Nicole D'Settēmi is a 35-year-old creative writer, poet, and artist from Niagara Falls, New York. Born in a tiny town bordering Canada only five minutes from the legendary falls, Nicole says she had an eye for beauty at a young age, and that included poetry. She can remember from an age as young as six, being selected as part of the city's "young authors club." She was interested in lyric poetry from the time she was an adolescent into her early-to-mid-twenties and moved into creative writing and fiction in her late twenties and early thirties. She has lived in five regions nationally, including South Florida and New York City, and has always been a self-described "poetic, nomadic, creative soul" and enthusiast a variety of artistic mediums, but considers writing her number one form of art, and feels everything else is just an extension of that passion and creative outlet. In April of 2010, Nicole lost 95% of her eyesight in her right eye, due to a poisoned bag of heroin she had injected, and was shipped to Manhattan's Bellevue hospital 1,600 miles away from her city at the time, which was in South Florida, where she had been attending an art institute for photojournalism. She was forced to drop the courses, as she began a new, sober life in New York City. It was then, Nicole was separated from her fiance and co-conspirator in 2010 while recuperating in Daytop Village. At that time, she was introduced to her current fiance, who is also mentioned throughout the novel as the substance abuse counselor she fell in love with. Addictarium was penned while Nicole spent time in the intensive rehabilitation center, and while this is a fictional memoir, many of the themes and tales are based around her own experiences during her two-year stay in the notorious Queens, New York "therapeutic community." Today, both artists (Nicole & Miguel), run a modest business creatively assisting others and continue to hone their fine arts abilities, in their art studio and living quarters, residing in the Hudson Valley. Nicole also facilitates many blogazines and other publications, including Starving Artist Magazine, which is a creative lifestyle publication now available in print. She is penning a three-part anthology titled Mother Nature, in regards to her poetry, which will be her fifth poetry collection released, to date. The former published art model is also penning the second, in eleven books that are part of The War Stories Chronicles. Like Addictarium, Installment I, the chronicles will include diaries, poetry, letters, and memoirs, detailing her recovery from drug abuse, mental and emotional illness, and over-coming suicidally-motivated creative despair. The author insists she is in a better place today, and proudly documents her life as an artist socially, and says; she looks forward to what the future holds, in regards to creative growth and artistic evolution.
