.
One comment you made about rules and breaking them I found enjoyable. I feel the same way-rules are made to be broken or at least bent.

Welcome Nicki to M&M. I love the sound of your...

2010-06-01T08:14:49.161-07:00

Welcome Nicki to M&M. I love the sound of your elemental series. Very interesting. Good luck.

I loved the advice of 'Be Brave.' that is so true.

Thanks again, and great interview Kari and Nicki!

Thanks again for being here, Nicki! Your story sou...

2010-06-01T04:20:12.040-07:00

Thanks again for being here, Nicki! Your story sounds fascinating. Good luck to you on it. And I too love YA fantasy. Writing both adult and young adult can be tricky. How do you handle keeping the voices "different" enough and at the right age level? It's something I struggle with in my own series.

Nicki: Welcome to M&M! What fun to have you he...

2010-06-01T02:51:56.819-07:00

Nicki: Welcome to M&M! What fun to have you here. I love hearing about how other writers put it all together. You clearly have a busy schedule.

Do you handle writing multiple books at the same time, or are they in sequence? It's a process that I am trying to figure out.