How long have you been writing?
I started writing really young. My father was military so we moved
around a great deal, and making friends for me was difficult. So my
mother bought me a diary when I was 10 and I would scribble in it all the time.
From that point on, I learned to live in my head and write everything down; my
diary became more like a journal and collection of stories. So I guess I owe my
mother for making me into a writer.
What was the most challenging part
about writing your book?
I started
my writing career doing fiction. With fiction you have to worry about tone,
characters, settings, etc. With
nonfiction, it’s just you and your research. There’s no settings, no characters
– literally nothing to hide behind. A book can still be great with a so-so
setting or one mediocre character, but when it’s just you – it has to be great.
For me, I knew my idea had merit because I had pitched it to a major publisher and
they loved it. But when you’re not considered an ‘expert’ in your field, they
won’t take a chance on you. Then, just because the idea is good, doesn’t mean
that the voice works. So having faith in my own voice and what I was saying was
traumatic for me.
DId you self-publish, or find a
publisher? What made you go this route?
I
initially looked for an agent and a publisher. I wanted to have the traditional
book deal. I was lucky enough to submit it to one of the big 7 publishing
houses, and while the editor liked my first incarnation of the piece, she didn’t
agree with my view on the market for the book. I could have spent the time
revamping and reworking the piece until it was exactly what the publisher
wanted, but I had a vision for the piece and it was my voice. They didn’t agree
with it, so I choose to self-publish. I had my own vision for the piece and I
felt that there were too many things I had to give up to just get considered by
a publishing house. In essence, I was giving up everything, my voice, my vision
and there was still no guarantee that they would pick it up. I have faith in my
piece, and in my target audience, so I decided that I would try it on my own
and find my audience.
Do you have any advice for aspiring
authors?
Never take
no for an answer – your writing may not be one persons’ cup of tea, but the
next person may think it’s the best thing they’ve ever read. Writing and reading are subjective, think of
readers like snowflakes. You have to find the right snowflake for your work and
push the negative aside. Accept the constructive criticisms, they will make you
a better writer, but let the negativity wash off. Most important, never give
up, remember, Stephen King threw out Carrie before it got published.
Are
you working on something right now?
One of the ways I combat writer’s
block is to have several projects going on at the same time, so I have many in
various states of readiness but the most complete are: a non-fiction piece on Feminism and its effect
on relationships; a non-fiction piece on religion and religious fervor; a
fiction piece that can be considered either a horror or ghost story and lastly,
a follow up to my first book which is YA supernatural.
About the Book
Title: Sexual Confessional: Confidential Admissions from Social Media
Author: Nicole Delacroix
Genre: Non-Fiction Humor / Essay
Discovering secrets is titillating.
Everyone wants to peek under the covers,
be a fly on the bedroom wall, or read someone’s diary. The juicier the
secret, the more people want to know it, and sex is the most taboo of
all subjects.
It’s human nature to be curious about
what everyone else is doing. What do people like about sex? What are
their fantasies? How far are they willing to go to please the one they
love? These questions and more are explored, where everyday people offer
up their most intimate secrets about sex.
One part social experiment – one part
personal journey mixed with a little shock value, a whole lot of
confession, laugh-out-loud comedy, deceptively thought-provoking
questions and answers, all in the name of self-awareness. A foray into
the inappropriate Sexual Confessional is a
brash, unfiltered look at sex in the new millennium as seen by social
media. A cautionary tale that warns “be careful what you ask the
internet for, you may just get it…”
Author Bio
Nicole
Delacroix was raised with a deep love for words and literature. This
appetite for reading was the foundation fuelling her creative passion
for writing. With a strong will and precocious nature, she is the
atypical Texan Southern belle, preferring the fantastical, science and
reason. Growing up in the buckle of the Bible Belt, writing was her
saving grace.
A fan of all genres, she will most often
be found buried in fantasy, science fiction or nonfiction, favoring
George RR Martin, Douglas Adams and Michio Kaku, while Joan Rivers, Mae
West, Madonna and Audrey Hepburn are personal role-models, each
possessing a strength she admires. Diversity extends to her writing as
well, as she writes about anything that strikes her interest, with a
keen eye for character and the absurd.
A blogger, author, and IT professional
for a major ISP, she is consistently sought out to provide guest blogs
and the oft-maligned tech manual, and receives many requests to review
new works from fellow authors. She believes life is about possibilities,
which challenges her to write outside her comfort zone, trying new
projects and meeting new people.
Fiercely loyal to friends, family and
pets, she is a proud member of the Atlanta Writer’s Club, avid Tweeter,
and closet Anglophile with addictions to British Tea, Doctor Who and
Soccer. Above all, she maintains sarcasm is a legitimate art form and
strives to challenge conventional thinking.
Publishing History
Books:
Glimpse of Darkness, April 2014 – October 2014
Blog Posts:
Common Misconceptions About Literary Agents, January 21, 2015
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Guest Post: How Many Frogs Do I Have To Kiss?, January 19, 2015
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Guest Post: Books Vs. E-readers, December 21, 2014
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Guest Post: Using Createspace, December 21, 2014
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Guest Post: Author Social Media Checklist, December 6, 2014
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