NicoletteSalle

Calling any and all history-mystery nerds!
          
          I’m hoping to submit my short story, Suor Pacifica Is Dead, into the Shortys before the deadline. Would love a beta reader if someone is looking for something different.
          
          It’s a very short read, just two chapters, set in Rome, 1557. 
          
          Here's the pitch: When Suor Pacifica dies suddenly in a home for abandoned young girls, fifteen-year-old Filomena inherits her duties and begins to suspect there's more to the nun’s sudden death when a mute, bloodied girl appears seeking protection.
          
          If you've read Silk County, Filomena is one of my secondary characters. I thought it would be fun to explore her gritty backstory.

Hey!! What type of competitions are still opened???

Hey. Sorry for randomly popping into your board. I just wanted to know if you in for writer-writer support.

Hi Nicolette, thank you so much for being such a brilliant book club reader!
          
          Your feedback on (Always) Across the Table has officially entered the review document, where Petra is being politely encouraged to notice the room before she professionally demolishes someone in it.
          
          And it’s already helping with Evy’s book (WIP) too. She is not a designer, so her sensory details are less “interesting use of light” and more “that man is lying, his shoes are too clean, his left eye twitched, and I can hear a scam from three tables away.”
          
          So thank you for making me think harder about how each woman notices the world. I’m genuinely grateful — Petra is now perceiving light, Evy is perceiving crimes, and I am perceiving that you were right.
          
          And thank you for adding (Always) Across the Street to two reading lists! I really hope Bee and Theo suit you. They’re funny, odd, chaotic in very different fonts, and somehow manage to make looking across a courtyard feel like both a romance and a workplace incident.

Any history, mythology, archaeology, or ancient-world nerds lurking here? 
          
          I’m starting to share the research journey for my next novel, and I’d love to have you along. My writing process generally involves quite a bit of research whenever history finds its way into the story. The long version of Silk County (90K words currently residing on my laptop; novella version on my profile) meant digging around some glorious old libraries in Turin, Rome, and Naples, along with some in situ research in southern Italy, where the novel is set.
          
          This next novel takes place in a few locations, including Naxos, Greece; Stanford, California; and Paestum/Poseidonia, Italy (not necessarily in that order).
          
          Today and tomorrow, I’m on the Stanford campus and very excited to visit some of the places I’ve been researching for the novel.
          
          If that sounds like your kind of thing, follow along on Instagram: @nicolettesalleauthor
          
          Come nerd out with me. ️

New awards competition if anyone is interested! https://www.wattpad.com/1650923543-the-spotlight-awards-2026-open-%7E-form-%7E

A little vacation note to you lovely writers and readers! ☀️
          
          I’m going to be quiet the next week or so while I combine three of my favourite things: travel, research and wine. I’m very lucky to have the opportunity to spend a couple of days on the Stanford campus before the school year begins, doing some research for my next novel. After that, there may be a little less research and a little more wine country.  
          
          Then it is back to reality! If I’m currently midway through reading or leaving comments on one of your lovely novels, I haven’t disappeared. I’ll be back later in the month and will pick up exactly where I left off.
          
          See you on the other side of the research rabbit hole. ❤️

Mythic mantles on, hopeless romantics. ❤️
          
          I have some exciting news: Water & Sand won 'Best First Sentence' in The Amuse Bouche Contest.
          
          I'm grateful for the reward and the incredibly thoughtful review that came with it. Every writer hopes the story they're trying to tell is the one readers resonate with. Reading your words, @writerforthehopeless, meant a great deal to me. Thank you so much to for taking the time to write such a generous review, and the effort of putting together the competition.  The winner's badge is also beautifully rendered!!
          
          On another note, Parts I and II of Water & Sand have now been woven back together into a single novel for the Wattys. It feels right that their story is whole again.
          
          Good luck to everyone who has thrown their hat into the ring. I can't wait to cheer you all on.
          
          https://www.wattpad.com/1644179508-the-amuse-bouche-contest-closed-winner-best-first

Thanks for adding Easy Peasy, Extra Cheesy to your reading list!

@NicoletteSalle I had to cut my main story into four sections (and turn each chapter into shorter versions because the original version has chapters that are far too long for judging processing).
          
          But thank you :") all the best to you too! I believe in you! ❤️