Category Archives: Miscellaneous

Sunday cheers: batten down the hatches!

Posted on April 29, 2012 | 12 comments

Happy Sunday! The storm is howling around the house, the rain is lashing against the windows, and the Met Office has issued a severe weather warning for the region.  Never mind that it’s April, that it’s supposed to be spring, and that we’re meant to start enjoying the great outdoors again!

For a start, who needs the great outdoors when you can get it indoors? My boys had great fun at the garden centre picking out some cheerful flowers for our home, and the Gerbera are in bloom and quite happy even if their outdoor cousins are wearing rain coats today.

Gerbera picture taken by me...

And what is better on a day like this than battening down the hatches and bringing out the home comforts?  I’ve got a cake baking in the oven as we speak; a lovely poppy seed creation made with the kids (and only a little bit of arguing) just a few minutes ago.  The scent is filling the house with joy and sunshine!

Later on, the oven will be taken over by a fabulous gammon joint, roast potatoes, and broccoli cheese bake.  To top it all off, we’ve invited some friends round for a Sunday family tea party.  Rain?  Immaterial!  Gale-force winds?  Add to the atmosphere!

Wishing you a happy and cheerful Sunday despite the weather, wherever you are.  And I’ve love to hear how you’re passing this extraordinarily wet and windy day.  If you’re braving the weather–let me know! If you’re painting the house–good for you! Go on, share… you never know, you might inspire someone else!

... and Gerbera picture taken by my budding nature photographer, age five!

 

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Guess what?

Posted on April 22, 2012 | 16 comments

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Lucky Seven Meme, Lucky Me: Find out MY Lucky Seven

Posted on April 13, 2012 | 4 comments

Lucky, lucky me! Three times lucky, in fact!

I’ve been tagged for the Lucky Seven Meme by three lovely writers over the course of the past week:  Dana Mason, Marina Sofia, and Melanie Robertson-King. Find out their Lucky 7 here:

Dana Mason’s Lucky 7

Marina Sofia’s Lucky 7

Melanie Robertson-King’s Lucky 7

Thanks to Dana, Marina and Melanie for the opportunity to play along.

Here are the rules of the game:

  1. Go to page 77 of your current manuscript or WIP.
  2. Go to line 7.
  3. Copy down the next 7 sentences and post them as written.
  4. Tag 7 authors.
  5. Let them know.

I’m using 7 lines, starting at line 7 on page 77, of my debut novel, Sophie’s Turn.

“Tim?”  I asked incredulously.  “You know Tim?  My boyfriend Tim?  Where is he?”

Even Dan’s saint-like patience was beginning to wear thin.  He packed me bodily over his shoulder, snatched my keys, locked up behind us and walked me down the road.

“Oooh, I like a forceful man,”  I giggled into his back.  “Just watch out for the boys in blue.  There’s a police station round the corner and they might get the wrong idea!”

Dan ignored me completely and kept trotting down the road in an awkward jog, me flopping over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

That’s my Lucky 7.

Now…who shall I tag? Let’s see 7 other writers…

I know each of these writers are busy with writing and editing. Hopefully they have some time for fun. Then again, if they don’t, I’ll understand.

Amanda Egan

Bonnie Trachtenberg

Elle Amberley

JK Hogan

Laura E James

Lucie Wheeler

Nancy S Thompson

Enjoy!!  Cheerio! 🙂 x

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Something different today: Behind the Scenes at the RNLI Sea Survival Pool

Posted on April 2, 2012 | 4 comments

Saving lives at sea: Have you ever wondered just ‘how do they do that’?

As you all know, I’m a huge fan of the RNLI (as are my boys), and we support the charity wherever we can.  With the Easter holidays upon us, beaches all over the UK will get busy with holidaymakers (never mind the weather) and I thought it would be timely to remind us all of the fact that the volunteers at the RNLI are ready to help and rescue people and vessels in distress.

Here’s a little clip showing you how these amazing volunteers train for emergencies and rescue missions. Maybe this will inspire someone out there to join up and have a go?


 

Be sea-safe, everyone.

🙂

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Now officially a Romantic Novelist!

