Author Spotlight: Nikki Broadwell

7/7/2013

Welcoming Nikki Broadwell, who I'm hosting today on her book tour with Saskia Book Tours!

What have you published recently?
Over the past year and a half I’ve published three books of a Celtic fantasy trilogy—“The Moonstone”, “Saille, the Willow”, and just this month, “The Wolf Moon”.

How, and when, did you decide to become a writer?
I’ve always loved writing from the time I was in grade school. In college I majored in English and Art, going back and forth until I had enough units for a degree in both! However, I didn’t do any serious writing until about seven years ago when I took a writing workshop. The moonstone, first book of the trilogy, was begun from a writing prompt in that class—from then on I’ve been hooked!

Where can we find your published writing?
I have several short stories up on my Goodreads site and my books can be found on Smashwords, Amazon, as kindle or paper, and can be ordered from any bookstore.

What is a typical day like for you as a writer?
I don’t keep any particular schedule but usually I’m at my desk by eight or nine a.m. If I’m working on a project it’s hard to pry me away from my computer—I’m one of those who types rather than writing longhand. I leave my desk to eat and sometimes to take a walk or a yoga class but I can easily write for six hours in a day. What I have to watch out for is not writing into the evening—if I do I’m often plagued with insomnia as the characters parade through my mind willing me back to my desk.

What are your favorite characters that you have created? Tell us about them.
The first one that comes to mind is the antagonist who has a part in all three books. He’s a priest gone bad, a complex character with a history of abuse and a twin sister who is a seer. He and his twin were once so close that they could communicate telepathically, but now Brandubh is taking his orders from their sorceress mother, a woman who feeds off others to retain her youth. MacCuill, a druid is another of my favorites—he’s a wise sort of Gandalf-like character who literally has magic at this fingertips! I also made up a race of people called the Crion who are the ‘keepers of the wisdom’ in the Otherworld. And of course I’m very fond of the main character, Maeve, a young woman faced with a destiny she didn’t bargain for. She needs to find inner strength in terrifying circumstances.

Do you find you “mentally edit” other writers’ works as you read them? Does doing this help you or bother you?
OMG. YES! I am always doing this even when reading authors who are on the best-seller list! I worked really hard to edit mine and it irks me to find typos and mistakes. Of course there are always a few that slip by, but it’s obvious when an author hasn’t hired a proofreader. And dealing with the publishing companies such as Createspace or Lightning Source can be maddening when the formatting adds even more mistakes!

What music do you listen to, while writing?
It is too distracting for me to listen to music while I write—especially songs with lyrics! If I listened to any it would be new agey with a drumbeat or rhythm—something to get my second chakra going…(creativity)

What do you eat while writing?
I bring in breakfast and lunch sometimes, spilling crumbs into my keyboard and making it filthy and greasy. I also drink espresso and if I’m not following my ‘no writing after five’ rule I bring in wine.

Five for Fun:

What is your favourite non-alcoholic drink?
Caffe latte

What is your favourite cartoon character?
Hmm..I’m sure this will date me, but I would have to say the roadrunner. I don’t watch cartoons now so can’t even think of a more current figure unless it was a character from Studio Ghibli, the Japanese anime`—if you haven’t seen them, they’re remarkable!

What is your favourite movie of all time?
Would have to say ‘”The King of Hearts”. I also loved the first three “Star Wars”, “Matrix” and “The Lord of the Rings” and many many more.

What do you like to do for fun or just to relax?
I love watching series and movies and I love reading. I also love to hike in wild places with my dog. Yoga and meditation are a big part of my life as is going out for lunch and having a glass of crisp chilled wine!

Where can we find you on the web?
My Website: https://www.nikkibroadwellauthor.com/
My blog: http://niksblog-authorinprogress.blogspot.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nikkibroadwell
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nikki.broadwell
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5321050.Nikki_Broadwell
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/nikkibroadwell

About the Author:
Nikki’s college education centered on English and Art and she graduated with a B.A. in both. While her children were in middle school she began a greeting card business and then later, when they were out of the house, she began painting on silk, selling her scarves and wall hangings to high-end galleries in California and Oregon .Now she writes full time, working on a sequel to Wolfmoon as well as a fictionalized version of her parent’s life based on journals her father kept during his time as a POW duringWW2.

Having recently located from Portland Oregon, Nikki has become a resident of Tucson, Arizona where she lives on a hill at the base of the Catalina Mountains with her husband, and standard poodle, Buddha and Eesa, the cat.

The Wolf Moon (Wolfmoon Trilogy Book 3) By Nikki Broadwell

It is close to the winter solstice when Maeve Lewin’s simple trip to Scotland to re-unite with her mother throws her headlong into a dangerous world.

A prophecy written centuries before seems to describe her as ‘the one’, and despite Maeve’s insistence that this couldn’t possibly be true, her mother and grandmother both agree.

What Maeve doesn’t know is that her boyfriend is part of her destiny, mentioned in the ancient text as ‘the one of noble birth who will stand by her side’. But Harold’s only plan is to join Maeve Scotland for the New Year before the two of them fly home to the States.

The night of the winter solstice brings Maeve face to face with a terrifying reality, but it's Harold’s arrival that forces her to come to terms with the truth. He seems to have lived in this parallel world before and his part in future events has been sealed as surely as hers.

With dark forces hunting her relentlessly and confronted with a fate she didn’t choose, Maeve must come to terms with her future and somehow find the strength to fulfill the perilous task set before her.

Available at:
Amazon

Other Books by Nikki Broadwell