Category Archives: Miscellaneous

Come to the Rock Star Party!

Posted on July 6, 2012 | 17 comments

Yes, you read that right: come to the Rock Star Party at the Festival of Romance in Bedford on Saturday, 17th November 2012! 

Why? WHY?

Do you really need to ask? Because I’ll be there, bringing along stories of Sophie and Dan! And copies of Sophie’s Turn which, by then, will have been released by Sapphire Star Publishing–whoop!  And who knows what else will be going on…

Moreover, it’s not just me, oh no! You and I will be in illustrious company as the wonderful Mandy Baggot, Sue Moorcroft and Jane Lovering will be there too, bringing their respective rock star heroes. It’ll be a blast!

Check out the full programme for the entire festival… and don’t forget to buy your tickets.  🙂 Oh, and do let me know that you’re coming so I can plan a proper treat for you! Rock on!!

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Shock to the System

Posted on June 28, 2012 | 17 comments

I’m back!
Well, I’m sort of back, but I’m not all here.  Don’t know where I’ve been?  Check out my previous post for the low-down…

So I’m back online. We’ve moved house and started settling. The move went well, much better than expected, largely fuelled by the children’s unwavering excitement for all things lorry.  The unpacking has begun and is continuing apace. I mentioned 100+ boxes in my last post… actually, make that closer to 200.  I have about 60 or so left to do, so I’m doing well.

The kids have started school and are full of enthusiasm. They have made friends and even had their first playdate already: quick work!  I, too, am meeting people and making friends, and next week, hubby will start his new, local job.

However.  Here’s the thing.  This move has turned out to be far more of a shock to the system than I had imagined, and it’s only just becoming apparent why.

For a start, I can’t find anything in this new house of ours, even though I put most of the ‘stuff’ away personally.  But everything is different here, and I keep opening the wrong doors.  I constantly find myself spinning around my own axis in the kitchen trying to locate butter (which is definitely not in the cupboard under the sink) or plates or cooking utensils. And if I really can’t find it, you can bet it is still in one of the many still unpacked boxes, so I have to make do without.

Broadband took a while to come on, and then it took another few days to actually locate the computer and switch it back on.

Every time I settle down in my brand new office, something happens that takes priority over resuming my work life. Yesterday, it was a poorly child.  And today, for no particular reason at all, I had a bit of an attack of home-sickness for Bristol, involving plenty of tears and a cup of coffee with a new friend who helped put things into perspective.  I know, I know: tears, home-sickness, grown woman?  What can I say, it’s a big change for everyone!

Just now, we’ve had a massive thunderstorm including a mini power cut. And it is only another hour to the school run… What’s that they say?  Time flies!

So this post is merely to say:  I’m back, almost.  Over the next few days, as the shock to the system will hopefully start to abate, I’ll be re-emerging on Twitter, I’ll say ‘hello’ on Facebook, I’ll start visiting blogs again and resume business as usual.  With a bit of luck, I’ll be bringing you Music Monday on Monday.  But if I don’t manage, please do forgive me.  I never thought I’d be this discombobulated after a simple move up-country! And I never thought that everything would take so much longer than planned…

If you know of any shortcuts to make the adjustment process easier… or faster, please share. I could do with some help! xx 🙂

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Author, Interrupted

Posted on June 19, 2012 | 8 comments

Well, I never thought I’d get to use this image…. Hands up those of you who have genuinely seen on of these on the telly in their lifetimes!

If you have indeed seen one of these test cards before, you’ll know what they mean.  “The broadcaster apologises for the service interruption.”  Or it could simply mean that the channel is offline.

In my case, at this point in time, it means both.  My service is interrupted, and I am therefore offline.  Here’s why:

Yes, I’ve finally moved house, with the entire Wells family, of course.  The big day is today, Tuesday 19th June.  And the implication?  No telephone line, no cable, no broadband (ADSL or DSL, for those of you on the other side of the pond).

NO INTERNET.

That’s right.  So I won’t be blogging, tweeting, emailing, using Facebook or doing anything technical at all.
No posts, not even Music Monday or CentreStage. Nada.  Niente.
Complete Radio Silence.

How long will this sad state of affair last?  Who knows.  I’m told it could be a week from today, or more.  So… until you see me back online, I’ll have to refer you to the test card and tell you:  Author, Interrupted. But you’ll know when I’m back, rest assured.  Take care, my friends, and don’t forget to keep rockin’.  Oh, and send me some good vibes while I’m unpacking 100 boxes.

