Category Archives: Author Appearance

Revealing My ‘True Colours’ ~ A New Likeness for the Ultimate Rock Chick Author

Posted on October 11, 2013 | 59 comments

This is what happens when a professional image team gets on your case….

An Image Snafu?

Says my bio: Nicky Wells is your ultimate rock chick author.
Says Cameron, my publicist, “Do you reckon maybe you should, you know, look the part a bit more?”
Says me, “What do you mean, look the part? You know how much I love and breathe rock!”
Says Cameron, “I do. But people who don’t know you, won’t.”

Hm. Point taken, I suppose. What to do about that, beyond Music Monday and my eternal ramblings about all things rock? Oh, I know. A new author photo. the ultimate rock chick likeness! YES! It was about time I had some rock-star fun again.

Hey, Hey, I want to be a Rock Star!

So. Arrange another photo shoot down Bristol-way with ace photographer team, Deborah and Simon Smith, pack the family in the car, and off we go. Last Saturday, we set up the studio, got organised, and got snapping. Between them, Deborah and Simon took well over 500 photos of me in all sorts of arrangements, ranging from the sublime to the outright…hilarious. Loud music and wind machines featured heavily at one point, as did many a laugh and exasperated snort, not to mention endless cups of tea (wine and beer came later) and a truck load of chocolate. The result? See for yourself.

We even had themed mugs. #RockStarService

Showing Off My ‘True Colours’:
Your Ultimate Rock Chick Author

Photo 1
Is that Jon I spot in the distance?
Photograph by Deborah and Simon Smith

Photo 2
Turn up that music….
Photograph by Deborah and Simon Smith

Photo 3
Let’s try a star pose..
Photograph by Deborah and Simon Smith

Photo 4
Collar’s up! LOL!
Photograph by Deborah and Simon Smith

Photo 5
Hello. I’m your Ultimate Rock Chick Author. 🙂
Photograph by Deborah and Simon Smith

Photo 6
Wistful Rock Chick Author
Photograph by Deborah and Simon Smith

Photo 7
Loving that Guitar!
Photograph by Deborah and Simon Smith

Hey Hey.... I really am a rock star, LOL!

Photo 8
Hey Hey…. It’s fun to be a rock star, LOL!
Photograph by Deborah and Simon Smith

Thinking about my next novel in black and white...

Photo 9
Thinking about my next novel…
Photograph by Deborah and Simon Smith

Photo 10
Singing my life with my song…
Photograph by Deborah and Simon Smith

Photo 11
Strike another pose… Me and My Guitar!
Photograph by Deborah and Simon Smith

And phew… that was it! After 500-and-something photos, we declared it a wrap.

Done.

Meet the Crew!

All photos courtesy of Deborah and Simon Smith.
Nail art by Isobel. Hair and make-up consultancy by Isobel.
A huge, big, enormous THANK YOU goes to ‘The Smiths’!!
I loved that you had as much fun as I did. You totally rocked,
and you know how much this means!

Star Crew ~ YOU ROCK! 🙂

Now then…Have your say!

So. Which ones do YOU like best? I need a portrait and a body shot, with or without guitar and chair. I have two favourites, but having picked this lot out of 500 pictures, I might have lost perspective along the way, no pun intended. Help me out here…

Make the editor’s choice today ~ which photos are going to be The Ones?

This Author’s Evolution…

Just for fun, take a look at the history of my author photograph. It kind of captures the development of my author career quite beautifully.

From left to right…
Holiday Snap >> First Purposeful Author Photo >> First Proper Shoot: Nicky Writes Romance (That Rocks Your World) >> Your Ultimate Rock Chick Author.

It’s quite poignant, this, as it also captures the re-emergence of ‘me’ from within the Mummy-me. If you have kids, you’ll know what I mean.

ROCK ON!

(And don’t forget to vote!)

59 Comments

Posted in Author Appearance, Writing Thoughts

Tagged Author photo, Likeness, Photograph, Rock Chick, rock star, The Smiths

Let’s Talk About Serial Chicklit ~ Join Me on #ChickLitChat Today!

