Thursday, August 8, 2013

Interview with Nikki Rae ~*~ Giveaway ~*~

Today I'd like to welcome Nikki Rae to Pure Jonel.

Let's find out some more about her (and wish her a happy birthday while she's here).


Q ~ Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Hi, my name is Nikki and I’m an indie author. I started writing seriously in high school and then got into publishing in college. I’m in my last year of college (!), and I work at a pet store part time. It is my dream to one day own a fruit bat, and I like tea. A lot.


Q ~ What’s one habit that you have that you’d like to break?

Hmmm…Is the internet a habit? Because I think I’m kind of addicted to that.

Q ~ What is your favourite genre to read? To write?

I like to read a little bit of everything. Sometimes I read memoirs, sometimes short stories, sometimes fantasy. I go through cycles of them all. As for writing, I’m quite fond of paranormal right now, and have been for a while. I like taking ordinary (or not so ordinary) people and suddenly throwing them into a paranormal situation to see how they react.

Q ~ How did you begin writing professionally?

Basically, I met an amazing woman at school by the name of H.D. Gordon. She encouraged me to self publish. If I had never met her, I think I would have eventually ended up self publishing, but it would have been far less fun and far more painful. : )

Q ~ Who are your biggest supporters in your writing?

My sisters, my friends, my patient saint of a boyfriend. And then there are the readers, of course. Seeing messages from people I don’t even know from across the country or across the world in some case, makes me so happy. It really confirms the fact that this is where I’m supposed to be right now.

Q ~ Do you have any ‘writing rituals’ that you always follow?

Tea, lots of tea. And I usually have something going on in the background lately, either music or a TV show. I’m really not too picky though. Give me a computer and I can do it as long as there aren’t a lot of people around. : )

Q ~ When you write, do you try to reach a specific word count or simply write until you are done?

When I’m doing the rough draft, especially in the beginning stages, where I’m not sure where everything is supposed to go, I use word count as a goal. I try to do 2,000 words a day. Sometimes it’s way more, sometimes it’s way less, but it helps me push through the rough spots.

Q ~ What inspired the Sunshine series?

When I was about thirteen or fourteen, my family went on vacation to Aruba. I got sun poisoning the first day we were there, and spent the rest of the week stuck to the hot hotel sheets. It wasn’t pleasant. But the idea of Sophie being allergic to the sun came from it, so it wasn’t a complete loss.

Q ~ Are any of your characters based on people in your life?

Yes and no. I’m the type of writer who can’t help aspects of her life from slipping into her work. There are qualities of some characters that were done on purpose, for sure (Sophie’s self-harm issues were something I personally went through when I was younger, Boo was almost completely based off of someone I knew in high school). And then some things were pointed out to me after people who were close to me read it (I’m protective like Jade, Sophie’s style is similar to mine, etc). I’m sure if I gave the books to some kind of professional, the parallels would be endless. : )

Q ~ You tackle some difficult topics in your novels. What sparked you to do so?

I wanted to help people. Self-harm was something I personally dealt with at a young age, got over, and have to continually heal from. I thought I could either keep it to myself, or share what I learned. So I shared. The other issues were things that I saw happening around me. Good friends went through them. People I didn’t know went through others. I didn’t know how to deal with the fact that there was so much evil in the world, so I wrote about it.

Q~ If you could give some advice to those who want to write professionally, what would it be?

That they should so it! But before they do it, they should have someone else read it. Someone that they trust, but not someone that will just hand it back and tell them that it’s great. Learn what is right for your story. Research everything. Have fun. The moment you stop feeling all tingly at the thought of getting a certain scene/character/story down is the moment you start doing it wrong. : )




View my review of Sunshine here.

And buy your copy online here today



View my review of Sun Poisoned here!

And buy your copy online here today!







And now, enter to win 1 of 3 prize packs from Nikki Rae
Each pack includes an ecopy of Sunshine,
an ecopy of Sun Poisoned,
and a signed print.

Entries close 11:59pm Aug 15/13.
Winners will be announced and notified via email Aug 16/13.
Winners have 72hrs to claim their prizes.


25 comments:

  1. Thanks for a fantastic giveaway and a very Happy Birthday!! :)

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  2. Happy Birthday :) I just got these books :) *Happy Dance in my head So I'm leaving the giveaway to others so they can have the same awesomeness :)

    If I wouldn't break your ear drums, I'd sing happy bday to you :) So instead I'll tweet this for you :)

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  3. Happy Birthday, Nikki! A fruit bat, eh? Maybe you'll get one today as a gift :) !!

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  4. Happy B-Day and thanks for the give away. Your books sound great (adding to my want to read list--crossing fingers I win) :)

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  5. Great interview, both books look totally awesome. Happy Birthday and thanks for sharing!
    Good luck to all who entered!

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  6. Happy Birthday Nikki! Thanks for sharing with us.

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  7. Happy Birthday Nikki. I enjoyed the first book and I look forward the the second and third book. Thanks for the giveaway

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  8. Happy birthday Nikki Rae! I really hope I win your book. Thank you for the opportunity!

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  9. Happy birthday Nikki Rae!!!! :)

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  10. Happy Birthday & thanks for the giveaway!

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  11. Thanks for the giveaway! and Happy happy birthday :)

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  12. Happy birthday, Nikki! I hope you have a great one!

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  13. I hope you had a fantastic birthday, with many more to come. Nice interview :)

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  14. I hope you had a fantastic Birthday with many more to come, loved the interview

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  15. Thanks for the giveaway and Happy Birthday!! I hope it's fantastic!!

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  16. Happy birthday!!! Thanks so much for sharing with us. I can't wait to read your books.
    Also, I love your cat, I have 2 that look exactly the same. One of them is always sitting on my computer keyboard 8)
    Thanks for the giveaway opportunity ;)
    Michelle Hofacker

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  17. Happy Birthday Nikki. Nice interview. Thanks for the giveaway.

    sherryfundin69 at netscape dot net

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  18. Happy birthday Nikki.Thanks for the giveaway and inspiring interview.

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  19. Happy birthday Nikki :D thanx for the giveaway

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  20. Thanks for the giveaway and Happy Birthday! :)

    Roxana Z.

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  21. Thanks so much!
    Happy Birthday (:

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