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Descent into chaos!

Posted on June 15, 2012 | 24 comments

I’m in my own personal hell.  My Room 101.  Or Rooms 101, as it were.

Eeek, you exclaim, what could possibly be the matter?
Ach, I reply, my house is in chaos.

So it is. As the move is picking up pace and the deadline of Tuesday is coming ever closer, perparations are afoot and my home, my haven, my reign of order and peace, is being progressively destroyed.  Well, not destroyed, exactly; that would be a calamity!  But certainly… upheaval-ed. If you must know, I am obsessively tidy and organised, so this… is my idea of hell.

But! Being obsessively organised and tidy, I rule over the chaos with an iron fist and while it’s bad, it’s not that bad.  I thought I’d share a little photo diary of the preparation for the Wells family move.  Grab a cuppa, sit back, and relax while you count your blessings at not moving house right now! 🙂 Happy Friday, one and all, and have a great weekend.

There’s always a list. In fact, I’ve got several on the go right now but I won’t bore you with the hierarchy. Suffice it to say that this is this week’s masterlist, the countdown to Sunday with everything that needs to be achieved… in every area of my life. I’m Queen of Lists!

After two days of hard labour, two sets of wardrobes are finally dismantled and resting peacefully (and neatly) in the dining room awaiting collection by their new owners.

The wardrobe doors, alas, have to reside in the lounge, so as not to break the mirrors. Rendering the lounge largely unusable, especially for the kids.

Like our new wardrobes?

Oh yes, and the stylish storage system. Efficient, if impractical!

The kids, at least, adore their new furniture. Maybe we can keep this style as a space saving solution?

Of course I’m cleaning the fridge for the new owner. Who wouldn’t? I’ve cleaned the oven too, but I’m sparing you the picture. Alas, now I’m refusing to use either appliance, which is posing a lot of meal-time logistical problems. It’s only for a few more days, right?

It may not look like much, but it is heavy… several years’ worth of confidential paperwork. What to do with it?

Problem solved. Filing system lean and clean. Paperwork disposed of. You’ve got to love moving house.

Just keep cleaning, just keep cleaning, just keep cleaning, cleaning, cleaning….

Can’t get myself to take our home-made Jubilee bunting down. Maybe on Monday?

Kids are getting into the spirit… and are doing some modest sorting out of their own. Well done, boys!

And there’s the rub. The big problem. The rather large hole in front of our house where the removals lorry will have to park on Monday morning to start loading. I’m assured that the hole will be gone but… I don’t see it. Hm.

And that’s it! Over the weekend, things will no doubt descend into chaos. And on Monday morning, when the removals firm arrives (always assuming they can get here!), I will just exile myself to the coffee shop to save me from a nervous breakdown.  So far, so good.

How do you get through moving house, folks?

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Nostalgia Before the Fact

Posted on June 9, 2012 | 18 comments

You don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone, or so they say.  I’m currently discovering that this isn’t a wholly accurate statement!

Ever had that weird feeling of missing something before it’s even gone?  That’s me all over at the moment.

It’s no secret that the Wells family will be moving house soon.  In fact, after more than ten weeks of nail-biting, hair-tearing anxiety, we have finally exchanged contracts and confirmed a moving date.  19th June is ‘M’ day for us!

But this isn’t simply a move up the road (not that there’s anything simple about any move, but there’s little moves and big moves.  This is definitely a big move).  The Wells family, including this here author, will be moving to the Middle East.

Eeeeek, got ya! Well, sort of.  Technically, we are moving to the middle east—of England.  Our new home is a three-and-a-half hour drive up north east in sunny (or so I’m told) Lincolnshire.

Even though I’m plenty used to moving, this is a different experience.  I have been settled here like I haven’t been settled anywhere since I left home at nineteen.  Specifically, I will be leaving behind eight years of building friendships.  A house that my husband and I lovingly painted and painted all over again (on the inside, I hasten to add).  A house that saw the arrival of two children, two years apart.  With everything that entails:  wee on the walls (well, how was I supposed to know that a boy infant can pee in every which position, every which way, in every direction?), sleepless nights, first steps, first foods, bumped heads, dents in walls and floors from thrown toys.  Laughter and joy, sickness, tears and frustrations.  Many a tantrum.

Memories, in short.  A house and a life filled with memories, and we’re leaving it all behind.  Although arguably, we’re taking the memories with us–we’re just leaving the setting behind.

So as I go about my daily business, I find myself in the throes of premature nostalgia.  “I’ll miss the walk down the lane to school,” I was thinking this morning.  “Look at those lovely daffs nodding their heads over that wall.”