Posted on September 12, 2013 | 4 comments

Serial Chick Lit.
Chick Lit series.
Serialised romantic comedies.
Are you a fan?

‘Serial’ #ChickLitChat on Twitter,
12 September 2013,
8 p.m. to 9 p.m. EDT

Tonight (or rather, very early tomorrow morning, from where I’m sitting), it’s my great pleasure to co-host the hugely fun #ChickLitChat forum on Twitter. For those of you who may not have come across it before, the express purpose of #ChickLitChat is to celebrate all things chick lit! We hang out from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. EDT (that would be 1 a.m. to 2 a.m. on FRIDAY morning for me ~ am I dedicated to the cause, or what).

That’ll be me with my caffeine props and three layers of clothing as my office has resumed arctic conditions once more. I know. I don’t look my best. But hey, it is 1 a.m.!

Tonight’s theme is ‘Chick Lit series.’ The lovely Tracie Banister has very kindly asked if I’d like to co-host the chat with her seeing that, from an author’s point of view, I have a little experience in writing a series.

So here’s some things we might be chatting about. But of course, the floor is YOURS. Tracie and I are simply there to moderate and offer ideas. We want to hear what YOU think, and we’re here to answer your questions!

From a reader’s point of view,
let’s hear…

~what’s the best thing about a series? Why do you love a good Chick Lit series?
~what makes a Chick Lit series great?
~do series ever go on ‘too long’? In other words, can the story go ‘stale’?
~what’s the ‘serial enchantment’ factor: do you ever re-read the ‘old’ books in a series when a new one comes out?

From an author’s point of view, I’ll be happy to talk about or answer questions about…

~the fun of writing a series
~the challenges of writing a series (I say: chronology)
~how to plan a series
~how to say goodbye to your characters at the end of a series

Join us on Twitter ~
we look forward to chatting!
#ChickLitChat

And this is what I’ll be basing my experience on, of course. LOL!

4 Comments

Posted in Author Appearance, Miscellaneous

Tagged #ChickLitChat, Celebrating ChickLit, Chronology, Series, Twitter chat

Sophie’s Encore Launch: A photo and audio round-up of festivities!

Posted on September 10, 2013 | 12 comments

Remember that tune, “Oh What a Night?” Now sing, “Oh What A Week” and you’ll know where I’m coming from!

Last week saw the launch of my third novel, Sophie’s Encore. Festivities began with a radio launch party over at Siren 107.3 FM on Wednesday, 4 September. That Wednesday morning dawned clear and bright, and I had no idea just how much fun the next few days would hold.

Here’s my launch week in photos and audio clips. Thank you to everyone who took part, stopped by, sent good wishes, tweeted, shared on Facebook and bought The Book. You rock. And I couldn’t be an author without you.

Pub Day -1:
Radio Celebrity (LOL!)

SPECIAL GUESTS:

THE HUSH ROCK BAND
NICK ELLIOTT
XANDER DEMOS

Listen In!

(click HERE: southsidebroadcasting, then click ‘Listen Now’)

Sophie’s Encore Party on Siren 107.3 FM, Part 1:
Starting in Nashville with Cameron Tilbury before
another note from Jersey with Anna Lewis.
***includes reading from Sophie’s Encore***

Sophie’s Encore Party on Siren 107.3 FM, Part 2:
We take a slight detour and discuss badger culling and Farmers Weekly awards… we rock’n’roll in every respect!

Sophie’s Encore Party on Siren 107.3 FM, Part 3:
Another encounter with premier photographer Nick Elliott, plus lead guitarist with The Hush, Lee Landrum — with heaps of shout-outs to online listeners…

Sophie’s Encore Party on Siren 107.3 FM, Part 4:
Ace Rock Guitarist Xander Demos shoots the breeze with Nicky Wells, Holly Cox, Hannah Sylvester , Ed Wellman & Alex Lewczuk, before the team provide a Midweek Drive debut for Actor/Producer Burt Bulos, who provides the team with thoughts on `The Lady Killers` `NCIS` & more…

In-Show Photo: Hannah Sylvester, Ed Wellman, Holly Cox (and me, of course). 🙂

Living like the rock stars… let’s have an After Party!

