Themes That Rocked the Challenge - 90's Pop Culture with Nicki Elson

Today we welcome extra hip author, Nicki Elson!


Your theme was 90's Pop Culture Favorites – what made you choose that theme?

I firmly beleive that the 80s were, like, the best decade ever, and as a result, I don't typically give the 90s their due. But when I think about it, the 90s contributed a lot of pop culture that I still enjoy today, so my theme for this year's A to Z was a way to give tribute to a decade I tend to underrecognize.

Which letter was your favorite?

S: Sex and the City. I know that's way girly to say, but I just loved that show (and the first movie. I'm still pretending the second one doesn't exist). That self-deprecating humor and camaraderie between women as they navigated treacherous romantic waters pushed all the right buttons with me. And ahhh, Mr. Big---has there ever been a more intriguing love interest? Not for me.

Which letter was the most challenging?

Probably the same letter most people have trouble with---X. I had to resort to naming a show I hadn't actually watched...as you've diligently noted below. *ahem*

What pop culture things did you leave out for lack of room?

Wellll, these were left out more to protect my street cred than for lack of room: Blue's Clues, Arthur (the aardvark, not the drunk) and Thomas the Tank Engine. I had wee ones about the house in the late 90s and was surprised to feel a bit melancholy when they stopped chain-watching these shows in the aughties.


What music from the 90’s still tops your chart?

Smashing Pumpkins. Those guys still rock.

Do you still go all Martha Stewart sometimes, like at Christmas?

Who told you I was ever Martha Stewartish? Oh, right, I did. *sigh* I think that exquisitely decorated ship has sailed for me. Every year I take out fewer and fewer holiday decorations and give another box full of them to Goodwill. Though this reminds me---I should probably set out a couple ceramic pumpkins or they'll take away my Suburban Mother Card.

Your choice for X was The X-Files – have you finally started watching the show?

Look, I've been really busy...Netflixing How I Met Your Mother. I don't know how I completely missed that show until now! Anyhow, I'll have an opening once I finish that, and it looks like The X-Files just moved to the top of my list. ;) Thanks for the warning about the last season.

What theme are you considering for the Challenge next year?

I have a chick-lit set in Chicago that's slated to release next spring, so I've been thinking about a "Cool Places in Chicago" theme to highlight interesting spots in the city that the average visitor might not know about. It's a great city, so those would be fun posts to put together. And fun is what it's all about, right?

Thanks so much for inviting me over!

Nicki, thanks for visiting, and looking forward to a tour of Chicago next year!


Co-host Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh is the author of Amazon Best-sellers CassaStar, CassaFire, and CassaStorm, and his blog can be found HERE

Characters Who Blog

It's the final countdown to Halloween, T minus seven days. I'm new to the A to Z team, so you won't yet have become familiar with obsession with holidays (but stick around, you'll see). I love getting into the spooky spirit, so in honor of the upcoming holiday I started reading one of my very favorite Gothic novels, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. It's the perfect story for this time of year when the days get shorter and the characters get more and more terrifying. 

And speaking of characters, as I read along I couldn't help but wonder what Dr. Frankenstein would be like. Would he be a cool guy to catch a movie with? Grab a drink? I imagine his stories would be . . . interesting to say the least. And if he had a blog, well, just imagine what that would look like. I did. And now for my second 'Characters Who Blog' post, I give you: 

I hope you enjoyed this post and it helped get you pumped for a spooky and spectacular Halloween! Muah-ha ha ha ha . . . 

A to Z Co-Host S. L. Hennessy can be found blogging at Pensuasion. 

October, A Time For Ghost Stories

October is a time for settling in with hot spiced cider, a blanket and a good book, preferably one with a with a great ghost story.

 You’re seated around the campfire, light flickering over the faces of those huddled there with you, and one of your friends is telling a story--not just a story--a ghost story. That prickling at the back of your neck, the way your breathing grows shallow and you wrap your arms around yourself bumps your heart up to high. It’s a cool night, but tiny beads of sweat collect at your hairline. 

It’s fear time, baby, and your body’s reacting to that familiar emotion, the one you experience whenever you’re scared by something and you’d like to pull the covers over your head or--better yet--run!

And you’re thrilled, right? Fear heightens awareness and cancels all the mundane concerns. For this moment you’re transported, you’re “alive” and “tingly.” This is one reason everyone loves a good ghost story. Another is that ghost stories try to demystify death, that one inescapable universal. This is why Halloween with its seasonal creepiness has such appeal and why this ancient Celtic celebration, steeped in ghostly myths, has continued in some form into the present day. 

What's Halloween without a CAT and a Jack-O-Lantern? Oh and I know there's a ghost at the window.

A few literary facts: 

The thirteen stories nominated for the Booker Prize in 2011 were about death. Here’s an interesting link on how to get published by writing about death.

Some of the best known and loved classics in literature are ghost stories: The Raven [Poe], A Christmas Carol [Dickens], The Turn of the Screw [James]. 

Today ghost stories are among the favorites of young readers. Dead Connection, The Body Finder, The Ghost Sitter, Stonewords: A Ghost Story and on and on. 

So I’ve written some ghostly tales. Some have been published in magazines, some are still on my C drive waiting for a publisher to find them :-), and some are still in my head. But this time of year I’m stirred to read and write about ghosts who walk in the night, about restless spirits seeking revenge, about pumpkin-evil stuff. 

And you? Do you love to read ghost stories? Do you love to write them? What are your favorite ones?

Here are some Ghost Stories I've downloaded just to get in the mood.

Any ghost stories you particularly love and maybe read more than once? And speaking of ghost stories, if I could find a ghost story with X, I might consider the A to Z Theme, All About Ghosts. I know haunted places have been done, but has anyone A to Zed about ghosts?