My guest is, Holly Jacobs, award winning Romance author writing for Harlequin and Avalon.As a new writer, we worry about many things; will we get an agent, will our book sell, will readers or agents/editors like my second book. You don’t think about published authors, with many books to their credit, as being worriers. What have they got to worry about, right? Wrong.
Regardless of where we are in the food chain, writers worry about their stories. Holly discusses her worries as a writer.
Ah, the holidays! I love this time of year. Maybe that’s why a great percentage of my books have been set during one holiday or another. The second book I sold to Harlequin/Silhouette was Do You Hear What I Hear? It was a Christmas book and the heroine was the mother of a hearing impaired child. I agonized about getting the daughter’s ASL (American Sign Language) right. It’s got an entirely different structure, so if I wrote it as the character actually signed it, it might have pulled readers from the story (the last thing any writer wants to do). Yet, if I wrote it as straight English, I felt I was not doing justice to a visually beautiful language. In the end, I tried to split the difference...and I worried. Worried that hearing impaired readers would be upset. Then I got a letter from a woman who worked at a school for the Hearing Impaired, and she loved it. Phew. I felt as if I’d got an A in class!
When Sia said she wanted to talk about the laughter and tears, the glitches and triumphs, authors face in the pursuit of their ambition to write I knew immediately what my biggest hurdle in writing is...the worry.
You see, in addition to writing a lot of holiday books, I really try to present characters from different walks of life, with different obstacles to overcome, and every time I do, I worry that someone will think I didn’t quite hit the mark. And still I write these characters because I think it’s important to point out that everyone’s different. This November’s SuperRomance, UNEXPECTED GIFTS, deals with a teacher who works with teen moms. Her best friend was a teen mom, and one of the major secondary characters is a teen mom. I was very nervous about this one. I’ve volunteered (in a very minimal way) with the Erie Teen Parenting program for years and am friends with the woman who was in charge of it until last year. She got one of the early copies and I fretted as she read it. What if she felt I didn’t have enough empathy for the girls? What if she thought I glossed over how hard being a teen parent is? What if... Hey, I’m a writer, asking what-if is second nature to me. :-) Of course, it leads to a lot of angst! When she finished the book she called me, and was happy with the way I’d portrayed the teen moms. Phew.
Worry. It’s something I do well. I have four kids and they trained me well! LOL In February, I have another SuperRomance release, A ONE-OF-A-KIND FAMILY. The hero’s brother is special needs. And I’m already worrying that someone will think I didn’t hit the mark. LOL
So, why? Why do I keep writing about things that make me worry? Because part of the reason I write is because it allows me to walk in someone else’s shoes. If every character was my clone...well, where would be the fun in that? (My kids would assure there was no fun at all in that! LOL) I don’t want to make it sound like worries are all there is to my writing. It’s my biggest hurdle. My biggest glee about writing...is well, the glee! Seriously, I feel blessed every day to do what I’m doing!
So, this holiday, I feel a sense of relief that so far, UNEXPECTED GIFTS, seems to have worked for readers and I feel a giant does of glee that I wrote a book of my heart and so far readers are liking it! And I also feel glee that the holidays are here!
When Sia said she wanted to talk about the laughter and tears, the glitches and triumphs, authors face in the pursuit of their ambition to write I knew immediately what my biggest hurdle in writing is...the worry.
You see, in addition to writing a lot of holiday books, I really try to present characters from different walks of life, with different obstacles to overcome, and every time I do, I worry that someone will think I didn’t quite hit the mark. And still I write these characters because I think it’s important to point out that everyone’s different. This November’s SuperRomance, UNEXPECTED GIFTS, deals with a teacher who works with teen moms. Her best friend was a teen mom, and one of the major secondary characters is a teen mom. I was very nervous about this one. I’ve volunteered (in a very minimal way) with the Erie Teen Parenting program for years and am friends with the woman who was in charge of it until last year. She got one of the early copies and I fretted as she read it. What if she felt I didn’t have enough empathy for the girls? What if she thought I glossed over how hard being a teen parent is? What if... Hey, I’m a writer, asking what-if is second nature to me. :-) Of course, it leads to a lot of angst! When she finished the book she called me, and was happy with the way I’d portrayed the teen moms. Phew.