And a toast! Of course, a toast” *Cheers*

Publication Day:
Local Author in Action

All set and ready to roll at Welton Library.

First arrivals... let's take a photo before it gets busy!

First arrivals… let’s take a photo before it gets too busy!

Time for dinner! Cheers! What a day… 🙂 Livin’ it up!

Publication Day +1:
Bestselling Author

Friday, 6 September, was spent largely recovering from the blast of the days before, responding to emails, chatting with folks and (*psssst don’t tell anyone*) catching up on sleep. No photos of the sleeping beauty, though. 🙂

However. THIS is what I found in the morning on Amazon.com. It’s a ranking for Sophie’s Turn, book 1 in the Trilogy.

Get this. Sophie’s Turn is now *officially* a BESTSELLING ROMANTIC COMEDY!!!
(And the image is so large not because I enjoy showing off ~ although *coughs* I do ~ but because otherwise, you can’t see what’s on it. LOL

Publication Day +2:
Author On Tour

On Saturday morning, I presented myself bright and early at the BookStop Café in Lincoln for a two-hour author appearance. Huge thanks to Joff Gainey for making this possible. 🙂

Setting up ~ prime position by the entrance. Nice job!

First customer. Yes, she bought the entire Trilogy. Thank you! 🙂

With Paul Redfern, who kept me amused with anecdotes from his favourite spot on the sofa opposite.

With Paul Redfern, who kept us all amused with anecdotes from his favourite spot on the sofa opposite my ‘signing station’.

“Queuing out the door.” (Joff’s caption for this ace photo!)

Review Highlights

These are highlights from the reviews that rolled in for Sophie’s Encore on September 4, 5 and 6, 2013.

WORTHY OF A SHINY PLATINUM DISC! 5 Crowns! Perusing Princesses

How to read Sophie’s Encore: get rid of house mates, take phone off the hook, do not answer the door! Kim The Bookworm

With Sophie’s Encore, Nicky Wells gives the reader one hell of a finale! 5 Stars! Jersey Girl Book Reviews

Sophie’s Encore is in a league of its own! Cosmochicklitan

Fast paced and addictive! Today I’m Reading

~I hid in the photocopy room in work to finish the book! Oh lovely Dan. Oh sexy Dan! Dan rocked my world! Brook Cottage Books

And best of all, there were some blush-worthy scenes! Chick Lit Central

Without a doubt, one of my favorite reads of the year! Thank you Nicky Wells….you are the quintessential author of fiction! Nancy Reilly

Wow-eee! Well, what can I say? Thank you, dear readers and supporters. You all rock, every one of you.
It was a fabulous launch, an amazing reward for me personally, and an incentive to do it all again, and soon….
#1November

Rock on!

12 Comments

Posted in Author Appearance, Rock Star Romance, Part 3: Sophie's Encore, Sapphire Star Publishing Book Launch

Tagged Bestseller, book launch, Book Stop Cafe, Review Highlights, rock star, Romantic Comedy Chart, Siren 107.3 FM, Sophie's Encore, Welton Library

Festival of Romance 2013 #romancefest13

Posted on August 14, 2013 | 6 comments

Festival of Romance
is happening again!

I’m delighted to shout about this fabulous event, especially considering the BLAST I had at last year’s romance fest. (It involved unscheduled singing on my part, in case you don’t remember, LOL!)

So here’s the gen:

The Festival of Romance celebrates romantic fiction in all its forms and gives readers a chance to meet favourite and new authors as well as taking part in lots of fun activities. It is the UK’s ONLY convention dedicated to romantic fiction.

