December 2007 Spotlight on...
NIKKI DUNCAN
by
Gina Lee Nelson
Howdy, Nikki. Go ahead and tell us a little bit about yourself.
The basics…I’m married with two daughters, two dogs, two cats, and a
fish. I spend my time alternating between the chores of being a wife and
mother, the duties of being an administration manager, the entertaining
task of working on promotional products for authors, writing my own
books, and striving to promote myself before I sell a book in hopes of
things being a little easier when I do sell.
The less known facts…Growing up I competed in gymnastics and was ranked
in the top 25 in the region at the time. One of my teammates was good
enough to go to the Olympics – I never tried for that. Gymnastics aside,
one of my great loves, though I don’t indulge in it much anymore, has
always been horses. I grew up with Arabians and spent my high school
years training my own horse, Texas Tuff Act, for competitions. My mother
used to joke I should take him on the rodeo circuit since he loved to
buck, and I never came off. Instead, I took him to the Arabian Junior
Nationals and placed 11th in the nation before retiring him.
I’m glad my mother encouraged me to do sports and compete. My childhood
taught me the drive I need to succeed with my writing.
Surprise, surprise. When did you start writing and why?
I think it was around 2000. I was one of those people who read a romance
book and thought “I can do that.” My tendency to write more than was
necessary had everyone in my English class joking I was going to write
novels when I got older. So, why not?
I waited until CIS (my hubby or my Calm in the Storm) went out of town
one weekend, got the oldest kiddo settled with her toys (I hadn’t had
the second yet), and huddled at the computer. I’m not sure where the
people or the story came from, but I lived at the computer until I had
written that book. I think it took me a couple of weeks, since I was
sneaking around, refusing to admit what I was doing. See, I just knew if
I admitted to CIS I was writing a romance novel he would give me all
kinds of flack and make fun of me. Being the sneaky prankster he is, CIS
caught on to the fact I was up to something, so he plotted ways to find
out, which of course he did. Then I was shocked when he said that was
awesome and then began entertaining our daughter so I didn’t have to
sneak around.
What kinds of stories do you write?
Up until recently, I’ve been writing about detectives in Romantic
Thrillers. Currently, I’m working on polishing MAGIC AND THE MARINE, a
Romantic Fantasy with a touch of Suspense. As much as I enjoyed my
detectives, my favorite so far as been the fantasy. I loved the freedom
of being able to break rules of logic for the sake of the magic. Both my
witch and Marine have troubling pasts they need to overcome. Needing
them to work together and forcing them to face things they fear above
all else forced me to write complex characters. The magic aspect, while
I thought it would be pretty easy to write, was the toughest thing I’ve
put in a book so far. I read and researched for hours and hours on
things magical and tried to come up with new ways of doing things. I
have plans for another Marine who has special powers. I can’t wait to
sink my teeth into his story.
I know you’re a voracious reader. What do you like to read, and
who are your favorite authors?
I like to read most anything. If the relationship and the plot are
strong I’ll read everything from Inspirational to Erotic Romance. I’ve
read super hot books that have left me cold; while there have been
inspirational ones that have struck a cord deep inside. Favorite authors
of late include Joseph Finder for his edge of your seat thrillers that
keep me guessing until the very end, and
Shelley Bradley for the complexity of her characters and their ability
to grab you by the throat and carry you along emotionally.
Others include Catherine Spangler, Jaci Burton, Sylvia Day,
Candace Havens, and Leslie Langtry. There are more, I just can’t think
of them all right now.
Obviously, you don’t struggle with writing enough words. What
do you struggle with as a writer?
I have several struggles with my writing. Originality. I struggle with
ways to take an original plot and twist it up in someway that hasn’t
been done before. With my first detective book, I’d reached the point
where I could get a request from an agent almost every time I queried
one. It took months though for any of them to tell me why they kept
rejecting it. My plot wasn’t strong enough to be a force in today’s
market. Now, this is a story that’s really dear to me, and I didn’t want
to give up on it. So, when I got that letter, I decided to go back to
the story one more time, which led me to struggle number two.
Not only did I need to be original, but I had to have something that
arrested a reader’s attention. The plot thread I came up with was
original, but I had to find a way to weave the new elements of my
external plot into the characters. I needed to twist everything together
in a way that the story would have gaping holes if any one aspect was
removed. I think I’ve done it. I guess time will tell as I have
submissions out there now.
Finally, what do you consider your greatest accomplishment?
Wow, tough question. I’m proud I have two great daughters, that I’ve
reached to date almost every goal I’ve set for myself, and that I’ve
written more than one book. Ultimately, I think my greatest
accomplishment is my relationship with CIS. We’ve survived some nasty
stuff and will celebrate our 13th year of marriage October 13th.
We dated for two years before that, so we’ve been together for fifteen
years. The coolest thing is I not only still love him, but I like
him. He is my calm in the storm that is my daily life, and he’s my
greatest supporter in my goal to being published.
~ ~ ~
Gina Lee Nelson’s short story,
My Love Dropped in at the Drop Your Doggie Inn, will appear in the NT
Silver Nuggets Anthology in 2008.
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