Interview with Jacqueline Seewald
The Blog Ring of Power Presents...
An Interview with Author Jacqueline Seewald
Today author Jacqueline Seewald stopped by to talk about herself and her latest book, DEATH LEGACY. She currently has eleven (yes ELEVEN) books in print and DEATH LEGACY is her third mystery. She's also written paranormal historical romance and YA stories, which makes her a versatile and well-rounded writer!
This is part five of a five-part interview. Be sure to check out the other BRoP sites for the rest of the interview:
Part 1 @ Teresa's site - Thursday, May 31
Part 2 @ Emily's site - Friday, June1
Part 3 @ Sandra's site - Monday, June 4
Part 4 @ Dean's site - Tuesday, June 5
BRoP: Tell us about your route to success –how did you land your agent/publisher?
Jacqueline: I don’t have an agent, although I’d certainly like to have one. None have seen fit to represent me and so I’ve sold my own work. I currently have two book publishers: Five Star/Gale and L&L Dreamspell. I’m happy with both. Dreamspell has also published six of my short stories in anthologies—so far: mystery, romance, paranormal, science fiction, fantasy and horror.BRoP: What are the most important elements of good writing?
Jaqueline: Creating vivid settings that readers will believe as well as characters that readers can care about are important for all types of novel and short stories. A well-developed plot is also a necessity. There should be some surprises, some twists and turns. Clever dialogue is crucial too. The writer needs to have a good imagination and a love of language.
BRoP: What tools are must-haves for writers?
Jacqueline: I keep a print dictionary beside me when I write. Nowadays, so much information is available on the internet that research has become much easier. But I still enjoy going to the library and using books and magazines there.
BRoP: Do you have any advice for other writers?
Jacqueline: Lots! If you really want to be a successful writer, you have to write, and by that I mean every day. Pick a time that suits you best, whether early morning, afternoon or evening. Make this your own special time. We can all be writers. We all have something special to say and tell because each of us is a unique individual.
BRoP: What do you feel is the key to your success?
Jacqueline: It’s simple. I’m as persistent and tenacious as a pit bull. I won’t give up. I keep writing and trying to improve my abilities.
BRoP: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
Jacqueline: I’m still relatively unknown. So I hope more people will choose to read my work.
BRoP: What are your current / future project(s)?
Jacqueline: I’ve written a paranormal mystery novel with my older son entitled THE THIRD EYE. I’m in the midst of contract negotiations for the book. I also have two historical romances that need to find a home plus a paranormal contemporary. The fourth Kim Reynolds novel is also complete and ready for submission.
Where can readers can stalk you:
Website: http://www.lldreamspell.com/JacquelineSeewald.htm
Blog: http://authorexpressions.blogspot.com/
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Jacqueline-Seewald/e/B001JP0XOS
Barnes and Noble Online: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/jacqueline-seewald?keyword=jacqueline+seewald&;store=book
Multiple award-winning author Jacqueline Seewald has taught creative, expository and technical writing at the university level as well as high school English. She also worked as an academic librarian and an educational media specialist. Eleven of her books of fiction have been published. Her short stories, poems, essays, reviews and articles have appeared in hundreds of diverse publications. She enjoys spending time with family and friends when she isn’t writing. In addition, she is a playwright, a landscape artist and loves many types of music.
Comments
Good advice for writing! Getting into the habit of writing each day even for a little while is really important for those who want to be writers.
I actually wrote a YA novel, a mystery entitled WHERE IS ROBERT?, with both my sons many years ago when they were both teenagers. They contributed largely. Couldn't have written the novel without them. It sold to a small publisher and didn't earn much. But it was a rewarding experience for the three of us. We felt a sense of accomplishment.
Thanks for dropping by! I really do think that tenacity is crucial to success for writers. We get so many rejections.
We must believe in ourselves and strive to continually improve
our skills and the quality of our work.
The great thing about mystery fiction is that it does vary so much depending on the authors' interests. I do draw a lot of inspiration from nonfiction sources for mine. Makes for an interesting variety of work.
Thanks for the interesting interview. Writing a novel with your son must have been a fascinating, rewarding experience. One of my daughters gave me a lot of help with a story (she's an American Sign Language interpreter, and an interpreter was the central character in the story), and it was one of my most satisfying writing experiences. I hope your contract negotiations go well--what fun it will be to do signings together!
Thanks for another great interview. I agree that persistence in writing is so important and I'll add consistency. Habits are often difficult to form, but once a writer creates a habit of writing every day (or most days), the words flow.
Thanks, Terri, for providing this interview.
Thanks, Terri, for a great interview.
Despite legends to the contrary, I've found that the kind of organization, regular writing and dogged persistence you describe are what it takes to complete novels (and biography for that matter), I figure that once I'm good enough an agent will respond to me. That's why one can never stop reading and improving. Why I write mysteries is sort of a mystery to me--although I speculate on reasons in my blog posts, I think it relates to what I've read--my mother and was always handing me the latest whodunit she'd read. I was interested to learn you also find ideas in nonfiction, another of my favorite types of reading. Who knows what turn my mysteries will take next--literary, scientific, action thriller?
Thanks so much for the interview. I appreciate the exposure.
I should mention that the three romantic mystery novels in the Kim Reynolds librarian sleuth series: THE INFERNO COLLECTION, THE DROWNING POOL and THE TRUTH SLEUTH are available in many formats. DEATH LEGACY, my new mystery thriller, is a stand alone novel available in hardcover only at this time. The large print edition will become available in September from Thorndike. Hope you will request my novels at your local library!