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This week the GCC brings us a little romance mixed with woo-woo as author Jackie Kessler tells us about her new book, The Road to Hell.

About the Author:

Some kids want to grow up to be doctors, or movie stars, or political assassins. Me, I wanted to draw comic books. Not Archies, either—superhero comic books. Maybe it was all the heavily muscled guys in spandex…

Around the time I was 15, I realized that as much as I enjoyed drawing (note that I’m saying nothing about the quality of those pics), it was a lot of fun putting words in the characters’ mouths. I didn’t know the term “fanfic” back then, but I started writing stories about the X-Men, Alpha Flight, and the Teen Titans. Didn’t do anything with those stories, other than horrify my mother. She asked why I couldn’t write nice stories, you know, about bunnies. Nope—me, I wanted to write about power. About magic. About hot guys in spandex. And about beating those guys bloody and senseless. (In retrospect, maybe I really did want to horrify my mother. Hey, not my fault. When I was a kid, I busted her doodling on the cover of New Teen Titans Number 6. Argh!)

So maybe it’s ironic that the book I wound up writing had nothing to do with overly muscled men and everything to do with scantily clad women. (Well, temporarily scantily clad.) Oh, right, and demons.

I live in Upstate New York with my Loving Husband, two Precious Little Tax Deductions, two cats, and 8,000 comic books.

The Cover:

 

Jackie’s Take on the RosettWrites Q & A:

Dream vacation destination?

Anyplace without the kids.

You¹ve just won the lottery. What¹s the first thing you do/buy?

Quit my day job.

Favorite mystery/thriller movie?

THE USUAL SUSPECTS.

Favorite junk food?

Chocolate. Which is a health food, if you have chocolate that's 75% pure cocoa. Or so I've been told.

What’s one food you absolutely can¹t stand?

Anything too healthy.

Paper or plastic?

Plastic. (Sorry, environment.)

What’s one talent you wish you had?

I wish I could sing well.

M&Ms or Godiva?

Godiva, baby!

Favorite time of Day?

Naptime.

Tell us a little about your book. Did an event or idea inspire the book?

The first book, HELL'S BELLES, is about a succubus who runs away from Hell, hides on Earth as an exotic dancer, and learns the hard way about true love. (Sex, strippers, demons -- what's not to like?) In the new book, THE ROAD TO HELL, the former succubus must return to Hell to save the lives of those she loves. (If she'd known love was this tough, she'd never have turned her back on Lust.)

What’s your writing style? Outline or no outline?

Now? Outline -- with lots of room for improv.

What do you wish you'd known about either the craft of writing or the business of publishing when you first started writing?

Actually, I'm glad I learned (and am still learning) about the business after HELL'S BELLES got accepted for publication -- this business can be very daunting at times. But one piece of advice I received that's been really helpful is from Joe Konrath, author of the Jack Daniels Mystery

Series: If you want your business to be writing, you have to treat your writing like a business. And that means promoting yourself -- as well as making sure your next book is bigger, better, and more exciting than your previous one. (No pressure!)

What's up next for you? What are you working on now?

I have a few things on submission, and I'm kicking around a few ideas at the moment. Vague, I know -- but hopefully there will be news to report soon.

Thanks, Jackie! Read more about Jackie at her Web site.