My friend and co-member of OWFI, Jackie King loves books, words, and writing tall tales. She especially enjoys murdering the people she dislikes on paper. Jackie is a full time writer who sometimes teaches writing at Tulsa Community College. Her latest novel, THE INCONVENIENT CORPSE is a traditional mystery. She has also written five novellas as co-author of the Foxy Hens Series. Warm Love on Cold Streets is her latest novella and is included in the anthology THE FOXY HENS MEET A ROMANTIC ADVENTURER. Her only nonfiction book is DEVOTED TO COOKING. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, Oklahoma Writers Federation, and Tulsa Night Writers.
Now for your enjoyment: Vivian Zabel Interviews Jackie King
VZ: How did/does your history and home background affect your writing?
JK: Writers waste nothing…when bad things happen to us; our pain becomes grist for our story mill. We do the same with joyful events. Grace Cassidy, my protagonist in THE INCONVENIENT CORPSE, has been discarded by an egocentric husband. I gave her my own emotions and reactions that I had experienced when I unexpectedly found myself single in my late forties.
My first novella, FLIRTING AT FIFTY, (found in CHIK~LIT FOR FOXY HENS anthology) is a true accounting of my divorce-recovery. I gave my story a funny twist, even though the divorce was not funny. The only fiction is the hunk who fixed the roof. (I had someone who was supposed to fix my roof, but he was overweight and surly, and didn’t even properly repair the roof.)
VZ: Authors are often asked when they started writing or what triggered their interest in writing. I like to know that, also, but I would especially like to know what keeps you writing.
JK: When I was in college (back in the Dark Ages), I majored in journalism. I left school to marry at a very young age (18), had three children, worked in the corporate world, and took care of aging parents (both mine and my then-husband’s). About the time I thought my life was going to smooth out responsibility-wise, my husband told me he was moving out of our home. At that time I asked myself, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” The answer had never changed. I wanted to write!
VZ: What is your most recent book, and what inspired you to write it?
JK: THE INCONVENIENT CORPSE, published by Deadly Niche Press, is a full-length, mystery. Available both on Kindle or Nook, $2.99 and in trade paperback, $15.95. Free chapter downloads and reader reviews (all 5-star) are available at Amazon.com.
The opening scene flashed through my mind while I stayed in a Bed and Breakfast in Northern California. That scene became the opening paragraph of my book:
“Grace Cassidy stared at the stranger’s body. He was about sixty, pot-bellied, naked, and very dead. She knew he was dead because his skin was the color of concrete. Worst of all, he was lying smack dab in the middle of her bed.”
VZ: How did you manage to come up with the idea for your novel?
JK: My writer’s mind (and, in my opinion, most writer’s minds) seems to be a bit like an old fashioned sink. Everything flows through it. I play “what if” with these thoughts.
“What if I had found a dead body on my bed?”
“What if he were naked?”
“What if his clothes couldn’t be found…anywhere?”
“What if the police thought that I had killed him?”
“What if I were stranded here, in this strange place, with no friends, no money and no resources?” And on and on. I had to answer these questions to satisfy my own curiosity, so I wrote THE INCONVENIENT CORPSE.
“What if I were stranded here, in this strange place, with no friends, no money and no resources?” And on and on. I had to answer these questions to satisfy my own curiosity, so I wrote THE INCONVENIENT CORPSE.
VZ: Do you have a particular writing process or technique that you use, if so, what?
JK: How I wish I did! But Alas, I sort of muddle through, talking to my characters as I go. (Note to other writers: I do NOT recommend this method.) What I do recommend is that a writer shows up for work at regular times (just as if you worked at Wal-Mart), sits down at the computer (or notebook) and writes.
VZ: How do you feel when you complete a book?
JK: Oh, dear. Being somewhat neurotic, I have a mixture of feelings. I’m relieved that the work finished, BUT I struggle with an uncomfortable, niggling feeling that I’ve missed something important and will see the error (or errors) as soon as the book is published.
VZ: What are your writing achievements and goals?
JK: I’ve won a couple of prizes on my novellas, but my greatest achievement has been the feedback from readers of THE INCONVENIENT CORPSE. There’s no honor like that of knowing that someone enjoyed reading your book!
My goal is to write the best stories that I’m capable of, and to entertain readers.
VZ: Does writing help better you as a person? How?
JK: I’m not sure if writing makes me a better person, I only know that when I write, I’m a much happier person.
VZ: What advice would you have for a new author?
JK: Never let anyone discourage you! Write every day and submit what you write.
I’d like to thank Vivian for inviting me to be a guest blogger on BRAIN CELLS AND BUBBLE WRAP. Don’t you just love that title?
I’d love to have readers ‘friend’ me on Facebook. I’m listed as Jacqueline King
Website: www.jacqking.com
Blog: Cozy Mysteries and Other Madness can be found at http://bnbmysteries.blogspot.com
THE INCONVENIENT CORPSE
Published by Deadly Niche Press
ISBN: 978-0-937660-53-9
Thank you, Jackie, for visiting with us today.
Jean Henry Mead hosts me this week on Mysterious Writers. Please stop by.
Next week Mary Martinez will be my guest.
Jean Henry Mead hosts me this week on Mysterious Writers. Please stop by.
Next week Mary Martinez will be my guest.
