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 11^th 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 13^th year of marriage October 13^th. 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.

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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.