100th Follower Winner

Congratulations to Jill Hathaway, for being the random winner from my pool of followers! Your copy of Veiled is on it's way!

Agatha Escaped!

Oh dear! I have no idea how she did it,

but one of my main characters has escaped

and has been spotted at

Elizabeth Muller's Blog!

Hurry over, Elizabeth might be in trouble.

I'll be over at Joyce Di Pastena's,

JDP News Blog today!
Please come by and say hi!

Also, help me get 100

followers

for a chance to win

a signed copy of

VEILED

SheKows Magazine Reviewed Veiled

SheKnows Magazine Book Review--VEILED

"I have always existed, not just me but all of us, the un-embodied spirits who wait to live." Dive into Veiled and you are suddenly thrust into an amazing world of life before life that you never knew existed. This thrilling supernatural fantasy novel by S.B. Niccum breathes life into a mythical realm which asks powerful questions about the nature of mankind and existence.

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A unique twist on a popular theme, Veiled transports readers into an extraordinary world where spirits exist before life on Earth. But it is not what you might expect. The unborn spirits struggle with their pre-existence in the same way we mortals do. They laugh, they cry, they get depressed, they fall in love, they have arguments, they get in trouble and they even become involved in a war that endangers the future of their new planet.

Tess is an unborn spirit chosen by the Eternals for an important mission. During her training, she grows close to the kind and quirky members of her clan and falls in love with one special soul named Alex. But when she is tested by dark spirits, her own fears and insecurities rise to the surface and it is unclear whether she will be able to live up to her responsibilities and rise to the challenges set before her.

Amid the beautiful other-worldly landscapes of Veiled, the book addresses profound spiritual questions such as: Where did we come from? Do other worlds exist? Are our spirits eternal? And is death just another form of life? But it never comes close to being didactic or forcing the reader to swallow unsavory spiritual ideas. If anything, it opens up a world of fantasy that gives readers the opportunity to think about provocative questions and come to their own conclusions.

Step into the ethereal world of S. B. Niccum's Veiled and join Tess in her journey through pre-mortal existence. What will happen when she crosses the Veil into the next world? Will she remember the work she needs to do? Will she be reunited with her love? Will she remember who she really is?

I am so honored for this review!!!

Thank you SheKnows!

Romance Author, fitness instructor and Super Zumba teacher Michele Ashman Bell.

“It’s amazing the power we have inside of us if we don’t let our fears stand in our way!” Michele Bell

S.B. – Michele, tell us a little bit about yourself, your career and your family.

M.B. - I grew up in St. George, Utah. When I was a kid it was this small, dusty, tumbleweed sort of town, and now it’s amazing and beautiful (and crowded) and I’m so proud to be from there. I went to college at Dixie State College and Southern Utah University, then served an LDS mission to Frankfurt, Germany but ended my mission in San Jose, California. I married my college sweetheart (we served missions at the same time) and now live in the Salt Lake City area. We have 4 children, an amazing daughter-in-law and 2 adorable granddaughters. I’m a fitness instructor and thought when I turned 50 I would retire but I discovered Zumba and now I teach anywhere between 8 – 14 Zumba classes a week. My other hobby is collecting Steinbach nutcrackers and Doris Day movies.

S.B.- Okay, so I had to look up Zumba, because I actually have never heard of it! After watching this video, I want to do it!
(This is not Michele's class)




S.B. -So Michele, do you believe that we all have an intended purpose, destiny or mission to fulfill in life?

M.B. -I believe that we have all been given gifts and talents and will be held accountable for how we use them to bless the lives of others. I’m also positive that there are things in this life that we were meant to do and we need to live our lives so that we will receive guidance and direction to accomplish those things. I feel like if I put my family and faith first, and always fulfill my obligations there, everything else will work out the way it’s supposed to. I don’t really know if being an author was my “mission” but I always felt compelled to pursue it, even though it took me ten years of rejections before it happened. I get so much joy and fulfillment from being an author; I can’t imagine not having it in my life. When I receive a letter or email from someone who tells me my books have touched their life in some way I am reminded at how blessed I am to be a writer. How would my life be different? Well . . . I’d have a heck of a lot more time on my hands.

S.B.Tell us about your work, what have you done? What are you working on right now?

