Can you tell us a little bit about your series, If Only and my favorite, The Illumination Paradox?
I can do better than that! I'll include a couple of links here to interviews where I answered questions about both!
(https://www.youtube.com/
I
will say this much, If Only is about a love sick couple, who
are separated first by an argument, and then by fate, and their struggle
to get back together, despite medical odds. I'm hearing from readers
that it puts them in the mind of Gayle Forman's IF I STAY, which is a
huge compliment!
Lumière
is about a girl with a secret. A secret so devastatingly big it could
cost her her life. She must keep the secret at all costs, or
face persecution from the public. After a tragic event, sees her mother
executed for a crime she did not commit, the girl finds herself alone
and on the run from the authorities, for something that is not her
fault. All the while, she is busy searching for her father's long-lost
invention, which, if she can just secure, and use, she's convinced will
cure her. But just as she's about to uncover the machine, she arrives to
find it being stolen by a peculiar-looking, young man...one Urlick
Babbit, she later learns...and she must chase him off into the darkest,
most dangerous part of her world, in an adventure to retrieve it, where
nothing is as it seems.
Do you remember the title of the first story you wrote?
Yes.
It was called, Slendor's Mountain. My version of Walton's Mountain,
(I'm dating myself here...terribly... but...) about a family with ten
kids, and the trouble each of the kid's got into. I wrote several books
in that series, each featuring the antics of one of the kids. I was in
grade three at the time. Each was fully illustrated.
What is your work schedule like when you’re writing?
I
write every day, so, pretty much, my schedule is always the same. I get
up, shower, eat a protein shake, and get to work. I write from about 8:30 am until about 4:00 pm
when my youngest gets home from high school (he has sports
after...which buys me another hour, or so of writing time, YAY!) I've
recently added a BIG WALK or a WALK JOG session first thing in the
morning, as I've decided all work and no play is making Jacqueline a mad
woman.
Where do you find inspiration?
In
other books. In the glorious words, and turns of phrase, written by
other talented authors. When I'm stuck, or uninspired, that's where I
go. I often cruise the internet looking for newly talked about great reads, then I'll click on the "Look Inside" provided by Amazon, or I go to my bowing shelf of favourites,
and select from there, re-reading passages I've highlighted throughout
their pages. Some favourites are Sara Gruen's Water For Elephants, and her new one, At The Water's Edge. Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone, CHIME, Mudbound, and most recently, I'll Give You The Sun, by Jandy Nelson. (BIG LOVE.)
What have you learned about publishing that you didn’t know about when you first started writing?
That
there is no logic in it, whatsoever. In other professions, you can
study hard, achieve top grades and accolades, win awards, graduate first
of your class, and be guaranteed to
land the job. In the world of publishing, you can do everything right,
kill yourself putting in the hours, study under the greats, win awards,
graduate top of the class, be sought after by top agents, be requested
by top editors...and still come up with nothing but a goose egg. It's
the only profession I know of where hard work, smarts, and dedication
don't pay off. Many say luck plays too much of a factor, but I don't
believe in luck. I think people are manufacturing their own luck in
publishing these days, in more ways that one, including algorithmic
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
I'm
never NOT writing, according to my family, but when I'm officially not,
(bunny eared fingers around the word, officially) I love spending time
with my family. I love to watch my youngest son play sports and play his
trombone (what a funny sounding instrument...makes me laugh every
time--high school is infinitely more
interesting with music in it...my other kids didn't play instruments.)
I'm filled with happiness whenever the older kids come home for a visit,
too, rushing around like a mad fool buying all their favourite foods to
stock up the cupboards, and fixing beds. It's like my own special
Christmas. I also love to go for long walks and listen to books on audio
(see, still working...) and play with my dog. I love dogs. And horses.
And chocolate. And my kids!
Can you tell us about your future projects?
Hmmmm... let's see, what can I say that won't give too much away, (taps chin)...
I'm
currently finishing up my departure book. I call it my departure book
because it's a departure from both YA and Fantasy. I've written a
women's fiction romance, about a girl who longs to be a successful
romance writer, but so far, her work is falling flat. It isn't until
she's forced to work for the Heart Mender's Society (thus, the name of
the book) as a counsellor to six newly widowed young men (where it is
her job to teach them how to find joy in living again) that she figures
out what's been missing, not only from her work, but her own life, as
well. I like to think of it as Best Friend's Wedding meets Bridget
Jone's Diary, and I'm looking forward to sharing it soon.
Also, I'm kicking around revisiting
a super dark and daring piece I started writing back in 2010. I think
it might finally be the right time for it, with all the attention horror
has been getting lately. I like to think it might fit into the Dread
Punk Craze, too, that's on the verge of exploding. Or so I've heard.
I
can say this much, it includes another distinctly drawn world that
plays like a character within the book, like the way the Commonwealth
does in Lumière.
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