Today on the blog, my friend and fellow author, Nike N. Chillemi, is going to introduce you to her new romantic suspense novella and tell you a little about the storm she went through to get it ready to publish. (ever heard of Hurricane Irma?) I know you will enjoy her writing because I’ve read some of her books and they are terrific! So enjoy!
Authors Are Like the Postman ~ neither snow, nor rain…
By Nike N. Chillemi
Since I live in Jacksonville, Florida, the snow part doesn’t apply to me. Boy, oh, boy, the rain part sure does. After getting hit by Hurricane Irma, it was a struggle to get my New Adult novella, THAT SPECIAL ONE published in a timely manner. Still, I was determined.
The novella opens with the start of college for Freshman Ivy Chalmers. So, naturally I wanted to release the book in September. Since I’m an indie author, I have some flexibility as to the release date. I had hoped for the second week in September. Unfortunately, Hurricane Irma hit Jacksonville on September 11th. As can be imagined, this put something of a crimp in my plans.
After the storm left Jacksonville, nearly the entire city was without power, which was incredible for me to comprehend at the time. My power was restored after three days. Those were three long days without light, water (because electric runs water in Jacksonville), or WiFi. Even after my power was back, I had no WiFi. I had to publish THAT SPECIAL ONE using WiFi at the public library. I knew there was a reason God created libraries.
THAT SPECIAL ONE in a nut shell…
New Adult Christian Romantic Suspense Novella
College freshman Ivy Chalmers moved in with her aunt and uncle in Arroyo, Texas. She 
needed to get away from her alcoholic and weed smoking mother. Ivy longed for a different life than the revolving-door-men in her mom’s life. Making a one-eighty, she vowed not to make a serious dating commitment unless she knew it would be that really ‘special relationship.’
Corey Jones had been the man in his house since age twelve, when his alcoholic dad abandoned him and his mom. Once in a while, his dad showed up trying to extort money from them using threats. Then his blue-haired, self-centered cousin Ava came to live with them and the way she treats his mom enrages him.
Ivy is thrilled when she meets an upper classman from a neighboring college and thinks he might be ‘that guy.’ When she is horribly betrayed, her world is thrown upside-down, and she plunges into a depression. In a steady and kind of clumsy way, Corey is there for her during her worst moments. But his family is plagued with alcoholism, the life she had with her mom, the life she ran away from. What’s wrong with her that she attracts the wrong guys? As if that wasn’t bad enough, there’s an arsonist terrorizing their tiny village.
Author Bio:
Like so many writers, Nike Chillemi started at a very young age. Her first major work was a Crayola, fully-illustrated book she penned as a little girl (colored might be more accurate) about her then off-the-chart love of horses. Today, you might call her a crime fictionista with a humorous side. Her passion is crime fiction. She likes her bad guys really bad and her good guys smarter and better.
Nike is the founding board member of the Grace Awards and its Chair, a reader’s choice awards for excellence in Christian fiction. She has been a judge in the 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016 Carol Awards in the suspense, mystery, and romantic suspense categories; and an Inspy Awards 2010 judge in the Suspense/Thriller/Mystery category. Her four novel Sanctuary Point series (out of print), set in the mid-1940s has finaled, won an award, and garnered critical acclaim. The first novel in the Veronica “Ronnie” Ingels/Dawson Hughes series HARMFUL INTENT won in the Grace Awards 2014 Mystery/Romantic Suspense/Thriller/Historical Suspense category. She has written book reviews for The Christian Pulse online magazine. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and John 3:16 Marketing Network. http://nikechillemi.wordpress.com/
Get your kindle copy of That Special One
~~Thanks for stopping by! Have a question for Nike about Hurricane Irma or her new book? Please leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!
Barbara
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