Today's Special - - Nicki Salcedo

PJ here.  I am delighted to welcome debut author Nicki Salcedo back to the Romance Dish.  I met Nicki five years ago at the Georgia Romance Writers Moonlight & Magnolias Conference and was immediately captivated by her infectious personality and warm smile.  In the subsequent years, I have come to know her better and have gained an enormous amount of respect for the kind, intelligent and accomplished woman that she is and could not be happier for the success she is enjoying.  Her debut novel, ALL BEAUTIFUL THINGS, is an exquisitely written book that captivated me while reading and still has me thinking about the characters more than two weeks after I reached the end of the story.  That is the mark of a good book.

Born in Jamaica and raised in Atlanta, Nicki is a graduate of Stanford University with a degree in English and Creative Writing.  She's a Past President of Georgia Romance Writers, a two-time winner of the Maggie Award of Excellence and a Golden Heart® Finalist.  She still lives in Atlanta with her husband and children.

Visit her website at http://www.nickisalcedo.com/ and connect with her online at Facebook and Twitter.

Please give Nicki a warm welcome!

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It’s such a pleasure to welcome you back to the Romance Dish, Nicki.  Congratulations on the release of All Beautiful Things.  I recently finished reading it and I have to say, it’s stunning!  Please tell our readers what they can expect from this book.   

All Beautiful Things is a reversal on the beauty and the beast story. The heroine has been scarred. She’s the beast. The hero is the beauty. It is a love story, but it is also a story about other kinds of love. The love we have with our parents, our siblings, and unexpected strangers who care for us when we need it most. There is a little mystery and suspense too. It’s a good book for book clubs. I tried to ask, but not answer, questions on our perceptions of beauty, race, and class. I hope it gets people talking and looking at the world through new eyes.

I can't imagine that it won't get people talking.  The characters in this book provide a fascinating look into how we, as humans, deal with the aftermath of unexpected violence in our lives.  What kind of research did you do for the story?

There are several lawyers in my family. I’ve heard heart-breaking tales of kids and women who have lived in unimaginable situations. I consulted two lawyers to make sure my time frames and legal setup was reasonable. I also toured one of the largest homeless shelters in Atlanta.

For the characters, I couldn’t really research them. I became them. I walked around seeing the world through the eyes of my hero and heroine. When I thought they would react a certain way in a particular situation, I wrote the opposite. If I thought she would be scared, I made her fearless. Later when she should be fearless about something simple and every day, then I made her scared. I’ve been fortunate to have avoided violence and abuse in my life, so I don’t know anything first hand, but I can imagine.

Ava and Graham are compelling, complex characters who engaged me from the beginning, held me spellbound until the end and took my emotions on a roller-coaster ride during the journey.  Without giving away spoilers, what do you want readers to understand about these two and what do you hope they will take away from their story?  

Who Nicki would cast as Graham.

If I told you someone was white or black, you would make certain assumptions (even small ones). Same if I said rich or poor. Woman or man. Ava and Graham are two characters that defy stereotypes. The past does not define who they are now. Guilt and innocent. Forgiveness and revenge. They are both scarred physically and mentally, and they find healing in a strange way. My heroine has to believe in something. My hero has to have doubt. They are each other’s alter ego.

I want readers to come away from this story with new perspective on stereotypes and how we judge people. I want them to look in the eyes of someone completely different than they are and think for a moment that we are all the same.

You certainly accomplished that goal with me.  You made me forget about race, origin and status while reading this story and focus solely on the person inside.  They could have been purple with orange polka dots and it wouldn't have made a difference.  





You are probably one of the busiest people I know.  I honestly don’t know how you manage to keep all of the balls in your life in the air. Any tips for all of us multi-tasking women on how to make it all work? 

I take nothing seriously. Everything is a game. If I can’t laugh at it, I can’t do it. It seems like I do a lot because of my work and family, but I do surprisingly little. If it’s not my family, my job, or my writing, I don’t do it. If you do less, you have time to do it better. I put everything I have into the things I do. So I don’t watch much TV. I’m woefully ignorant of popular culture things and current events. The things I do, I love. It is easy to do the things you love. Only do the ten things you love and laugh at it. You’ll be happier and more efficient doing those things compared to doing ten things you hate!

What excellent advice!

Who Nicki would cast as Ava.

Will All Beautiful Things be a stand-alone book or do you plan to write a book for a certain secondary character?  I’m not ready to say goodbye!   

I have a follow-up book in progress. It is another reversal on a fairy tale. What if Sleeping Beauty was a man? What if he was cursed and woke up from a strange dream. Who would be the woman to break the spell? What kinds of metaphorical dragons would she have to slay to save him? Then put all of those elements in contemporary Atlanta!

Count me one very excited reader!

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions but I do map out goals and wishes at the beginning of each year.  What are your goals and wishes for 2014?

