Spotlighting Jacqueline Luckett

Today's author spotlight is Jacqueline Luckett. Jacqueline took time from her busy schedule to stop by for an interview. I'm very honored that she agreed to the interview. Enjoy the interview and please support  Ms. Luckett. 


As an added bonus, Ms. Luckett has agree to give one lucky reader a copy of Passing Love which will be released on January 25, 2012. To be entered in the contest, you must answer this question by leaving your response in the comment section in this blog. The winner will be selected using random.org.

Question: In 2004 Ms. Luckett formed a group. What was the name of the group?

 Good luck


Congratulations Carol Peake!!!! 
You're the winner of Passing Love. 
Please email your address to me at ylgore74@gmail.com. Thanks to everyone who participated. Please continue to visit, and visit often for more contests!! 

Jacqueline Luckett is the author of Searching for Tina Turner and Passing Love (releases in January 2012). The Bay Area native lives and writes in Oakland, but takes time out to indulge her love of traveling the world as often as she can.

Interview

1.    What or who brings you the most joy and why?

I’m blessed because writing brings me joy. It’s true. Writing isn't easy. It demands discipline, attention to detail, a willingness to be open to constructive criticism, and a commitment see the work through to the end, no matter how long it takes. There’s a freedom in writing, a joy I’d say, to create a world, characters and events that is quite fulfilling. I love every minute of the entire process.

Just hearing readers tell me how much they’ve enjoyed my work brings me joy. I remember one of the first book club meetings I visited. I was nervous and unsure what to expect. Twelve of us sat around a table eating wonderful food. When we finished, a silence fell over the room. Then one of the members opened her copy of my first novel, SEARCHING FOR TINA TURNER. To my surprise, she’d highlighted sections of the text. With an earnestness that covered her whole face, she shared how she’d gained strength from my character’s determination. I was speechless. That was an amazing and joy-filled moment. I’m lucky to be doing what I’ve always wanted to do. Joy is a blessing, and if we’re lucky, that which brings us joy touches us often.

2.    Tell the readers something about yourself that they would be surprised to know/your hobbies.

I don’t know if I’d consider this surprising, but I’m a pretty good photographer. There’s something about photography that’s like writing. When I look through my camera’s lens, I compose scenes and stories.

What might be surprising is how I used the pictures I took on my last trip to Paris. I went to there to do research for my second novel. PASSING LOVE is the story of two women, one in the past and the other in the present, who visit Paris thinking it will change their lives—and it does, but not in the way either of them planned.

I’ve been to Paris several times. This last trip, I tried to photograph the city with the eye of a novice traveler. I captured the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and all the wonderful sites. I set out to take pictures of places my characters might like or find different from the U.S. I wanted to capture the everyday Paris as well. I wandered the streets and photographed ordinary things: the cobblestones, gum on the street, signs, the morning gutters filled with water and cigarette butts streaming down the streets, doors, signs, street lamps, and the gargoyles on the tops of buildings. I made an album of these pictures and used them as I wrote PASSING LOVE to recall the tiny details of Paris.

3.    What is one tip you would give those who are trying to become a writer?

Read, read, read. Don’t be afraid to stretch by reading books that are different from what you typically read. Step out of the box. Read books by writers whose works are good examples of craft. Choose one book and use it as a self-teaching tool. Study the way writers use all the different aspects of craft: voice, point of view, showing vs. telling, etc. I know some writers who practice writing sentences or scenes in the style of their favorite author to get a feel for their style. They use those exercises as a way to improve their own writing.

4.    Did you always want to be a writer?

When I was a young girl, my parents brought home tablets and pens from their jobs. I remember sitting at our dining room table and stacking the paper alongside the pens. There was something about all the white space in front of me that was magical. I pretended to be a secretary and wrote my own version of shorthand. I practiced my penmanship and covered pages with my name and all the letters of the alphabet. But what I loved most was filling up those blank pages with stories. Some of my stories and poems were published in our local newspapers.

I stopped writing in high school and college. After that most of the writing I did was job related. I wrote proposals and business letters. The desire to write was always there, but like many people I put that desire aside for all the other things going on in my life. I was inspired to write again when I took a creative writing class at a local university. That’s when my writing took off.  In my heart I always knew I wanted to write; it simply took my brain awhile to catch up.

5.    What is one thing you hope that readers would get from reading any of your books?

Women are the main characters in my new novel, PASSING LOVE, and SEARCHING FOR TINA TURNER. In these novels, the core characters are women who fight to stand up for themselves and make changes in their lives. Women are givers and supporters. Too often women sacrifice their own desires for the aspirations and plans of others.

The heart of both novels is the realization by the characters that they are strong women who are able to do whatever it takes to take on a challenge.

After reading my novels, I want readers to be inspired and to know that despite people and circumstances that try to prevent women from recognizing our potential, we must hold on to our dreams.

Thank you so much Ms. Luckett for such a great interview.  Visit Ms. Luckett's websites to learn more about her. She may be coming to a city near you. Check out her book tour. 

www.jacquelineluckett.com

www.finishparty.com
Twitter: @jackieluckett
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Author.JacquelineLuckett