Earth Hour 2012

Today is the day of Earth Hour, an annual event when homes and businesses across the world turn off their lights for one hour hour as a statement of their concern for, and support of, the environment. This year, at 8:30 PM local time, residences, businesses, and government offices all over our planet will power off all non-essential lights for one hour (and sometimes more!), and light our world with candles instead. It's an impressive sight to see. Check out the Earth Hour website for video on how far-reaching this event has become. Play games on their Fun Stuff page. Join the movement by turning off your lights tonight for one hour. Most of all, keep in mind that we're all together on this earth, and celebrate how beautiful it is!

Earth Day Giveaway!

To celebrate Earth Day this year, I will be giving away one print copy of your choice of one of my books (EARTH or WATER)! Beginning April 1st and ending April 30th, all you have to do is fill out this form telling me what you plan to do for your planet on Earth Day! Good luck, and enjoy!

NickiGreenwood.com Earth Day Giveaway!

New Website Unveiled!

My new website is finally unveiled! Check out all the new stuff, and beginning April 1st, enter for chance to win your choice of one of my print books! I hope you enjoy the new layout, and coming soon, you'll see a blog right here, designed to match it!

We Interrupt This Program ...

I'm spending the next few days deep in re-designs for my website, and the current layout of my blog is something of a placeholder while I knock the rest of it together. I hope you'll enjoy the finished product!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Wishing you all a safe, happy, and very Irish St. Patrick's Day today, whether or not you're Irish. Celebrate the wonderful art, food, music, and green beer that makes today so special. Top o' the mornin' to ye!

CNYRW Mini-Con 2012 Recap

The CNYRW 2012 Mini-Con featured nationally bestselling author Anne Stuart, in an informative two-day workshop covering a variety of writing topics. Anne presented a Q&A Friday night, going around the room and answering questions of each attendee. She was very knowledgeable and freely shared what she knew on everything from royalty issues to writer's block ... and she knows a good-looking man when she sees one! Anne is a big fan of movie and television heroes, and I was tickled to discover that she, too, has an affinity for Ian Somerhalder.

Saturday, Anne presented her strategies for writing a dark love story, delving into the inner workings of the hero and heroine, and sprinkling her presentation with exercises much like one-page workshops. Anne had brought with her several decks of tarot, and she had us each pull one card and write a page on the hero, and then the heroine, inspired by each picture. For the hero, I drew the Robin Wood tarot's Magician. For the heroine, I drew the Manga tarot's Chalices:




What I came up with was not romance, but fantasy, inspired by the first card, the Magician. I was surprised and pleased by the story that cropped up just by looking at a picture. I now have a story idea filed away for future use, and I find myself wanting to plot with tarot.

Anne shied away from no topic, big or small, and I came away from the workshop with lots of writing energy that I hope to use on my current book. I appreciated her candor on the ins and outs of the business, and she has a wicked sense of humor. Thank you, Anne, for a terrific weekend of learning, fun, and good-looking heroes!