Last year was a tough one for me because my dad died. I got the cover art for All Beautiful Things exactly one week after we buried him. I haven’t had much time to grieve for him or to celebrate my book. Part of me is afraid I’ll never feel truly happy about this book, and also afraid that I’ll never properly get to say goodbye to my Dad. I’m afraid to cry. I’m afraid to be happy. He loved reading. The two books on his nightstand when he died were books I’d given him that week. I’d had dinner with him the night before, so that gives me comfort. But he never got to see my book. That hurts. Can my goal be to be both fully happy and fully grieving in 2014? Right now, I’m neither and it’s pretty terrible.

I think that's a perfectly acceptable goal, Nicki.  Having lost my husband and both of my parents, I know how difficult it is to find peace and happiness as we move forward without our loved ones and you do have to fully grieve before finding that happiness once again.  

I am taking up running and I’d like to be able to run a 5K by the end of the year. I’m so terrible at running. I don’t hate it, but I don’t like it. I’m slow. I’m always last. But exercising has been wonderful for giving me clarity in my writing and creative process. A very pivotal scene in All Beautiful Things came to me while running through a park in downtown Atlanta at dawn. I don’t have a lot of writing time, so I have to be efficient while still writing with care. At the end of the year, I’d like to thank running for my writing success.

Seems a worthy goal though I'm still shaking my head at the thought of you running through a downtown Atlanta park at dawn.  

Where will readers be able to meet you this year?  Any conferences or book signings in the works?

I’m usually at Romance Writers of America’s National Conference in July and Georgia Romance Writers’ annual conference Moonlight & Magnolias in October. Hopefully, I’ll be giving a workshop at one or both. I love meeting new writing friends and readers. I’m on all the typical social media spots if you want to Like, Follow, Review, or Pin me! There is a reading group guide for All Beautiful Things on my website.

Thanks for letting us know about the reading group guide.  I plan to recommend your book to my former book club and I know that guide will come in handy.  (Readers, click here to download the reading guide.)

What are you working on now, Nicki?

I’m revising a novel called Pine, and it’s set in a small southern town. There is a strong romantic element, but the main story is a coming-of-age story. I received the Maggie Award of Excellence for this manuscript a few years ago. This has always been the story of my heart, and I’m very proud of it.

And I am working on a follow-up to All Beautiful Things. I finally think I have the right title for it!

I'll be looking forward to both books!

Would you like to ask our readers a question today? 

What is your favorite fairy tale and why? What would be the title you would give for a retold Sleeping Beauty story? And I would love to know about a time when someone who fit one stereotype surprised you.

My example is from ten years ago. I was on the train in Atlanta and huge pregnant. All the business commuters ignored me, but the one filthy indigent guy immediately gave up his seat for me. He shouted at everyone on the train, “All these fancy businessmen, and I’m the one with chivalry!” He grabbed his bike and hopped of the train at the next stopped. I was grateful for the seat, and that he stood up for me. The entire experience was unexpected.

Nicki, thank you for graciously answering my questions.  

Readers, Nicki has three giveaways today so let's get those comments posting.  To be eligible for the giveaways you must include U.S./Canada or International in your comment.  To be eligible for the bonus giveaway you must include in your comment that you are a member of a reading group or book club.  

Today's Giveaways:

1. Kindle book – international. *ALL BEAUTIFUL THINGS may not be available in all countries due to copyright restrictions. In these cases the recipient will be given the option to request an exchange for gift credit on their Amazon.com account during the redemption process, or they may contact Customer Service for assistance in exchanging the book.

2. A signed paperback book to US/Canada. I would be happy to mail a book to a lucky person who comments.

3. And I’ll sweeten the pot. If there are any commenters with a reading group (mention that in your comments) I’ll pick another winner. If that reading group decides to tackle my book this year, I’ll call or skype in for the meeting and answer questions for an hour at a mutually agreed upon time and date.

  

The scars. She’ll never forgive her attacker.

Seven years ago, a knife-wielding stranger left socialite Ava Camden for dead on the sidewalk of an upscale Atlanta restaurant. She survived, but her face was brutally scarred. The police, the courts, and the powerful Camden family pinned the assault on only one suspect: Joel Sapphire, a twenty-year-old star athlete on the cusp of a pro football career. Too drunk to remember any details, Joel was found over Ava’s body, holding the bloody weapon. 

The letters. His brother is her only hope for the truth. 

Graham Sapphire grew up fighting on the city’s tough southside, and he’ll never let the Camdens crush his family. Now a wealthy hotelier, he’s determined to clear his brother’s name—and to find the monster responsible for Ava’s scars. Graham started writing to Ava the day his brother entered prison, asking her to give him a chance and offering his help. She never answered—but she never stopped reading. 

The secrets. The truth may destroy them both. 

Now Joel has been paroled, only to vanish before Graham can reach him. Is he lurking in the shadows or on the run from death threats? Ava is the lure that will bring him back, but she’s not alone in the fight. Graham will give his life—and even his brother’s—to protect her. The bond between them is hot, tender, and almost as dangerous as the hunter who waits in the shadows of the city’s darkest streets.