“I’ll miss the village and the river Trym, sometimes so docile, and sometimes offering a bit more oomph in the fast-flow department.”

“I’ll miss the coffee shop on the corner that does the best tuna melts.”

And so on.  Nostalgia before the fact.  A sense of heightened perception that seems to make everything clearer, sharper, more in focus.  I suspect that that’s the purpose of the phenomenon, a kind of memory-factory to ensure that you take with you all those feelings and impressions that mattered to you in a certain environment (and some that don’t, presumably).

Anyway, there it is, and it’s getting steadily more pronounced as we are counting down the days now.  The children are feeling it, too, probably even more so than me.

So my question to you is:  what’s your instance of nostalgia before the fact?

PS: of course I wiped the wee off the walls.  I even repainted the offending patch, the very same day, having previously disinfected it.  And I fixed all the dents, too.  I’m emphasising this point just in case you happen to be our purchaser and you’re getting nervous about the house!

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Then and Now: Metamorphosis of an Author

Posted on June 1, 2012 | 26 comments

Do you know that old saying, “what a difference a year makes”?  Well, it’s not even a year–it’s just under eleven months, actually–since I started my publishing journey.  Lately, I’ve introduced quite a lot of changes and have blogged about them as I went along.  I felt it was time to take stock and consider how this here ‘hapless duckling’ has morphed into… well, not quite a graceful, soaring swan, yet, but perhaps one that is poised and ready to fly.

That was then…

The day is 9 July 2011.  It’s Monday morning, 9:30 a.m., and my debut novel, Sophie’s Turn, has just this minute appeared ‘live’ on Amazon Kindle.  After four months of writing, several rounds of editing, seven years of maturing, and a frantic few weeks preparing my masterpiece for self-publication, it is finally ‘out there.’  I shed a tear or two; it is a very emotional moment.  Unsurprisingly, however, nothing much happens.  No, Sophie’s Turn does not hit the bestseller lists within days, or go viral.

This was my author platform then:

A cover, lovingly, expertly and painstakingly crafted by hand…

…and a photograph (well, a cut-out).

Nicky’s author image, mach 1

That’s it? you say.  Uhm, yes.  But fear not, I have learned a few things along the way.  Take a look at…

This is now!

I’m a fast learner, and things changed quickly.  I reached out to friends for advice, and then to bloggers. I started building a network, garnering reviews and visibility, making new ‘virtual’ friends.  In October, I was honoured to join the unique and interactive reader/author project, loveahappyending.com.  And in February 2012, I was thrilled to sign with trail-blazing US publisher, Sapphire Star Publishing.  So let’s take a look at my platform as it is today.  Spot the difference?

My slogan.

My glamorous author photo (if I say so myself).
Find out here about the provenance of this photo!

Romance That Rocks Your World! Meet Nicky Wells, Author.

My brand.
Read all about the unveiling of the Rock Star Romance brand here.

My stunning cover.
Find out about the people who helped create this cover here.

My social networking platform.
(still under construction… ever expanding)

So, it does feel like I have come a long way.  Hopefully, I am poised and ready to fly when Sapphire Star Publishing is launching Sophie’s Turn on 6 September 2012.  Thank you to all the many fantastic people who are helping me along the way, not least: Amy and Katie at Sapphire Star Publishing; Jessie Dalrymple; Shirley Mukisa;  Shaz Goodwin; Sue Fortin; Linn Halton; everyone at loveahappyending.com; Deborah Smith; my gorgeous husband; and the many, many wonderful bloggers who support me: know that you make this author’s world go round!

After all this, it still makes me uncomfortable to ‘boast’.  I don’t mean to boast, as such.  I abhor boasting, and would rather hide in a corner.  So why this post?

Well, for one, I simply mean to share my joy and excitement.  And for another, I hope that sharing my experience may perhaps help new and aspiring authors find a shortcut to building their own strategies and platforms.

So here’s the question for the day, Id’ love to hear your thoughts: 

All you amazing established authors out there, what was YOUR biggest ‘aha’ moment along the way?

All you wonderful aspiring authors, what is YOUR biggest challenge on the road to publication?

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Beautiful, Versatile, Sunshine!

Posted on May 25, 2012 | 38 comments

Turns out that I am beautiful, versatile and full of sunshine.  Or if not me, exactly, then my blog.  Needless to say, I am completely blown away by these accolades for my humble blog and I’ve done the happy dance and celebrated quietly for a few days already.  Now it’s time to say Thank You to the wonderful bloggers who passed on these three awards to me in the past few weeks, and to spread the joy by passing on further.  Get ready for the triple award ceremony!

