Today I welcome Author Jacqui Jacoby to my blog!
Jacqui is giving away a copy of With A Vengeance to one lucky commenter! So over to Jacqui...
The Road I Took
I always thought Tom Petty said it best in
his song The Waiting:
The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you see one more card
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you see one more card
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part
Most
of what made up my writer’s journey was waiting.
I
started writing my first book when my son was eleven months old. He turns twenty five this coming May. With A Vengeance is my debut novel.
I
don’t regret any of the time I put in as a writer though it seemed to some that
maybe I was taking the long route. It
was the life I choose to live while I was raising my three kids and spending
time as a housewife. Writing was
flexible and fulfilling and gave me a creative outlet in a daily life that
otherwise might have turned stagnant with loads of laundry and caravans to
drive.
Stories
gave me something to look forward to every day.
When the kids were in school I was at the keyboard typing out my imagery
worlds and loving every minute of it.
When
making up stories wasn’t enough, I added writing short non-fiction to the
groove. These eventually turned into
magazine articles and it was great to see my name in print, even if it wasn’t
on the cover of a book.
I
kept on typing, switching from romantic suspense to paranormal. I enjoyed
writing the books, the non-fiction was helping, but something else was
missing. I had all these years
experience and I was sure I could help someone else.
I
started to teach online workshops. I was
able to reach people who wanted to hear what it was I had to say. I enjoyed being there to help them along, to
share what it was I had to share. It was another aspect of a career that added
depth and interest to what I was doing.
When
I added live workshops, appearing at the RWA National Conference to discuss the
TV series Firefly, it was a level of exposure I never expected. It was terrifying and exciting and I
thoroughly enjoyed it.
And
still I kept writing novels, visiting places in my mind I hadn’t expected. Paranormals opened up new worlds with new
rules and I was enjoying the discovery.
I
added a mentor program to my schedule, taking on one student per year. This was
a lesson I had been taught by one of my
first mentors: Pay it Forward and reach out to someone you can help.
When
the request for With a Vengeance came, I was ready. I had years to prepare and was able to meet
the demands of the extended editing process. I put aside the paranormals and
came back to my roots, the romantic suspense.
I
think Tom Petty is right. The Waiting is
the hardest part … but if you can fill up that time and space with something
that captivates you then the waiting is bearable. I know for me, I wouldn’t have faced this writer’s
journey any other way.
Bio:
Award winning author, Jacqui Jacoby lives and
writes in the beauty of the Valley of the Sun. Currently adjusting to her new
digs, Jacqui is a self proclaimed, self-defense hobbyist. Having studied
martial arts for numerous years she retired in 2006 from the sport. She is a
working Mom, whose career includes writing books, teaching online and live
workshops and penning short non-fiction. She can be reached via her Website.
Jacqui Jacoby on the web:
Blurb - With A Vengeance:
The more she wanted out, the more they dragged her back in!
Daughter to murdered
CIA officers, niece to a deputy director, Jaime Walsh has never known life
She’d planned for her
long-overdue vacation to be a time to rest and reassess. With her longtime
partner Stephen not far behind, it’s a tropical paradise away from work. A
paradise where boundaries will be tested.
From their training
days, Stephen Reid has watched Jaime kick ass while performing what has become
his second job—watching her back. But now his feelings have grown.
As best friends look
at each other in a new light, they like what they see. And Jaime dreams of a
new life outside “the company”.
Except someone from
their past won’t be satisfied until Jaime and the man she loves are hunted to
the brink of death. Now Jaime must find the strength to trust her heart and let
go of her fear. Before she loses everything…
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