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Guest Blogger: Nikki Duncan
Tuesday, February 8th, 2011

Small Town Charm

By Nikki Duncan

Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name.
Sometimes you want to go where no on knows your name.
Sometimes the “where” doesn’t matter as long as one particular person knows your name.

In the Whispering Cove anthology, that place is the same for all our characters. It’s the small town of Whispering Cove, Maine where a group of friends shared good times and bad before splitting up to build their individual lives.

A couple of our characters never left that small town where old men sit on a street corner gossiping, where the town doctor still makes house calls, where the waitresses know the favorites of all the customers, and where secrets are non-existent. Others escaped to the “big city” with zero, or limited, intentions of returning…until three scheming granddads use a high school reunion to get their runaways home.

A fun part of this anthology was seeing the transformations the different characters made. In WICKED, my heroine Danica left Whispering Cove as an awkward girl wrapped in shyness. With a desire to return to her roots and raise a family with the values she grew up with, she’s returned with her medical degree, bought the town practice and has gotten a new look that’s helped her build a new confidence. When the plans for the ten year reunion get started, she gets excited about the prospect of seeing old friends…especially her high school crush Braydon Mitchell.

Braydon never suffered low confidence or for a lack of female companionship, but he really thrived once he left town, bought a sailboat to travel and live on, and became a regular fixture in the water sporting world. Extremely comfortable in his bad-boy image with a strong penchant for no-strings relationships he’s returned home for the reunion and a visit with his favorite grandparents. The last thing he expected was finding a knock-out doctor with the shy girl he’d barely known in school wrapped inside, or that she would remind him of the adventures a small town offered.

Planning and writing about Whispering Cove reminded me of my youth and growing up in a small town. So, when you’re reading stories about small towns, what’s the appeal for you?

Chat with Nikki and be entered in a drawing to win a digital copy of her backlist (winner’s choice). WICKED is currently available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. And at Smashwords, it’s on sale 50% off until the 13th when you use this coupon code: SM42G.

Check out more about Nikki by visiting her website at www.NikkiDuncan.com. You can also find Nikki on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/NDuncanWriter.

16 comments to “Guest Blogger: Nikki Duncan”

  1. Jules Bennett
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    · February 8th, 2011 at 9:53 am · Link

    Hey, Nikki and Delilah!

    Since I live in a small town, I’m pretty picky about my small town stories. I really pay more attention to the secondary characters because in small towns, they really make it. Everyone knows them and everyone has a story about them.
    Small town charm is great, too. Love to hear about little small town traditions 😀

    Can’t wait to pick up Wicked, Nikki! Love ya, girl!



  2. Kimberly Quinton
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    · February 8th, 2011 at 10:16 am · Link

    I love reading about small towns with quirky characters….especially those in the south. I’ve lived in small towns in the south and the southwest and they all have eccentric “regulars” that everyone knows- And they all have secrets!

    Wicked is on my list to read- looking forward to it!!

    Kim



  3. Diane Sadler
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    3
    · February 8th, 2011 at 10:17 am · Link

    the chance to rediscover favorite characters who pop in and out! I love seeing recurring characters and finding out how they lives have gone.



  4. Janette
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    · February 8th, 2011 at 10:48 am · Link

    I like them because not only would I love to live in a small warm SOUTH part of the US(south or southwest); people seem to be much more caring and emphathetic toward one another. Of course I don’t know if I’m looking through Rose colored glasses or still naïve.
    Hi Nikki and Hope you are having fun Delilah. J



  5. Miranda
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    5
    · February 8th, 2011 at 11:06 am · Link

    The Whispering Cove Anthology simply delicious!!!!! If you don’t have your copies grab them ASAP!!!! Those covers are fabulous and I heard recently that Nikki was the creative genius behind them! Kudos!!!!



  6. Nikki Duncan
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    · February 8th, 2011 at 12:14 pm · Link

    Hiya Jules! I hope you love Wicked!

    Kim, I so easily see you in Small Town south with all that charm of yours.

    Diane, I love love love recurring characters. I think that’s why so many of the books I write turn into series or connected stories.

    Janette, that’s how it was when I was living in a small town. Or maybe it’s just easier to get to know people in a small town to feel connected.

    And Miranda, thank you thank you thank you. And I did get to create the covers for the anthology. Man was it fun. 😉



  7. Kirsten C.
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    · February 8th, 2011 at 3:14 pm · Link

    Love Nikki Duncan! Can’t wait to get my greedy little hands on this book! Yum!

    I love small town books cuz it’s so cozy. While it can be a pain having everyone know your business, in the romance book world it creates the naughtyness of trying to keep your “business” a secret that can be fun! Plus they usually inspire a little “awwww how cute” which let’s face it, we all need a little of that in our books sometimes! :0)



  8. Estella
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    8
    · February 8th, 2011 at 3:49 pm · Link

    I love stories set in small towns!



  9. Nikki Duncan
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    · February 8th, 2011 at 4:29 pm · Link

    Kristen, thank you! That aspect of keeping their business private was part of the fun for me.



  10. Nikki Duncan
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    10
    · February 8th, 2011 at 4:30 pm · Link

    They’re fun, aren’t they Estella?



  11. Jen B.
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    · February 8th, 2011 at 4:32 pm · Link

    Nikki,
    I love stories set in small towns or communities because the characters can all know each other and they often have multigenerational histories. When done well, they can be very exciting to read. I love the Sensory Ops series. I am looking forward to reading the Whispering Cove series. I was wondering, are you going to write anymore about the weremoose? I checked your site recently and noticed that the tag was gone. Bummer, that was so funny! 😉
    Jen B.



  12. Nikki Duncan
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    12
    · February 8th, 2011 at 4:53 pm · Link

    Jen, I hope you love Whispering Cove, too.

    As for the weremoose, he’s still on my site. Just look under the Bookshelf for Hickeyville. And yes, I have plans to add on to the story. Those are a fun break for me.



  13. Brandy W
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    · February 8th, 2011 at 9:13 pm · Link

    Hey Nikki!!! Just wanted to pop in and say hello.



  14. Nikki Duncan
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    · February 9th, 2011 at 11:06 am · Link

    Hi Brandy! Thanks for stopping by.



  15. Nikki Duncan
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    15
    · February 9th, 2011 at 11:07 am · Link

    Delilah, thank you for having me here. I enjoyed it.

    Now, the winner of a backlist title is Estella. Estella, email me at nikki@nikkiduncan.com to claim your prize.



  16. Delilah
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    · February 9th, 2011 at 11:44 am · Link

    Thanks for being such a great guest, Nikki! 🙂



Comments are closed.