Welcome, I'm nicah.

Hi, I'm nicah,

nicah la Cortes a novelist and blogger, and you have landed at nicah central. This is where you go to get the lowdown on my books and blog posts. Where you learn more about the "Family Secrets" series and it's background, the book's locations, pictures, art work, slide decks, and videos. Everything you could want to know. For anything I missed, you can ask and I'll do my best to answer you.

I know what you're thinking nicah is a strange name, and shouldn't proper names should start with a capital letter. True, but nicah is a diminutive and as such it always takes a lowercase initial, like the 'la' in 'la Cortes'. I guess it's one of weird things about having a unusual foreign (non-english) name, that and being constantly asked 'how do you spell that' or, 'how do you pronounce nicah (nee-shah)?'

As I was saying, I'm a writer. I've written four books so far and this is my website, the home of all things nicah. As a self-publishing writer, this site and my blog are a platform for me to publicize and sell my books. The for the first time in history the advent of the World Wide Web and Social Media has enabled the lone author to reach a global audience, and it's interactive. For me, it's a place to interact with my users, answer their questions, share my news, and hear what they have to say. For example the recent changes to the cover art of the books was in response to reader feedback, as is the redesign of the website and blog.

As you explore the site you might like to spend a little time checking out the 'Books' section. There are 'taster' chapters for each of the books for you to read and maps, slides and videos on scenes in 'Secret Family'. 'Secret Family' is the first of the books and really sets the settings for the remaining three books. All the books are fiction, the locations are real, and you may recognised them in your travels, but the characters and the events are fiction. They're based on stories my family and events my family and their friends recounted while I was growing-up.

My father rarely told of his own experiences either before, during, or after the Second World War. It was only after his death that I discovered that his ship had been sunk in enemy action in the North Sea, and then another ship he was on had been torpedoed while sailing on the convoys. I remember finding his medals and the certificates he'd been presented for rowing to the rescue of several 'souls in peril' in a storm in the Bay of Biscay and other dangerous actions. After the war he became an officer on a trans-atlantic liner. He would frequently bring home refugees fleeing from the ruined countries of Europe, as they searched for missing family, or seeking freedom in the USA. My bedroom being above the parlour chimney was a good place to eavesdrop on the conversations of the adults after I had been sent to sleep. I remember my parents putting me back in bed after falling asleep in front the fireplace where I'd listen. I never imagined their stories and my unreliable memories would become the basis of a series of books.

I haven't been tempted to succumb to advertising or affiliate marketing on my site or my blog. My readership numbers won't support it. So I can afford to take the higher ground. The same is true of Email marketing. I email my newsletters when I have something important to convey. I have lost count of the number of 'writers' I've subscribed to only to find that the are just marketing services sending emails every day touting some pamphlet, ebook, or course every single day. I loathe them, and can't hit the unsubscribe button fast enough. If you chose to subscribe to one of my services, and I hope you will, I promise you will only hear from me when I have something useful to say.

On that note, having nothing further to say, I'll leave you to explore.

nicah