Good Day Jacqueline and thank you for agreeing to be interviewed for Bookpleasures.

Norm

Could you tell our readers something about yourself and your writing experience?

Jacqueline:

I am an Air Force officer, pilot, real estate investment business owner, worldwide traveler (Iraq/Bosnia/Israel/Greece/Morrocco/etc.), community theater thespian, and adventurer (skydiving, rafting, Alaska camping, Mexico Missionary trips, space shuttle recovery, etc.). Some of my military missions include missile launch, university professor, C-130 Aircrew member, and GPS space satellite operator. Born in Madrid Spain and a Colorado Resident! I've always loved to read and to date my writing experiences have been limited to university thesis/reports, occasional letters to the editor and a brief stint as a writer for a regional womens' christian newspaper. I've always wanted to share my experiences through a book but I thought that would take another 30-40 years given my busy schedule. The miracle of my awakening one morning with the entire novel in my head and writing it in four days is still a bit shocking to me!

Norm

Was there some past experience(s) that influenced you to write Deception's Guard? How easy or difficult was it to write the book and why?

Jacqueline

My travel experiences in so many cultures was the influence. I remember working with the famed Delta Force and altitude queasiness in Ecuador due to the altitude, a hiking trip to Moab UT, sightseeing in Memphis TN, working as a college Professor at two colleges in the MS Delta and experiencing the horrific poverty and ongoing segregation, and working with military women pilots and paratroopers. All these experiences and more were influences. As mentioned before, it was incredibly easy to write the book--I awakened one morning and it was all there and over the course of 4 days I wrote the 300 page novel.

Norm

How much research went into writing the book and how many redrafts were there before you and your editor were satisfied?

Jacqueline

The majority of information in the book is first hand knowledge. I did use the Almanac for Ecuador and Peru and the internet for DEA structure to ensure validity. There weren't many redrafts. Primarily, I had written the story as if someone dictated it to me, as if I was recounting an entire movie. My awesome editor shifted the telling from ""he said, she said, they did"" to actual dialogue, fleshing out descriptions, and moving scenes around for greater flow. If you compare the original draft with the final book the changes/additions are not very significant.

Norm

I noticed that you were quite adept about inserting facts and peculiarities about persons and places covered. Did this come to you naturally or did you have to work at this?

Jacqueline

It came naturally, honestly it felt like writing the story while watching a movie in my mind's eye--scenes from my many travels and adventures.

Norm

You indicated that you sent the manuscript to several publishers and you were surprised that so many had accepted it. Were any of these publishers well known and why were you surprised? Why did you choose American Book Publishing?

Jacqueline

I, of course, had always heard the stories of struggling first time authors taking months and years to write a novel only to be met with reject letter after reject letter. Those were not my experiences so I was suprised to get such favorable results from sending the manuscript to publishers such as Genesis Press, Free World Literary Agency, TheWriteVision, FirstBook, Gardenia Press, etc. The really big publishing companies don't accept unsolicited manuscripts especially from unknowns so there was no sense in submitting to them unless I hired an agent/publicist. In the end I chose ABP because their contract offered extraordinary help every step of the way. I know nothing about publishing a book and some of the publishing companies I received information from felt that their strong points were allowing the author to edit their own work and create their own cover design, etc.

Norm

Do you agree that a good book generally focuses on the struggles of vividly drawn individuals, not issues. Through their interactions, we understand the issues profoundly? If you agree- why?

Jacqueline

I wholeheartedly agree. It's amazing how we view a person or situation from so many perspectives. Take Religion, Politics, Saddam Hussein or Hitler--you'll get so many perspectives on these characters from divine to incarnate evil--it is all in the perspective of a person given his life experiences and what has shaped his beliefs. My main characters, Skye and Rhys are on opposite ends of the spectrum in their understanding of the novel's conflicts. Hopefully, the reader (as the objective oberver) will find themselves understanding several perspectives of the situation and thereby gaining a broader/indepth understanding of underlying issues. In life we should do the same thing--I never believe one media source of a story.

Norm

Are there any future books in the works?

Jacqueline

My editor keeps asking me the same question. I keep waiting for a second bolt of lightning/4 day miracle--but I think the first experience was God's ""jumpstart""--now--I have an idea for a prequel and two sequels to Deception's Guard. Creating a four book Deception's Series. It's probably a good thing too, as the majority of readers remark that they want more after finishing, Deception's Guard.

To read the review of Deception's Guard Click HERE