SUNSHINE AWARD

 

The Sunshine Award was passed on to me a few weeks back by the amazing Marina Sofia. Thanks, honey, your poems and music bring sunshine to my life, too!

The award rules are:

  • Write five things about yourself
  • Include the award’s logo in a post
  • Nominate 5 other bloggers
  • Link to your nominees
  • Link the person who nominated you

I’m streamlining the ‘write five things about myself’ and combining it with the other awards at the end of this post.  (Otherwise I’d have to write my life history, and you really wouldn’t want to trawl through that…)  However, here are my five nominees with their links, in no particluar order:

Writerlious, My, My Books and I, love reading love books, The Romaniacs, The Lazuli Portals

BEAUTIFUL BLOGGER AWARD

I received the Beautiful Blogger Award from Donna over at My Life. One Story at a Time. Thanks, Donna-you know how much I love catching up on your lifestories!

I’m not entirely sure about the rules for this one, but I assume that they are as for the Sunshine Award above.  For random things about me, see below.  Here are my nominees, in no particular order:

Jennifer M Eaton, Yasmin Selena, CommuniCATE, This Write’s Life…, Dizzy Cs Little Book Blog

VERSATILE BLOGGER AWARD

It is with tremendous pleasure that I receive my third Versatile Blogger Award from Anneli at wordsfromanneli.  Thanks, Anneli, it’s always a pleasure visiting your blog and finding out about hot potatoes, grizzly bears and other life essentials over in your part of the world.

The Versatile Blogger Award is a little more involved, and here are the rules:

Thank the person who gave you this award. Include a link to their blog.  Next, select 15 blogs/bloggers that you’ve recently discovered or follow regularly. (I would add, pick blogs or bloggers that are excellent!) I’ve found that it’s a bit of work to list 15, but please don’t feel that being nominated should be a burden. If you only want to nominate 8 or 10 bloggers, that’s fine too.  Nominate those bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award (you might include a link to this site) and let them know that you’ve nominated them.  Finally, tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself.

So once more, here are my nominees, in no particular order:

Jane Risdon, Word by Word, Polly, thatpanicgirlee, UK Treasure Trove, Shirley McLain, Lynnareynolds, Jersey Girl Book Reviews, Madison Woods, Oh, for the HOOK of a BOOK, Rebecca Leith’s Blog, Forget the Housework, I’m Reading… , Been there, done that. , Kindle and Me, lynnelives 

AND FINALLY:  A LIST OF RANDOM THINGS ABOUT ME (AGAIN)

I hate chainletters. I do. I never participated in them as a child, and I avoid them like the plague now.  So, you ask rightly, what’s with these blog awards?  They’re not too dissimilar to chain mail, surely?  No, you’re right: they are the blogosphere equivalent of chainletters.  But they serve a different purpose.  They are visible and fun, and they connect bloggers with each other that might otherwise not find each other.  It’s all about visiblity and passing on the good vibes!

I love being on the radio.  That’s a recent discovery, but I get a real buzz out of it and could quite happily visit a radio station every day.  Perhaps I missed my career vocation?

I sweat the small stuff, but am handy in a crisis.  Little, trivial things make me lose sleep, tear my hear out, and howl in despair.  Throw me a major life crisis, especially involving blood, splinters or broken limbs, and I am calm, cool and collected.

I love all seafood except squid. Oh, and oysters. Enough said.

I used to be allergic to hazelnuts.  I did! It was a family joke; Nicky doesn’t need botox to plump her lips; she just needs to eat hazelnuts, or pralines containing even traces of hazelnuts.  (I hasten to add that I have never, nor will I ever, resort to botox, my lips are fine as they are, thank you!).  However, since my second pregnancy, that allergy has disappeared.  Don’t ask me how that’s possible, but it’s gone.  Instead, I struggle with sesame seeds now–which is a pain, considering I adore hummus and prawn toast.

One day, I want to travel all the way around the world. Can you tell I missed out on my gap year?  There’s no such thing as a ‘gap year’ in Germany; at least there wasn’t when I left school.  It was a completely alien concept to me when I arrived in the UK and found most everyone had taken off to go travelling for a year.  I wil lcatch up with you–soon!

I can’t take the heat. Clearly, I’m a precious Northern European shady flower.  That doesn’t sound right, does it?  Anyway, I can take heat. I wasn’t born to take heat. Even the modest heat waves that befall the UK from time to time are enough to send me over the edge.  Most people head for hotter climes in their hols (or retirement); me, I crave Iceland, or Newfoundland, or Canada.  Maybe Alaska.

Enough about me! Congratulations again to all the nominees today. I hope you get a chance to take up your well-deserved awards some time soon.

Meanwhile–do tell me something random about you, right here, right now. I’d love to hear it! 🙂 xx

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#romcom4all: Let’s liberate romance!

Posted on May 11, 2012 | 20 comments

Why should romantic comedy be for women only?  Why? I mean, really, why?

I bet now you’re thinking about it, there doesn’t seem to be a good reason.  That’s why fellow author Janice Horton and I are introducing:  #romcom4all

Closet romance lovers, reveal thyselves! Come on now, don’t be  shy!

I had the tremendous pleasure of welcoming Janice on my CentreStage feature on my blog this week, and her great post sparked a fabulous debate on the subject of reading-related gender stereotype.  As a result of which, we decided, through the winding course of the discussion threads, to start a campaign called #romcom4all.

What the heck is that about, you wonder?  It’s quite simple; it does exactly what it says in the #hashtag: it encourages everyone to admit that they read romcom.  And we mean, everyone!  In particular, however, this is meant to encourage the male of the species to come out of the closet and speak out.

Men do read romance.  Yes, they do.  I know that for a fact!   They just don’t talk about it, they don’t like to admit it, and they certainly wouldn’t want to be seen holding a romantic novel in their hands while travelling on the Tube.  So how do I know men read romance?  Easy.  I’ve had quite a few members of the male species read Sophie’s Turn.  Some were beta readers, but some were actual customers who bought Sophie’s Turn on Amazon, and one was a reviewer who wasn’t too shy to write and publish his review in his very own local magazine; you can read his review here.

If you think about it, it’s kind of obvious.  Everyone loves a happy ending.  Everyone wants to be loved.  Why should men not enjoy a romantic novel?  Several male readers have commented that a romantic novel is a fantastic way of getting insights into the female brain, understanding ‘the other side.’

In fact, the clever man will read romance as a ‘how to’ manual.  Even if our seeming erratic behaviour or overly emotional responses continue to perplex the male reader, at the very least he gets to take away the comforting knowledge that his beloved is quite normal.  Now I wouldn’t say that my male readers are serial romance readers, nor are they likely to come out of the closet any time soon.  But it does make me smile to think that they are out there, enjoying a cracking romantic read.

Here’s what the amazing Janice Horton has to say regarding #romcom4all:

This week I’ve been completely bowled over by a fabulous independent review of my contemporary romance novel Reaching for the Stars on Amazon UK. Why bowled over, you might ask? Well, as I explained on Nicky’s ‘CentreStage’ blog this week – it was because it was by a man!

Okay – he confessed to downloading my book by accident and then reading it anyway – but the fact remains that he enjoyed it, took the time to write a fabulous review, and then to download my previous book Bagpipes & Bullshot.

All of this made me wonder why bookshops, both on the high street and online, continue to label Relationship Novels as ‘Women’s Fiction’ as if men should have nothing to do with them?

It’s stereotyping in the extreme. Yet the market for relationship novels continues to expand and men and women are breaking the stereotypical role image every day in real life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So: do men have a lot to learn from a romantic relationship novel?And are men more likely to read romance on an ereader?

What do YOU think?

Ladies, how do YOU feel about the segregation of ‘Women’s Fiction’?Gentlemen, are YOU man enough to read a romance novel?

Fellow author Janice Horton and I are calling for a tag campaign to bring ‘Romcom for All’.  We will be tweeting using the hashtag #romcom4all. Please join us and share your views!

Click here to go to Janice’s Blog

Please feel free to leave a comment before you go, share this post on Facebook or your other social networks, tag this blog with your own blog post so that we can follow YOU – and don’t forget to and tweet YOUR thoughts on Twitter using the hashtag #romcom4all. We look forward to hearing from you!

About fellow author Janice Horton:

Janice writes romantic and descriptive novels with humour. Look out for her Amazon bestselling Bagpipes & Bullshot and latest novel Reaching for the Stars. Janice is a regular blogger and you can find her on Twitter and Facebook. When not writing novels, Janice writes lifestyle articles and has had work published in national and international magazines and regional newspapers. She has also been involved in BBC Scotland’s ‘Write Here Write Now’ project. She is a member of the Romantic Novelist’s Association and an Associate Author and Editor at Loveahappyending.com. Janice will be speaking at the Loveahappyending.com Summer Audience Event in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, on the 16th June 2012.  You can find Janice’s books on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

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Shooting a likeness!

Posted on May 4, 2012 | 61 comments

What’s in a photo, you wonder? Well, anything, and everything.
When I launched my debut novel, Sophie’s Turn, unto the world, I was proud of the product (am, to this day, incidentally) and excited to present it to a keen readership.  I was a nifty author (still am, of course) but a hapless publisher.  As many of you have read over the past few months, my learning curve was vertical in every respect.  But there’s one aspect I haven’t yet talked about:  the author’s likeness.

The what?  you say, incredulous.  Yes, the author’s likeness, the legalese term that the industry appears to prefer.  A photo, to you and me.

Well, I needed one.  Naturally, I hadn’t given that any thought until I started blogging, tweeting and Facebooking.  I frantically dug around in thousands of digital photos taken over the past eight years or so, only to discover that not only wasn’t there a decent photo of me anywhere, but also there wasn’t a single (not one!) photo of me without kids or husband.  Somewhere along the motherly career path, I appear to have been lost as a person in her own right.  But that’s a different blog post for a different time.

Nicky’s author image, mach 1

Never fear, I am crafty with the old cut-and-paste function! Rather than being an egg-head, I selected the most suitable photo and cut myself out of it.  Yes, that one there, to the left. What’s that white fog, you want to know? Well, that was my older son’s hand, once, but it looked rather weird there, all chopped off and disembodied.  Granted, the white scwobble doesn’t look much better, but it did the job.  For… all of four weeks or so. Then I decided I need something more suitable.  When we happened to have some friends visiting and I had some time and looked presentable for once, we took some more snaps.  The outcome was author photo number 2, yes, the one to the right here.  An improvement, don’t you think?

Say cheeeeese! Nicky’s author photo, mach 2

This photo has graced my author’s pages, guest blogs and avatars all over the web ever since.  It’s an alright photo.  It’s sunny, and very me.  But it’s also decidedly… unexciting.  Unglamorous.  Not like me at all then, seeing as that I write romance that rocks your world! What to do? There had to be a solution somewhere.  Well, of course there was.  An obvious one, even.  I needed a photographer, and a photo shoot.  So that’s exactly what I did, with the help of amazing friend and budding photographer, Deborah Smith, and a superbly professional camera courtesy of Simon Smith.

Shooting a likeness:  The big photo shoot for Nicky’s ultimate author photo!

9 am: return from school run and switch on computer
9:10 am: switch off computer as feeling uninspired. Potter around the house
10 am: run bath and consume cup of tea
11 am: emerge from bath and dry hair
12 pm: have lunch, select outfit, beautify.  Yes, beautify. The whole works. Actual make-up. Eye shadow and everything. Might as well, just this once!

2 pm: arrive at Deborah’s house styled and ready, carrying bubbly for inspiration and courage.

Deborah getting ready for photographic action…

Spend a delightful hour flouncing around, posing, giggling, turning the music up loud and living every rock-star photo-shoot cliche and movie quote under the sun (go on, give me a bit more shoulder…. love the camera…. work it, baby!)

3 pm: done!

Job done! Cheers!

A portfolio of likenesses…

Very first picture… not bad.

A little shimmy on the floor?

Work it baby, work it…

Hello, I’m your local author!

Oh la la!

 …and here it is, the ultimate author’s likeness:  Nicky’s new, official author photo! ***Drumroll!***

Romance That Rocks Your World! Meet Nicky Wells, Author.

So there, that wasn’t so difficult. In fact, that was fun.  And what a difference, huh? (Please don’t tell me you like my old pictures better. No, honestly, don’t.  You can’t be serious!)

A big, massive Thank You to Deborah for taking the time to indulge my vanity, snap 150+ pictures (or thereabouts) and having fun along the way.  You are a rock star and a superhero. Here is your credit:

ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF DEBORAH SMITH.

or:

AUTHOR PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF DEBORAH SMITH.

I like the look of that–there’s a career here for you, Debbie!  And, dear reader, now YOU can tell me about your photo moments!  Have you lost your identity among the nappies and the baby puree, too?  Are you ready to be snapped by the paparazzi anytime? Do you feel the urgent need to glam up, go out, and have fun?  Or… have you got that ACE photo of yourself that inspires you with confidence on a bad hair day, anytime? Let me know…

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