Contemporary romance author NICKI ELSON is proud to have Omnific
Publishing offering her debut novel, Three Daves. Nicki is inspired by times past, but only
recent past—she’s not ready to call the 80s setting of her novel, “Historical
Fiction.” In honor of the release of Three Daves on February 16, 2010, Nicki
has agreed share a little bit about her writing process and the publication of
her first book.
Omnific: What is your writing process
like? How long does it take you to write a book and where does it fit in
your schedule?
A lot of my writing occurs when I’m nowhere near a computer. I let the characters play around in my head
so I can get to know them and think about how the themes of my story might play
out. Of course, that means I’ve got to
keep paper and a pencil nearby at all times to scrawl down my thoughts before I
lose them. I’m usually struck right away with a few key scenes, and I’ll write
those out as they come to me, regardless of where they fall in the story, and
then everything else builds around that. And those key scenes get revised many, many times as the story comes
together.
How long does it take me to write a book? Approximately one bajillion hours. I honestly can’t even give an estimate. I’ve had the privilege of writing without
deadlines thus far, so the story comes together at its own pace. I fit the writing in whenever and wherever I
can; I don’t really have a set schedule. I do try to write something every day,
even if it’s just a few paragraphs and even if it’s garbage that I end up
deleting the next day. Keeping the flow
going seems to be important for me.
Omnific: What inspired you to write Three Daves?
The idea for this sort of backwards romance, or intimacy out of
order, has been in my head for a while. What got me to actually start writing it was simply a feeling of
nostalgia for the 80s and my college days. My former college roomies had no idea when I spontaneously sent them
those “EIU Nuff Said” mix CDs that it was because I was knee deep in Three
Daves. But now they are getting
nervous that they’ll see themselves in the pages of the story. The truth is, they might, but only in bits
and pieces. The characters are all
original figments of my imagination and not based on anyone I know. I am thrilled to note, however, that the
comment I’ve gotten most often from readers is that the story and the
characters feel very real. So let me reiterate—mom—Three
Daves is in no way autobiographical.
Omnific: What made you decide to publish Three
Daves as a novel?
Well, after finishing the story, I naturally thought it was
fabulous, but I wasn’t sure how others would like it, so I decided to post it
on-line at an internet literary site where readers could review. I got wonderful feedback, and the story was
even nominated for an award and recommended on a couple of blogs. This positive reception and the persistent
encouragement of my biggest fan, my sister, helped me to know that this story really
is worthy of publication. I’m very
fortunate that Omnific Publishing agrees. And I’m so excited that I’m going to be able to share the story with so
many more people now. I’ve thought all
along that it would be the perfect book for book clubs, and once it’s released,
I’m going to put a page up at my Web site with discussion questions.
Omnific: Tell us about the editing process. Did you have a hard time going back to your work and editing, changing
and even cutting some scenes?
The editing process was actually a blast. It was a lot of work, but it was an amazing experience to get the input
of a professional editor. I think it was
good that I had stepped away from the story for a bit beforehand, because I
really was able to look at it objectively and had no problems with slashing
some scenes that had to go and rewriting others. It was fun to jump back into the story, like
visiting old friends, and the process was exhilarating because I know that
every change has made the characters and the story stronger.
Omnific: Tell us about the main characters in Three
Daves.
The main character is Jennifer Whitney, a college undergrad, who is the epitome
of the average girl. She’s a decent
student, is well liked by her friends, and she’s fairly confident in herself,
but retains some insecurities. Oh, and
she’s a virgin . . . at the beginning of the story. She’s got a lot to learn about herself, and
this story takes her through that learning process. I think most readers will find something in
Jen and her experiences that they will be able to relate to.
Then we have the three Daves, of course, who each play a part in
Jen’s life at some point. There’s David,
who is a quiet, sensitive kind of guy. He’s into alternative rock and has a few close friends, but he’s a bit
of a loner. Dave is a bad boy, the
campus player. He’s insanely gorgeous
and just sort of coasts through life. Big D is a big ol’ teddy bear. He’s the all around good guy, every mother’s dream. At my Web site, www.nickielson.com, I have a couple of
fun quizzes where you can find out which Dave you are most like and which Dave
is right for you.
Omnific: There are a lot of music references in
your novel. How much did the music of
the 80s add to your inspiration?
A ton! Immersing myself in
80s tunes while writing helped me to keep the upbeat feel to this story. Jen goes through some tough times, yet the
tone of the book never spirals downward, but rather keeps a buoyancy, just like
the music of the 80s. I think the song “Tainted
Love” is the perfect example—if you look at the lyrics by themselves, they’re pretty
depressing, but how can you listen to that song and not want to dance?
I believe that the type of music a person likes goes a long way
toward defining who they are, and I definitely considered musical tastes in the
development of my characters. As I
mentioned, David is into alternative rock, a genre that made its own category
just as he doesn’t fall neatly into any stereotype. Dave is a punker all the way. He completely fits the chaotic and edgy
nature of that genre—he’s exciting and fun, but a little scary. Big D is more mainstream, and that reflects
in his musical tastes. He’s a bit of a
throw back to the all-American guy and so he still listens to a lot of older
music and isn’t necessarily up on the more cutting edge bands of the 80s.
Jen’s musical tastes are evolving and not completely
developed. She’s eclectic in her taste
in music just like her taste in men.
Omnific: What is your best advice for aspiring writers?
Write. Don’t talk about
writing, don’t think about writing, just write. And seek feedback. That’s
probably the most difficult step to take at first because writing is such a
personal thing, but you can learn so much from your readers. But if you’re going to seek honest feedback,
you have to steel yourself for criticism and learn to love it. It never feels good at first, but once you
absorb it and consider the other perspective, you’ll find that you’ve learned
something that you couldn’t have learned in any other way, and your writing
will be better for it.
Omnific: Many established authors have said that reading books is the best
research you can do when you want to become a writer. What are your favorite books and authors? Do you have a favorite genre?
My two favorite authors in the whole world, and about the only two
that I can read over and over and over again, are Jane Austen and J.K.
Rowling. They not only tell fantastic
stories with amazingly developed characters, but have such a clever wit and
sarcasm that permeates their work. And
there is such intricacy to their writing; I find something new every time I
read them. From that you can make a
pretty good guess at what my favorite books are. Fantasy, romance and historic fiction are my
favorite genres.
Omnific: Thank you so much for being so generous
with your time, Nicki. Everyone is looking forward to reading your novel, Three Daves, available February
16, 2010 at www.omnificpublishing.com.