M.B. I have been so blessed in my writing career. Even though I’m categorized as a Romance Author, my books usually have a bigger issue driving the plot. I feel like Women’s Fiction is a better description of what I write. I love to write stories about women in difficult situations who fight their way through all the obstacles and emerge stronger. Having said that I am actually jumping genres and am working on a horror story and also a science fiction story. I’m excited and nervous.

S.B. How do you balance your home and family life and your work?

M.B. This is probably the biggest challenge I have in life. I always try and put my home and family first, but it gets tough with deadlines or when I am passionate about a project I am working on. I find though, that my days flow better and life goes more smoothly when I keep my priorities straight. I am a planner and a scheduler and first thing every morning I plan my day and then get to work.

S.B. What is your advice to people who feel their lives are lacking purpose? How does the quote “Steadiness and toil will serve you better than brilliance” helped you?

M.B. If I’ve taught my children one thing, it is that quote. Each of my children has excelled in different areas (basketball, dance, pageants, etc…) and I have told them over and over that success comes from hard work and persistence, not talent. I have seen so many wonderfully talented people not learn the strong work ethic that comes from having to acquire a specific talent or skill. Having a desire and a passion for something is a starting point, hard work and persistence can turn it into an accomplishment (i.e., talent or skill). I wouldn’t be published today if it depended on my talent, that’s for sure. Also, teaching Zumba did not come naturally. I have no dance skill or training, especially in Latin dance, but I wanted to learn so badly that I worked my tail end off to learn it. It’s amazing the power we have inside of us if we don’t let our fears stand in our way! If someone is trying to find purpose in their life I would suggest several things:

1) Get outside of yourself and volunteer somewhere. Put your efforts in helping others and YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF!

2) Focus on developing a talent or skill. The joy that comes from accomplishing something difficult will give you great fulfillment as well as great self-worth!
Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview! I feel passionate about this topic and I’m certain that we all have a special purpose to fulfill in this life, thanks for sharing yours.

S.B. Thanks Michele, that is very good advice. I agree with you whole-heatedly in that service and growing our talents are one of the most important factors in happiness. I admire you very much and I did want to mention that Michele's latest book "The Perfect Fit" is available to purchase. I just finished it myself, and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it! It was one of the best contemporary romantic stories I have read in a while!

Thanks Michele for stopping by!

Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview! I feel passionate about this topic and I’m certain that we all have a special purpose to fulfill in this life, thanks for sharing yours.

Character Giveaway Winner!

Carlee Heidenreich blew the competition out of the water by collecting 45 LIKES on her FB wall, when she posted a picture of her copy of Veiled!
CONGRATULATIONS CARLEE!!! You are now a Character in Living Soul, the second book in the series!!!

Carlee will need to let me know if she wants me to use her real name or some other name. Also I want to make it very clear that Carlee's name will be used fictionally and it will in no way represent the "real" Carlee. Any similarities,(if there are any) will be coincidental, and blah, blah, blah....

Unfortunately the character will have to remain a mystery until the book is published. So you will have to look her up when Living Soul comes out!

I do my best to be a speedy writer, but I do have children to home school and a husband to feed and laundry to wash. But I am working on the last ten chapters right now, so wish me luck! And poor Carlee too who is about to--

Rest In Peace

Today I finally finished re-writing Living Soul, the sequel to Veiled, after I lost all my work to tiny rectangles!
Yes, rectangles.
A few months ago I was finishing up my work for the day when I accidentally took my memory stick out before it was all the way done saving, and it corrupted the file. It basically changed all my words (ALL OF THEM, about 23 chapters with roughly 10 pages in each chapter)into rectangles.
After I cried, I took the computer to the Geek Squad and they worked on it for three weeks, only to come up empty. They reset the computer to an earlier time, they cleaned up viruses, they worked on the file, they even sent the file to India of heavens knows where! Only to return my lap top with two recovered chapters, all compressed with no spaces or punctuation between the words. ...Basically a re-write.
After I ranted and cried and did all the expected things, I went back to work. Today I stand before you all caught up with a few extra sentences to boot!
So may that first version of Living Soul rest in peace somewhere in rectangular heaven, while the new version is safe and sound in several different places; including my super secret email account that no one knows anything about...until now.
Let this be a lesson to all you writers out there! Don't pull your memory stick out too quickly...or your words will die.