Worry. It’s something I do well. I have four kids and they trained me well! LOL In February, I have another SuperRomance release, A ONE-OF-A-KIND FAMILY. The hero’s brother is special needs. And I’m already worrying that someone will think I didn’t hit the mark. LOL
So, why? Why do I keep writing about things that make me worry? Because part of the reason I write is because it allows me to walk in someone else’s shoes. If every character was my clone...well, where would be the fun in that? (My kids would assure there was no fun at all in that! LOL) I don’t want to make it sound like worries are all there is to my writing. It’s my biggest hurdle. My biggest glee about writing...is well, the glee! Seriously, I feel blessed every day to do what I’m doing!
So, this holiday, I feel a sense of relief that so far, UNEXPECTED GIFTS, seems to have worked for readers and I feel a giant does of glee that I wrote a book of my heart and so far readers are liking it! And I also feel glee that the holidays are here!
- As a writer, what is satisfying to you about writing characters with special needs?
I don't always have special characters, but I like to include them when I can. One of my readers recently sent me a note and said she loved that my books felt so real, that the characters felt so real. I think part of that realism is presenting people from all walks of life. And presenting characters with flaws. Eli's ex is selfish. He doesn't want to be. He wants to think of himself as a nice guy, but in the end... Well, I don't want to give up the end! LOL All the characters I write have baggage. I think what makes a hero or heroine is how they deal with their particular baggage, whether is some sort of special needs, or a tragic past, or....
- Tell me, what did you like about your heroine? What makes her special or what makes her interesting?
I loved Eli's dedication. I loved that she'd worked so hard for 'her' girls, and didn't see anything special in that, but they did. Everyone around her did. And though the opening scene of the book had it's moments of humor, I thought there was something touching about her reaction. I especially loved her line about how she couldn't be pregnant because she drove a Mini Cooper! All in all, Eli and I could be friends...that's how I feel about all my heroines.
- You mention another book, One of A Kind Family, to be released in February. Is this one a Valentine story?
No, it's not a Valentine's story, but it is a story I think fits the holiday perfectly. It really is all heart. I didn't just fall in love with the hero and heroine, Liam and Anna. I fell in love with Colm, Liam's special needs brother. He's so open, so willing to love everyone, so willing to forgive everyone. He's truly all heart.
- You have some booksignings coming up with this book in your area, don't you?
I have a big signing around Valentine's at a local Borders. I'll have copies of both the November and February book there. It should be fun. I've been very fortunate that so many people in Erie have supported me and my writing. If anyone wants to keep up with my travels, there's a list of where I'll be at the bottom of the main page.
- You've written how many books now? Do you worry over each one?
I've written forty-two books. That seems like such a big number, but I wrote them one book at a time, so it didn't seem so overwhelming as I did it! And yes, I do worry. I want to make each book the best I can. I want to make each character true to themselves. I want readers to enjoy the books. Yep, worry! But like I said, with four kids, I'm good at it! LOL And to be honest, while that's my biggest hurdle, each of those books has given me so much joy. The glee so beats out the worry!
- Holly, as usual, I love chatting with you and having you visit Over Coffee. I appreciate you taking time out of your writing and family time to be here.
Thanks so much for inviting me over today, Sia!
Since selling her first book in 1997, Holly Jacobs has sold more than thirty books. Her first sale to Harlequin was a 2001 Duets book, I Waxed My Legs for This? and she's gone on to write for Silhouette Romance, Harlequin Flipside, Signature Select and Harlequin's new Everlasting Love line. Her category romances have made Waldenbooks' Bestseller List and won numerous awards, such as the Holt Medallion, Booksellers' Best, Golden Quill, Golden Leaf and Madcap Awards. Her 2004 book, Found and Lost, won Romantic Times BOOKreviews' award for Best Harlequin Flipside of 2004, and that year Holly received the same journal's prestigious Career Achievement Award for Series Love and Laughter. She's presented more than thirty workshops on a variety of writing related subjects ranging from topics like writing romantic comedy to time management across the U.S.- UNEXPECTED GIFTS, Harlequin SuperRomance, 11/09
- EVERYTHING BUT A CHRISTMAS EVE, Avalon, 12/09
- A ONE-OF-A-KIND FAMILY, SuperRomance, 2/10
(Photo courtesy of Holly Jacobs, Christmas photos, courtesy of Christmas Graphics Plus)
