Okay...introduction!
My name is Jackie Kessler, nee Jackie Morse. (I am the writer who says "Nee!") Actually, my full first name is "Jacqueline," but that's used only when I write or when my mother is really angry with me.
I knew I wanted to draw when I was 8. That's when I first started reading comic books. I wanted to grow up to be an artist like George Perez or John Byrne. But when I went to college, my folks put their collective foot (feet?) down and said there was no way, no how, they were paying an ungodly amount for me to be a studio art major. So I did the next best thing and became an English and American Literature major.
On my way to getting a degree that proved I knew how to read, I took a handful of creative writing classes. Lo and behold, I loved them. When I was 18, I created a character called Cody Turner. Sixteen years later, Cody is one of the two protagonists in my first novel, a contemporary fantasy called THE LORN. (Yes, it really took 16 years to write the thing. Well, 16 years and 10 revisions. So technically speaking, my first book is really my tenth. New math.)
Meanwhile, I have written a number of short stories, one of which has been published at the time of this writing. "Guilty Pleasures" appeared in PERIDOT BOOKS:
I also had a book review published in TENEBRES back in 2000, but it was translated into French, so I can't read my own contributor's copy. C'est la vie.
Working at a consulting firm, I had a number of articles published in the company's internal magazine. (I don't know if that counts on the offical "Publications" page or not.)
Along with pitching my contemporary fantasy novel (and series, natch) to agents, I'm also pitching my chick-lit novel (which, shockingly, does NOT take place in NYC, nor does the protagonist work in publishing--huh, maybe it's not really chick lit...). HEY, CHARLES--YOUR SLIP IS SHOWING is a story about love, relationships, and the American Wet Dream.
I'm an active member of BACKSPACE, a terrific online writer's community. If you're a writer, whether first starting out or already on the road to publication, syndication, and six-figure advances, you should check it out:
And yep, I have a day job. For more than six years, I've been the senior editor of a management and technology journal. I wear three professional hats: copy chief, production manager, and web editor. (You'd think, based on that last one, that I'd figure out how to make the links here live, but no such luck. I did mention somewhere that I haven't had enough coffee yet, right?)
I hang my hat in upstate NY. My husband is a computer god, and my children (3 years and 23 months as of this writing) astound me more and more with each passing day. My cats continue to be cute, which keeps my husband from turning them into mittens. And my comic books (9,000, give or take) are collecting dust in the basement. I'm five feet on a tall day (I was three inches taller back in the 1980s, thanks to Big Hair), and I'm a fool for chocolate.
So...howdy!
9 Comments:
Jackie -
Congrats on the blog! Welcome to the 21st century!!!! :-)
- Ty
Yes, welcome to the 21st Century. Congrats!
--Eileen
Oh, wow, a fellow artist! I didn't know you were artistic! If you go to WCP's online store, you can see some of my fantasy artwork. www.wildchildpublishing.com/ & you can visit me at my blog too www.xanga.com/mccammon I've bookmarked your new blog, Jackie!
Welcome to the blogosphere, Jax!
Hey there Jackie,
This is fantastic. CONGRATS on taking the plunge into the 21st century. I too have a blog at www.xanga/sueblog. There should some ramblings about our visit to china and some other strange entries.
Sue
I can't believe that I didn't get to have the first post! >:-P
Hmmm. Now that I think about it, maybe I shouldn't post this, since the public is going to be able to pass judgement on me. OK, this looks like the "Cancel" button over here....
Wow, thanks for your comments, everyone! Look out, 21st Century--Jackie Kessler's here, kicking ass and taking names. Er, and scratching her head over the whole links thing.
Oh, Loving Husband...?
Yay for Jackie's shiny new blog! I'm travelling in an hour or so, but I wanted to pop in and say Hi. :) I'll be keeping up with this!
Well, since everyone else is congratulating you on joining the blogosphere, I shall be the lone, sane voice to issue the warning.
Have you increased the size of your ego sufficiently to enter the blogosphere?
See, just now, twice has my major intestine tried to leap up through my neck and strangle my brain in order to save the universe from another use of the word 'blogosphere'.
If not, you can take my classes which guarantees you will be twice as obnoxious in two weeks or less. If not, I'll just start making all your posts for you!
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