Author Q&A: J.A. Jackson

Today we're interviewing J.A. Jackson, the pseudonym for an author who loves to write deliciously sultry adult romantic, suspenseful, entertaining novels with a unique twist.

She lives in an enchanted little house she calls home in the Northern California foothills.  

Her love for cooking and writing comes from her Southern roots of Louisiana and Arkansas.

SADYE: Tell us something about your writing process that’s unusual or that you haven’t revealed before.

J.A.: I can’t say what exactly is unusual in my writing process. My writing process really depends on the book and the moment.

By that I mean, if I’ve had a rough day my writing process can be somewhat cloudy and not focused. Still, each day I write.  

I guess I could say the most unusual part would be that I need to listen to very sexy seductive music in order to write lovemaking scenes.

This, to me, is the most unusual part of my writing process.

SADYE: How did you come to see yourself as a writer, and what inspired you to seek publication?

J.A.: I would have to say I saw myself as a writer at a very early age. When I was a child, I had very vivid dreams that I would tell my parents and my grandmother, when I woke up.

My first real image of writing was when I was given a writing tablet. The kind you got in kindergarten. I was given it so that I could  write down my dreams, so that they would not seem so vivid to me.  

After that, I wrote everything from dreams to poems, etc. The first book I wrote was in sixth grade. It was a very short novelette.

I was inspired to seek publication because I, well, had a real strong desire to — not to mention friends that I grew up with were forever encouraging me to do so.

I tried the New York publishing route and mailed my query letters out to numerous agents, well over two hundred. I had a whole lot of them turn me down.

However, I had several agents ask for my first book. They all said that I needed to tighten it. One agent asked for it back a second time, but then turned it down. Another agent worked with me to tighten it.

However, after tightening my first book almost three times for her, she later was telling me about how the publishing industry was changing. She was honest and forthright with her information.  

Since I have always had an independent streak, I felt confident that if the industry was changing and people were publishing their own books, why not give it a try? I could self-publish my book, on my own.

However, I was a little scared because my first book was over 100,000 words. And the second book that I was writing at the time was just as long. So, I decided that I needed a short book to publish as my very first self-publishing project.

And I sat down and wrote A Geek An Angel and the Deceiver — a book with less than 150 pages, which I wrote in less than eight weeks. I then self-published it. My doing so gave me the confidence to continue to keep self-publishing.

SADYE: What have been the most rewarding and challenging parts of your writing career?  

J.A.: My first most rewarding accomplishment is seeing my childhood dream of telling everyone I was going to grow up and become a writer come true. And my second is learning just how much I am capable of accomplishing.

The most challenging is knowing that each new day will bring something “new” in the game of being a writer that I am going to have to learn.

SADYE: What message or theme would you like readers to take away from your work?

J.A.: I would like for my readers to know that love, even though it is an invisible emotion, is the most powerful force in the universe.

SADYE: What has been the most touching or memorable piece of reader feedback you’ve received?

J.A.: I had a couple of events that were called “Conversation with the Author” and at one of them I had a fan or reader, I should say, who told me that they had never been disappointed with my books.

I grin wide, with happiness, every time I think about their comments.

* * *

Learn more about J.A. Jackson on her website, where her books can also be purchased; like her on Facebook; and follow her on Twitter and Instagram. 

Know an author you'd like to see featured? Email us with a recommendation!