About N.D. Jackson:
Hey I’m Natasha! I’m originally from Chicago but I’ve lived all over the US and I’m making my way through Europe…and I love stories. I love to read them, to watch them on television and the big screen, and most of all I love to write them. I find people endlessly fascinating and frustrating, which makes for the most interesting stories!
I also love politics and true crime so in addition to writing romance, I also write political satire. It has been my dream to make a living as a writer since I was a kid and got lost in Judy Blume, The Babysitter’s Club and Sweet Valley High (is my age showing?!?!). When I’m not writing I can be found engaging in one-sided conversations with everyone from Rachel Maddow to the food I’m preparing, singing very loudly very badly and trying out new recipes from around the world.
I love to laugh, I gave my husband a sappy pet name and I think answers to most of life’s dilemmas can be found in an episode of Dawson’s Creek.
My first series, Mustang Prairie, is small town romance because I feel they offer a variety of fun characters whose lives are interconnected. It is based loosely on my college town, which was the smallest town I’ve ever lived in…Go Panthers! My second series, Rebel Girlz, is about a group of women bucking tradition and finding true love in the most unexpected places.
If you’re a fan of political comedy, check out Cordially Invited. It is a satire on the death penalty in the US.
What inspires you to write?
The short answer is people. My stories always start with one or two characters and their background, from there the story expands. The way we interact with one another, what informs our choices and how we react to the unexpected is the most interesting part of who we are. Trying to figure that out with my characters, that’s what inspires me.
Tell us about your writing process.
I am a giant mixture of both. I have pink and green sticky notes all over my house, I have multi-colored electronic sticky notes on my laptop and a pseudo outline that dots all the important points I’d like to hit in my story. It’s funny how my stories rarely end the way I’d initially planned.
My characters are a different beast altogether. I can tell you about their family life, first love, most embarrassing moments and pretty much anything else that will affect how they act, how open they are to love, facts, kindness and even meanness.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
Yes! In my latest release, Feels Like Love, I would talk to Sadie and Dylan quite a bit. Sadie has had a pretty tough life but she’s still sweet and kind and she tries to be positive. But when it came to her family I had to ask her how she wanted to handle them. I had to make sure that her actions weren’t my actions, ya know? The same was true with Dylan because their families were…a hot mess.
I listen when they tell me to go this way instead of that, and so far I’ve been rewarded for our team work!
What advice would you give other writers?
Write what you know, not what keywords and so called experts are telling you. If you love history romance or paranormal action adventure, write that story! Don’t focus on what people are searching for because if you write a story you don’t love, it’ll show.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I decided that agents don’t know everything. Maybe my writing wouldn’t strike a chord with anyone, and if that happened I’d have to decide what to do next. Or maybe it would turn out that my passion was something more than a hobby. So far I’ve had some success and I’m proud of it because I was able to do it myself. Well, with a little bit of help and a giant push from my husband.
Look into self publishing if you really want to get your story out there. Don’t invest a lot until you have a proper understanding of what’s needed…then go for it.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I love to read and I was one of those dinosaurs reluctant to make the jump to e-books. Then I discovered e-ink and I’ve been hooked, so I think it may be difficult for any one writer in say, 10 years, to become a millionaire but I think e-books make it easier and more cost effective to self-publish. There are so many options that can help you publish e-books and physical books without going broke.
In the future I think we’ll all look back and reminisce over first edition Pride & Prejudice, and the feel of a brand new paperback. But very soon, those books will become nothing but a memory and a collector’s item.
What do you use?: Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer, Beta Readers
What genres do you write?: contemporary romance, political satire
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
N.D. Jackson Home Page Link
Link To N.D. Jackson Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit, to allow you, the reader, to hear the author in their own voice.