Posted on March 28, 2012 | 24 comments

Another cause for celebration here on my Rock Star Romance blog!  I have joined the Romantic Novelists’ Association, whoooop whooop!

Having followed many an RNA author and NWS author on Twitter and FB for some time; having perused the RNA website and blog; having heard all about their fabulous group of authors, the support they give each other, their amazing conferences, Christmas parties and other functions, it is with considerable excitement that I now find myself part of this association. I really look forward to meeting fellow authors and taking part in as many events as I can possibly manage.

About the Romantic Novelists’ Association

The Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA) was formed in 1960 to promote romantic fiction and to encourage writing, and now represents more than 700 writers, agents, editors and other publishing professionals. Following a hugely successful golden anniversary in 2010, the RNA have been working on a new brand identity to reflect their vision as an organisation.  If you want to find out more about the Romantic Novelists’ Association, visit their website or their blog.  Sometime soon, there might be my very own author page there, too.  And now I will go and celebrate being a Romantic Novelist!
Cheers and rock on!

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Taking a moment to smell the roses…

Posted on March 27, 2012 | 6 comments

Today is a fantastic day!  After almost two weeks of frantic activity, this here author is finally getting a breathing space.   Read on to see what I’ve been doing with it…

Time to smell the roses in my garden, as it were.  Unfortunately, the roses aren’t out yet, and I couldn’t smell them anyway as I’ve got terrible hayfever!

But instead, I had a good long look around my garden this morning and brought you some photographic evidence of the fact that spring is a-coming and that life is beautiful.

Alright, I’m not the best photographer in the world but hey, I enjoyed making my little spring diary.  This will be a great reminder that the world is erupting into bloom while I might have to go back head down on all the various things that are consuming most of my time at the moment.

What are they, you want to know… Ah, all in good course:  watch this space for news!

Meanwhile, I’d love to hear what you do when you need a breathing space, a moment of time out, a reminder that there is life beyond your desk, your chores, your job for the day. XX

Cheerio

Nicky :-)xxxx

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Another Versatile Blogger Award for Nicky’s Blog!

Posted on March 20, 2012 | 12 comments

Whoop Whooop!  My little blog has received another “Versatile Blogger” Award!  There’s certainly been a lot of celebrating going on here lately..

Thank you so much to The Romaniacs for granting me this award. The Romaniacs post daily features filled with fun and full of good advice, and they’re one of my most favourite blogs!

The rules of the award are:
1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award (done)
2. Share seven things about yourself (see below)
3. Send it onto fifteen other bloggers you appreciate and let them know you have awarded it to them (see below)

 So…here go seven things about myself:

1) I am a woman in an identity crisis! My passport says I’m German, but really, I’m not—at least not, any more. But I’m not really British, either. I guess that means I’m simply ‘me.’

2) I hate wasps more than I hate spiders. Wasps would be my room 101!

3) I am a very enthusiastic person, and quite a lot of people I know tend to be taken aback when I go into full enthusiasm mode! Yet it gets things done, and it gets results, and it makes me happy. So, who cares whether other people can (or cannot) keep up with the good vibes?

4) I don’t like lamb! I won’t eat it and I can’t cook it.

5) I can’t swim. Well, not really.

6) I used to get mistaken for Cynthia Nixon, once upon a time. Before I had kids and the first whips of grey hair under all that red!

7) I am a teaching assistant in the German Saturday School in Bristol, and I absolutely love it!

And without further ado, I would like to pass The Versatile Blogger Award on the following blogs:

A. L. Jackson; Amy Gregory; A Writer’s Life; Bloggin’ with Rich; Crystal Jigsaw;  Garry Kassay; Janice Horton; Kindle and Me; Linn B. Halton;  Mandy Baggot;  Me, My Books and I;  Nancy S Thompson; Patricia Sands’ Blog; S. Blue Remy; Stephanie Keyes 

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Behind the Scenes in “Lego House” with Ed Sheeran

Posted on March 9, 2012 | 2 comments

Ed Sheeran’s “Lego House” is a big hit in the Wells household, not least because my two boys have attached to the notion of singing about building a Lego house (and yes, a lot of singing is being done here lately!).

This morning, I thought I’d bring you a little video clip of the making of the video for “Lego House”, posted by Ed Sheeran himself on YouTube.  As I was watching, it occurred to me that as a writer, one tends to become a little self-obsessed with the entire writing and editing process; thus it was refreshing to be reminded that all artists go to great lengths to improve and hone and fine-tune their work.  Apart from which, it’s a really nice music video to watch, and you know how much Nicky likes to take a peek backstage.  So grab a cuppa and enjoy!

And if you have a moment, I’d love to hear what YOU do to remind yourself of the real world when you get a little carried away in your own projects or worries. 🙂

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NEWSFLASH! Sapphire Star Publishing Signs “Sophie’s Turn” by Nicky Wells

Posted on February 29, 2012 | 54 comments

YES! I want to shout it from the rooftops, and dance on the ceiling.  I want to sing and wave my hands in the air.  I am really excited to announce that I have signed my debut novel, Sophie’s Turn, with trailblazing new US publisher, Sapphire Star Publishing (SSP)!

When I first heard about SSP on Facebook early in January, I was immediately intrigued.  Who wouldn’t be, with a catching name and stunning logo like the sapphire star?  I checked out the company’s website and was even more interested: this looked just like my kind of organisation.  Sapphire Star Publishing is a small press publisher dedicated to bringing readers the finest fiction.  The company works closely with its authors to grant each publication the opportunity to reach its full potential.  Unsurprisingly, then, everyone at SSP is really passionate about books, dedicated and motivated, and highly professional. That’s an intriguing proposition, and I was instantly hooked.  And when I discovered that SSP was accepting submissions, well, I was off to my email in a flash.

I submitted Sophie’s Turn and quickly heard back:  would I consider sending the full manuscript?  Of course I would!  And just under two weeks later… last Friday, to be precise, I got the amazing email:  SSP loved Sophie’s Turn!

I literally sat stunned for a good few minutes, reading and re-reading the email several dozen times, trying to make sure that I understood right.  I believe I was then seen dancing round the dining room (which is where my laptop lives on a tiny desk, when I’m not actually writing) and through the lounge, seeming very excited but not making an awful lot of sense.  This was just the most terrific news, and an indescribable feeling of joy. I am simply thrilled to be joining the SSP family!

Now here’s the really important bit:  SSP will officially relaunch Sophie’s Turn on 6 September 2012!!  In the meantime, for a limited time only, Sophie’s Turn will continue to be available in Kindle edition from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com until the end of March. After that, the novel will be temporarily unavailable until the official relaunch of Sophie’s Turn.

Stay tuned and sign up for ongoing updates and news on this blog.  Or visit Sapphire Star Publishing for further news and, of course, to meet the rest of the SSP family: A.L. Jackson; Amy Gregory; Gary Kassay; Mandy Baggot; Linn B. Halton; S. Blue Remy

Thanks for joining me today as I celebrate, and do keep in touch!
Cheerio from
–Nicky XX 🙂

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A Very Special Guest Blog Regarding RNLI Lifeboats

Posted on February 17, 2012 | 6 comments

Today, I have the pleasure of welcoming a very unusual guest blogger to my site:  my six-year old son!  This is his first blog post ever, but he felt very strongly that he would like to visit my blog and tell the world about a subject close to his heart:  Lifeboats.  He asked if he could post on my blog and I thought… well, it’s a good cause, a great idea… why not?

He has been a member of “Storm Force“, the RNLI club for young people, pretty much since he was born.  As a family, we love visiting lifeboat stations, watching exercises, or even (as has happened on a couple of occasions) real rescues.  To raise awareness for the RNLI and its lifeboats, my six-year old drew this picture this morning:

This is what he would like to say about lifeboats:  “Lifeboats matter because they will rescue you if you’re stuck out on the sea.  Lifeboat crews are important because they drive the lifeboats out to you.  The crews aren’t paid, only the captain is, and they are all very brave.  Did you know that lifeboats don’t sink?  If they turn over, they right themselves because of the airbag that’s in the bottom of the hull.”

Well said!  A big thank you to my special guest blogger today.  If you would like to find out more about lifeboats or support their cause, visit the RNLI website here.

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