Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Nicole Waggoner is having a grand old time...plus a book giveaway

Introduction by Melissa Amster

I am thrilled to welcome Nicole Waggoner back to CLC today. I loved the first two books of her Circus of Women series and am excited to read the third and final book, Grand Finale, soon. The first book, Center Ring (reviewed here) is currently $1.99 on Amazon, as part of the Spring Sizzlers Sale. The Act (reviewed here) is free on Kindle Unlimited. And Nicole has an e-book of Grand Finale for one lucky reader! (It's also available on Kindle Unlimited, but if you don't have that, you will want to win it here!) I'm not sharing a synopsis, as to not spoil the first two books.

Between the last time Nicole was at CLC (check out our fun Hamilton post) and now, she and I got to meet up when she was in DC for a weekend. This was back in 2017 and I still treasure my memories from that day! We had such a great time talking and she is so funny, kind, and down-to-earth. Since we're both Broadway fans and have kids close in age, we definitely had a lot to chat about.


Nicole Waggoner is author of the Circus of Women Trilogy. In addition, Nicole is a decorated teacher with 17 years' experience teaching upper level English, Creative Writing, and Literary Criticism courses. She is proud to call her husband, Jeff, and her children, Noah and Maya, her biggest fans. The other loves of her life include green tea, great conversations with dear friends, all things theater, water and sand, women's health, and a fanatical commitment to live her belief that love is a verb to be paid forward. (Bio courtesy of Amazon.)

Visit Nicole online:


What is something you learned from writing the first two books in the series that you applied to Grand Finale?
I learned a lot from my first two books! In particular, I learned how receptive women are to seeing real life on the page. I have been so touched by the stories of connection with the characters. I firmly believe BrenĂ© Brown nailed it when she said the two most powerful words in the English language are 'me, too.' 

What were the biggest rewards from writing this series? 
The biggest reward has definitely been the wonderful people I have met in the book world! Supportive communities among readers, book bloggers, book groups, IG, and Booktok have added so much joy to my life! Annnnnndddd....they keep my ever-growing TBR list bursting! 

If Grand Finale were made into a movie, what are some songs that would be on the soundtrack? "Home" by Michael Bublé, "Wildest Dreams" Taylor Swift/Bridgerton Instrumental Version, "Perfect" Ed Sheeran, "Tears in Heaven" Eric Clapton, "Something in the Way" by Nirvana, "If It Kills Me" by Jason Mraz, "Lucky" Colbie Calliat, "I'll Be There", by The Jackson Five, "Irreplaceable", by Beyonce, and "I Almost Do", by Taylor Swift

Which TV series are you currently binge watching? 
Yellowstone, Pivoting, Bridgerton, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, And Just Like That, Outlander. Schitt's Creek, and Sex and the City are my current 'comfort food shows'. Friends will always be my favorite television show of all time!

What is something you've learned about yourself during the pandemic? 
I've learned that I can, in fact, work out at home. I've completely downed the Peloton Kool-Aide and am obsessed with the bike, yoga, and strength workouts. My bike is named The Duke of Hastings and Cody Rigsby (mentioned in the acknowledgements) is one of my favorite humans.

What is the last thing you had a really good laugh about? 
Our rescue kitty brought a live bird in through the dog door and absolute chaos ensued! I even made a TikTok of my giant husband trying to get it off of the ceiling fan above our bed. We laughed until we cried and he is now a sound on TikTok. LOL :) (Do not show to kids as there is some swearing.)

Thanks to Nicole for visiting with us and for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here

Giveaway ends April 24th at midnight EST.

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5 comments:

Lindsey said...

My friend and I met at the park with our sons, who are the same age. While they played, we sat and caught up on things that have been going on in our lives.

dstoutholcomb said...

went to a movie.

Susan Roberts said...

We got a mani/pedi and then went to lunch

diannekc said...

Celebrated my friend's daughter's birthday.

bn100 said...

movie