Festival of Romance 2013 takes place Friday, 8th November to Sunday, 10th November in Bedford!

Tickets are on sale NOW

The New Talent Award is now open for entries. The guest judge this year is Harper Collins editor Sammia Rafique.

The Piatkus Entice Win a Publishing Contract competition is now open.

Here’s a peek at the fun-packed programme:

8th November

7.30pm to 9.30pm ART AND ROMANCE EVENING, The Higgins Museum & Art Gallery
Enjoy an exclusive evening at The Higgins, transformed by a multi-million pound refurbishment. Authors writing in different historical periods will give readings of their work. The Pre-Raphaelite Exhibition will be open plus the chance to join an exclusive literary interest tour of the museum (at extra cost). Readings by Marie Maxwell, Christina Courtenay, Jon Beattiey, Jenny Barden, Jean Burnett, Terri Nixon, Catherine Winchester, Charlie Cochrane, Liz Harris, Laura Purcell, Rosemary Morris, Madeline James and Jane Lark. Tickets: £10 inc a glass of wine.

9th November

All day. ROMANCE AND SHOPPING Town centre: look out for authors in historical costumes. Harpur Shopping centre: listen to readings by romance authors. Free entry.

10am to 3pm ROMANCE FAIR, Harpur Suite, Corn Exchange Gifts, books, authors, cooking, chocolate and lots of fun. Free entry.

10.30am to 12noon COFFEE AND CAKE MORNING ,The Lane Coffee and chance to meet your favourite authors. With readings by Miranda Dickinson, Sue Moorcroft, Hazel Osmond, Fiona Harper, Phillipa Ashley, Liz Fenwick, Charlotte Howard, Lucy Felthouse, Sue Welfare, Janice Horton, Zara Stoneley and Mandy Baggot .Tickets: £6 includes coffee/tea & choice of cake.

10.30am to 12.30pm PITCH YOUR NOVEL Central Library Pitch your unpublished novel to our panel of publishers for live feedback. Tickets: £10

12.45pm to 3.45pm IRRESISTABLE HEROES WORKSHOP Central Library Learn to write heroes that readers will fall in love with. Led by award winning authors Sue Moorcroft and Christina Courtenay. Tickets: £20. Limited places.

1pm to 1.45pm AN AUDIENCE WITH… KATIE FFORDE. Harpur Suite, Corn Exchange Meet bestselling romantic fiction novelist Katie Fforde in conversation. Free entry.

3.15pm to 4.30pm ROYAL BABY SHOWER Harpur Suite, Corn Exchange Celebrate the royal baby and meet romance authors at this fun event. Babies and children welcome. With special guest William Coles, former royal corespondent at The Sun. Spot prizes for bonny babies. Readings by Rowan Coleman, Hywela Lyn, Nicola May, Sophie Pembroke, Sheryl Browne, Nicky Wells, Linn B Halton, Kit Domino, Serena Fairfax and Caroline James. Tickets: £5 includes tea/coffee or glass of wine. Under 16s: free.

>>>>in case you missed it ~ yours truly (yes, me!) will be taking part in this event, come and join me! <<<<

4pm to 5pm HOW TO STAND OUT, GET PUBLISHED & STAY PUBLISHED Central Library Join Sammia Rafique from top publisher Harper Collins and bestselling author Miranda Dickinson for a informative talk with question and answer session. Tickets: £5

6.45pm NEW TALENT AWARD RECEPTION Invitation only Drinks reception for New Talent Award shortlisted authors.

7.30pm to 11.30pm FESTIVAL OF ROMANCE BALL. Harpur Suite, Corn Exchange
Including presentation of the Reader Awards for best romantic books of the year, Romance Industry Awards and New Talent Award. With comedian Brian Higgins and steampunk “chap hop” star Professor Elemental. Dress code: black tie. Tickets: £50 includes three course meal.

