Indie Author Spotlight - Nikki Rae - Interview & Giveaway

Nikki Rae is a student and writer who lives in New Jersey. She is an independent author and has appeared numerously on Amazon Best Seller lists. She is the author of The Sunshine Series and concentrates on making her imaginary characters as real as possible. She writes mainly dark, scary, romantic tales, but she’ll try anything once. When she is not writing, reading, or thinking, you can find her spending time with animals, drawing in a quiet corner, or studying people. Closely.

Connect with Nikki on:

Goodreads / Twitter / Blog

Sunshine (Sunshine Series #1)

A YA Paranormal Romance

18 year old Sophie Jean is pretty good at acting normal. Sure, she’s not exactly happy, but happiness is nothing compared to being like everyone else. She can pretend she’s not allergic to the sun. She can hide what her ex-boyfriend did to her. She can cover up the scars she’s made for herself. Ignore anything. Forget anything. Then Myles enters her life, and he has more than a few secrets of his own. When accident after accident keeps happening to Sophie, she can’t help noticing that he’s everywhere. That he knows too much. That she’s remembering too much.

It’s one thing covering up her own dark past, but does she really need to worry about people finding out just how much Myles likes her? Or that despite how much she doesn’t want to repeat past mistakes, she kind of likes him back? Not to mention the fact that she now has to conceal that Myles drinks blood-that he says he’s about four hundred years old. She almost forgot about that part.

But Sophie has no plans to ruin the normal life she has created for herself. She can deal with this little glitch, no problem. Even if word has gotten around to the wrong vampire about Sophie and Myles, even if she’s putting the few people she loves at risk. Suddenly, those who were monsters before are just people, and the monsters? They’re real. Now being a normal human being is the least of her problems. Now she has to stay alive.

Sun Poisoned (Sunshine Series #2)

A YA Paranormal Romance

Sophie’s life has changed. She’s moved to New York, she’s playing music for new people, and she’s making new friends. Then there’s Myles, and the fact that he is now her boyfriend—and everyone knows it. There are a lot of new things to take in, but Sophie has no problem adjusting. 

She’s not exactly normal, living in a half-human, half-vampire world, but she’s finally, truly happy. But some parts of Sophie and Myles’ old life still hide in the dark, waiting for the right opportunity to strike. Sophie’s having nightmares again, but they aren’t about her; Myles is hiding something that she’s not sure she wants to know. And one lie will change everything. No matter how hard she tries to cover up the marks her monsters have left behind, they never truly go away, and Myles’ monsters are no different.

Once again, Sophie’s caught between life and death, but this time, only she can save herself.

~ Author Interview ~

Welcome to the Spotlight Nikki! Can you tell us your main inspiration behind this novel?

The initial seed that sparked The Sunshine Series came about when my family went on a vacation to Aruba when I was 13/14 years old. I got sun poisoning the first day, and sat in the hotel room the rest of the trip. It got me thinking, “what would it be like if this happened every time someone went out in the sun?” and that was it. Sunshine started forming.

Was self-publishing your first choice? What was the most nerve wracking part of the process?

I tried traditionally publishing first. I don’t believe that one is completely better than the other, it’s just a  matter of what is better for you and your project. For The Sunshine Series, I eventually decided that self-publishing was better. The most nerve wracking thing is honestly the technical side. I’m not especially technology savvy, so learning about how to format books for kindle, how to upload them, etc, was challenging. I’m still learning something new every day.

As a self-published author, did you choose to edit your novel yourself? What was the biggest change you made to the story and/or characters?

Of course I go through the novel myself a million times first. The very first time I released Sunshine, I didn’t have anyone else look at it. Which was pretty dumb. Now I have Beta readers and editor friends, and it’s made my life a hell of a lot easier. : )

Do you have any unusual writing habits that aide your process and/or character development?

Not really. I tend to watch people more closely when I’m trying to figure out a new character.  I like to drink a lot of tea while writing. For The Sunshine Series, I need music on, but for anything else it has to be quiet. My quirks change from story to story.

Is there one passage or scene from your novel that you are most fond of?

The scenes I like the best are when I see characters growing. In Sunshine, the main character, Sophie is so closed off, so it was nice to see her open up more in Sun Poisoned.

Here’s a little example:

~ EXCERPT ~

Myles’ lips are on mine again, and somehow, this time, it’s different. 
Deeper, hungrier. He seems to notice the shift as well, pulling away so he can ask, “Okay?” His breath is on my lips, around my nose.

I nod. “I’m fine.” The last part gets muffled between my pulse, him, and me.

I run a hand through the hair at the back of his head, my other arm bracing my weight behind me. I lean back as Myles leans forward. All the while, our eyes are on each other when we’re far apart, closed when our faces are together again.

Suddenly, his arms are on either side of mine and his thighs are pressed against the outside of my knees, caging me in. Myles’ chest is almost against mine. 
I tell myself that this is okay, but I realize that I don’t have to. 
This is what I want. Him. Me. Closer.

~ GIVEAWAY ~

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