Meet Nicole...

This is me ready for my Bridgerton-themed soirée!!

I hope everyone is enjoying the warm weather. Since this post is about my quirky character, Nicole, I thought I'd share some of my silliness when season four of Bridgerton came out. I couldn't stop that dance move. lol

Time for another update for Pining For You. There’s been a mini upgrade to the manuscript. As I’ve mentioned previously, there are some added scenes since I wrote the first draft, including a couple of chapters from Everett’s perspective and a scene that I have to say is likely the best chapter I’ve ever written for an adult romance novel. It’s got so much tension, emotion, and the combustible heat between my main characters? It’s off the charts. Anyway, I recently decided to divide the book into three sections instead of two. My agent approved of the change. The chapters are unchanged, but there’s a theme now, one that was there all along. Interestingly, the changes are just like Glittering Images, the book that flew off the shelf at the Dimmick Library on its own. Perhaps that was what the universe was trying to tell me. Heard. I will write a future blog post about what the new theme is but suffice it to say it means that the book has series potential.

As for this post, I want to do a character sketch of Nicole from PFY. I’ve often thought about doing an author interview for the back matter of the book. You know, a fun Fact vs. Fiction kind of thing. So, Nicole is a fictional character, but she is based on me and my experiences. Fun fact—my mom named me Nicole when I born. She changed it to Melissa a couple days later because I “no longer looked like a Nicole.” I know, those hippie women. LOL

On to Nicole…

When Nicole was twelve, she conjured her soulmate. Obsessed with her mom’s romance novels, she couldn’t help but put her request for love out into the universe. That love spell died as she got older, living in the minutia and responsibilities of life. However, she still maintained her love for love as a romance author. How could she not? If her soulmate wasn’t out there, she would just have to live vicariously through her characters. After all, they always got their happily ever after.

Nicole is a generous and kind woman too. The kind that easily shoos a bee off the back of a stranger’s leg to make sure they don’t get stung. She’s also the kind of woman who is prone to people pleasing, which often makes her overextend herself and neglect her own wants and needs. She’s a middle child after all. IYKYK This gets her into trouble. Josh, the secondary love interest in the story, knows this about her. He reminds her that she is important too.  

She’s also quirky. She’s obsessed with trains, likes to do jigsaw puzzles, and thinks breakfast is fancy. She still likes girl stuff like makeup, clothes, and getting pedicures with her besties, but there’s a silly side to her too. Laughing is part of her self-care. When she falls in love with Jim Thorpe, she’s also fearless. She moves there without a second thought—knows it’s right for her. On this, I can confirm fact over fiction. I also am planning my move to Jim Thorpe and I can’t wait! Keep your fingers crossed for me. More on that soon…

The last thing about Nicole that’s important to the story is her unwavering devotion to herself and her truth. She’s always done what other people want her to do in her life. It’s what she’s been working on in therapy. When she meets and falls in love with Everett, her world shifts and she knows deep in her bones that it’s never shifting back. It’s like when Neo sees the matrix for what it actually is for the first time. She goes from being unconscious to conscious. I kind of want to get into some cool stuff about energy and quantum physics here but I won’t. I’m such a nerd. Anyway, she listens to what her soul is telling her and is honest about what she wants and feels. That is a cathartic moment for her. She writes her truth in Pining For You. It’s uncomfortable and painful at times, but it’s also very brave. I admire her strength and faith. I hope readers do too.

Anyway, that’s a bit about Nicole. She’s a beautiful soul, and I can’t wait for everyone to read her story.  

Until next time, be well.