Local author Niki Benton Smith visited the Barton Library in El Dorado on Saturday for a book signing event.
Smith, an El Dorado native and EHS graduate, has been writing for about a decade and has self-published three books — “Nightingale,” https://www.eldoradonews.com/news/2023/mar/19/local-author- holds-book-signing-at-barton/”The Last Dance” and “Secrets”, all part of an overall series.
“‘Nightingale’ had been bouncing around in my mind for several years, and I finally had the opportunity to sit down and put it into words,” Smith said.
The series centers on a woman who, like Smith, is a nurse.
“The main character… has premonitions about murder, and she starts having premonitions about a murder (in which) she’s the intended victim. So she starts trying to figure out who’s trying to kill her before it happens,” Smith said.
After completing his first manuscript, Smith made efforts to find a publisher before finally deciding to self-publish.
“I tried to get ‘Nightingale’ published traditionally for about three years… (Publishers) would ask for the printed manuscript. The answers I got didn’t make sense, some of the things they said, so I put it up , so I could see if they had actually looked at it. And I got it back exactly as I sent it, so I knew they didn’t even look at it,” Smith said.
“I took a break for a while because I kind of got my feelings hurt,” she added, laughing.
Encouragement from her husband led Smith to self-publish on Amazon in 2017. “He said, ‘everyone who’s read it loves it,’ so why not just self-publish?”
Smith said readers of thrillers and mystery novels will find plenty to enjoy in her series.
“It just has a hint of the paranormal in it,” she added.
Smith ended the “Nightingale” series with the latest book, “Secrets,” and is now working on something new.
“I’m working on another novel… The main character is going to be a nurse again and it’s a mystery/thriller. She stumbles upon a sex-trafficking ring while working and she and her fiancé set out to see if they can stop it,” Smith said.
She added that she is still working on the script and does not yet have a tentative release date.
Smith’s novels are available in physical format and for Kindle on Amazon.