10th November

9.30am to 3pm ROMANTIC FICTION CONFERENCE Howard Room, Corn Exchange
Publishers and industry experts discuss the burning issues for the romantic fiction industry. And a chance to meet publishers one to one. Full programme coming soon. Tickets: £42 includes lunch.

What are you waiting for?
You’ve seen the line up of events and authors ~ come on and join us!

Spread the word and join the twitter fun: #romancefest13

6 Comments

Posted in Author Appearance, Miscellaneous

Tagged #romancefest13, Festival of Romance 2013

‘Stage Debut’ ~ At the Drill Hall for Lincoln Inspired

Posted on May 10, 2013 | 30 comments

8 May 2013 proved to be a fairly monumental day for me.

(I know, I seem to be having a lot of those of late. This seems to be an occupational hazard!)

Here’s a hint:

Yup, here I am! Photo courtesy of Tom Haughton @ Lincoln Inspired, with thanks.

It was monumental because it featured my first ever contracted author appearance. Yup, rather than ‘just’ presenting myself for a book signing somewhere (not that there’s ever a ‘just’ about that!), I had signed a contract stating that I would turn up on the specified date, at the specified time, for the specified length of time, bringing along my person, my books and a talk.

Want to know more? Find out here: http://www.lincolninspired.co.uk/

The event in question was the Lincolnshire Literary Life session, featuring myself, Claire Kinton, David Zelder, Joff Gainey and Helen Hancocks. Gill Hart had structured the session into three stages.

Setting up for my ‘stage debut’ ~ I’m starting to feel like a pro about this!

Introductions

First of all, Gill invited us all to introduce ourselves to our audience. Thus we discovered that Helen illustrated the story of Penguin in Peril as part of her degree show, and that the words came later. Joff brought along his suitcase of memories and explains how that inspired him to write Sleeping on a Cloud. Claire shared the tragic inspiration for Dead Game, and David had everyone hanging onto his every word when he shared a traumatic experience that helped him make the events of Yomping Outside so authentic.

From left to right: Nicky Wells, David Zelder, Gill Hart, Claire Kinton, Helen Hancock and Joff Gainey. Photo courtesy of Tom Haughton and Lincoln Inspired, with thanks.

From left to right: Nicky Wells, David Zelder, Gill Hart, Claire Kinton, Helen Hancocks and Joff Gainey. Photo courtesy of Tom Haughton @ Lincoln Inspired, with thanks.

And me? Of course, I laid my cards on the table with regard to my inspiration. (I’m not shy like that, LOL. Not anymore!) You know, my strange, inexplicable but undeniable love for rock stars. I earned myself a few laughs, which made my day, and people seemed intrigued by the fact that I blame the writing of Sophie’s Turn entirely on my husband.

Meet the Author

Introductions over, Gill moved us into the ‘free socializing hour’ where attendees were welcome to have lunch or to grab the opportunity to chat with the panel of authors, peruse books, and buy them and have them signed. I’m pleased to report that the attendees didn’t rush madly out the door for their food and drink. Rather, they milled about speaking to us, finding out more about books and buying a few, too.

I loved this part of the session best, I have to confess. I adore meeting new people, readers, fellow authors and aspiring writers alike, and I never once left my stall to grab a drink. (Thankfully, Gill kept coming round with cups of tea and muffins ~ thank you!).

Question Time

After the meet-the-author time, Gill reconvened us for a guided panel discussion. She asked us authors about our experience of going into print ~ whether independently or through a publisher ~ and the audience was quick with questions about the publishing industry, but also our writing process in general. It was a wonderful and animated discussion and before we knew it, our time was quite literally up!

Parting shot. 🙂 Photo courtesy of Tom Haughton @ Lincoln Inspired, with thanks.

See You Next Year?

The general consensus was clear: let’s do this again next year! This is Lincoln Inspired’s first edition and in my humble opinion at least, the audience’s and authors’ reactions make the session a huge success. I sincerely expect that this reflects the Festival as a whole. So therefore… here’s to a fabulous 2nd, 3rd, 4th….. and nth edition. Rock on!