An Interview with K.M. Jackson

Today, The Write Way Café welcomes author K.M. Jackson, who tells us how she turned love at first page into a writing career.

Thank you so much for having me here today. It’s a real pleasure and an honor.

When did you first have the thought you'd like to write a book? Was that first thought related to writing romance? 
It was and yes. I’ve been a fan of romance since I was 12 and first started reading my grandmother’s Harlequins. I guess you can call it love at first page.

What was your path to getting this book written and published? What type of research did you do?
THREADS OF DESIRE is the final book in my self-titled named Creative Hearts series. I’ve always loved the creative arts and I wanted to do a series of romances that featured heroines who worked in creative fields. The path was a long and windy one and I guess you can say I’ve been researching parts of THREADS OF DESIRE for half of my life (more on that in the next question).

Where did the idea for your story come from?
THREADS OF DESIRE is set in the fashion industry and my heroine, Gabby, is a fashion designer. This story had been brewing in my mind a long time since in my former life I was a women’s sportswear designer for more than ten years, so in quite a few ways I knew what it was like to walk in Gabby’s ballet flats.  I’d always wanted to write the story of an unlikely fashionista who was more of a regular woman who just had a love of fashion.

Why did you pick the setting you did? 
Well for the reasons I said above and because I’m a native New Yorker and I love this city. It’s always a never ending inspiration for me.

Did you face any blocks while writing the book, and if so, how did you handle them? If not, what's your secret?
Oh my goodness yes. I always face blocks when I write. I’m my own worst critic. But as writers we must power through. It’s a wonderful day when the story is flowing and the characters are louder than my inner critic. I live for those days.

What have been surprises you've encountered while writing the book and after? 
I’m always surprised when I’m writing. I’m a pantser who wants to be a plotter. So I always do a loose map of the story, but in the end my characters do whatever they want and the book never looks like the map I started out with. It’s always a surprise! Welcome to the new world with me. LOL.

Tell us about your writing space and how or why it works for you. 
My writing space is not really defined. I work at home but most of my time is spent wandering from room to room with my laptop trying to find just the perfect position to get into the day’s writing groove. I usually finally hit my stride right before my husband or son is due to walk in the door at the end of the day.

What are you working on now?

At the end of last year I put out my first self-published novel called BOUNCE. It was a bigger book for me. Still a romance but it also crosses over a bit into women’s fiction. Following Sabrina Jacobs on a busy working morning as she tries to rein in her out of control life. Right now I’m excited about working on a follow-up to BOUNCE.

Would you like to try your hand at writing a different genre?  Which one and why?
I think it would be historical. It’s a favorite genre for me to read. I’m in love with the history and imagery. Though I’m not sure I’d have the patience for the research and don’t think I could pants my way through that and I’m sure it wouldn’t be appreciated. You have to get it right.

If you were not a writer, what would your dream job be? 
That’s hard to say. Like it says in my bio I’ve always wanted to be 1. A designer and 2. a writer and now I’ve done both so I’m pretty happy. I’m thinking if I’d add another it would be to be a film director. My stories are like movies in my head so that would be tons of fun for me.

Thank you so much once again for having it. It’s been a real treat.

Places to keep up with K.M. Jackson:
K.M. can be found on her site at www.kwana.com
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KmJacksonAuthor
On twitter https://twitter.com/kwanawrites

THREADS OF DESIRE can be found here:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1dKW7Sy
Barnes & Noble : http://bit.ly/Nkr0sc
iTunes: http://bit.ly/1aHfqS4
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1njw0I5

BOUNCE is available on Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo