I recently had the chance to chat with a talented author.  So, without further delay let’s hear from the talented

Jacquelyn Frank

Has writing always been something you enjoyed?  Did you know that you wanted to be a writer one day?
I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love to write. Since I caught the writing bug in earnest when I was 13, I dreamed of this. I never thought I would have the nerve to submit.

Are you able to write full-time or do you still have a “day job”?  You have had some great jobs…ASL interpreter and substitute teacher. Do you miss working in these areas?
I write full time. It was my day job years before I even published. It was the only upside to being disabled. I do miss interpreting and teaching on certain days for certain reasons, but I would NEVER trade this for those. This is my dream job. It makes me happy and excited and I am truly successful at it.

Tell us what makes Jacquelyn…well Jacquelyn.
That’s an odd question to me. Urm…Ben and Jerry’s? LOL! I also have a real potty mouth in person. *shrug*. I’m too soft-hearted. I cry easily. I rise to temper easily too. (that and the cussing seems to go hand in hand for some reason…)

Let’s talk a little about your wonderful Nightwalker series.  How did this storyline develop? With a character, a scene, or in some other way?  I read you are getting ready to end the series. Are you going to miss writing about them?
Technically, it was a dream of a scene. I dreamed I was Jacob, the opening scene, leaping from lamppost to lamppost. Hard to believe it, but it all unraveled quickly after that. I wrote all five books back to back.

Tell us some of your favorites…foods, movies, authors, books, television, music, colors, and any others you would like to share.
I mentioned Ben and his brother Jerry, right? LOL. We have a ménage almost every week ;) I am a huge fan of Gerard Butler. Ever since he made me cry in Phantom of the Opera. Gave me chills really. I wish I could have a ménage with him every week. (The third person is interchangeable daily). My favorite author is Joey W. Hill. I am her personal stalker. I love her soooo much. Natural Law was pure genius!! But, not for the faint-hearted. Kresley Cole. The standards like Christine Feehan and Sherrilyn Kenyon. Julia Quinn. I could go on and on. I watch a lot of TV too…helps the next great idea. CSIs, Moonlight (sigh…Mick), Battlestar Galactica, Buffy, Angel, etc. I like anything musical save Rap. Do not like Rap AT ALL. For colors, I like black for wearing and green in general. I think that covers it!

I read you are a cat person…cats are my favorite, too.  Tell us a little about your involvement with the Animal Compassion Network.  I think this is so great.
It’s literally my pet charity. ACNsaves the lives of local strays and shelter animals on the verge of being put down. I also support the ASPCA. But for ACN I am both a Public Partner (Someone who finds strays and takes them in, gets them their shots, gets them tested and fixed on their own dime then uses ACN to find a home for them) and a Foster Home (someone who gives the kitties a warm, safe home to live in, socializes them, cares for them, brings them out of their shells and helps them recover from abuse, takes in kittens and hand feeds and raises them until they are of age and ACN pays the expenses for this). They also have a store now called Pet Harmony. Low cost and all natural to the best of their ability, all profits and proceeds go back into the store or to the ACN. I am on my way there in a bit to socialize with the cats.

Do you enjoy hearing from your readers and what is the best way to contact you?
I LOVE fan mail. My readers are so freakin’ awesome! Sweet and kind. Just great. I answer every letter (except when there’s technical difficulty!) And everyone should use jacquelynfrank@hotmail.com to contact me. It’s my main email address.

What do you consider your greatest strength to be?  Any weaknesses?
My greatest strength is my ability to help others. My greatest weakness is my inability to do the same exact things I advise for them for myself.

When writing, do you have a writing schedule that you follow?  Do you have a perfect writing environment or can you write anywhere?
I need silence to start, and then I layer the environment with mood or action music. Without peace, I cannot create. However, I can find peace in a café, eating alone, because no one addresses me or bugs me…and I am not tempted to do the same.

It sounds as if you are very close to your family. Are they your biggest support system and your best fans?  It sounds like you are, also, blessed with great friends too.
Sounds can be deceiving. My family is like anyone else’s, it comes with ups and downs, helps and hardships. But the key is I have learned to unconditionally love them. Kind of a warts and all scenario. Hey, I’m no party either. I have warts. Lots of warts. But my family is proud of me and very supportive of my career. Of course, my dad is banned from ever reading my books…not that he would ever get the urge…lol!

Now my friends…they are the family I get to pick for myself. My best friends Laura and Tanya are so very much so the truest of hearts I have ever known. They stick with me through thick and thin, PMS, weeping, bitching, kookiness, craziness and much more. I have 4 sisters, but I wish they could be my blood sisters as well as the sisters of my heart and soul.

Do you plan on starting another series now that you are finished with the Nightwalkers?  Do you enjoy writing stories that are connected?  Do you find it difficult to write connected stories?
I find it difficult NOT to write connected stories. I start a story meant to be single, but a secondary character always seems to stand out and yell at me: “ME NEXT!!” After the first part of the Nightwalker saga draws to a close with Noah on September 2^nd, I will be presenting a new series in that world called The Shadowdwellers. It’s focusing on one of the more secluded races of Nightwalkers. You won’t see much, if any, of the Demons and other mainstream Nightwalkers in this series. Also, the language changes…as it would with any culture. Heck, my writing is evolving, hopefully for the better!

If you could bring one of your characters to life, who would it be and why?
Not Noah. His power would be frightening in real life. I think Jacob. (from who you’ve met so far, anyway) Because his is a power that can revitalize the earth and the life living on the planet. We desperately need that.

What is your guilty pleasure?
Back to Ben and Jerry….Pistachio Pistachio J

What do you consider your greatest strength? Any weaknesses?
My greatest strength is my friends. If you mean writing, it’s my ability to write really fast by the seat of my pants. As for weaknesses, I have plenty of those. Ben and his brother Jerry. My family I suppose. They can be either or. Any family is like that. Procrastination. I am a HUGE procrastinator. But my one true weakness is my body. Illness, medication, weight…they add up to one of my worst frustrations. Again, if we talk strictly writing, it’s the damn accent in my head. There are a lot of NY colloquialisms that don’t translate, words I use wrongly because of that. I as ‘s’ when I shouldn’t or my grammar gets turned around. Luckily, I write way better than I talk. (Way better. An example. LOL!)

Is there anything else you would like to share with us?  Current or upcoming releases?
Damien is June 3^rd. Noah is September 2^nd! The Shadowdwellers is starting January ’09.

Please visit my website www.jacquelynfrank.com and sign up for my mailing list at the bottom of my blog. I hold AWESOME contests with good prizes!! In fact, the Noah ARCs just came…

Jacquelyn has generously offered to send one lucky winner an ARC copy of Noah…to enter simply send your name to lori@joyfullyreviewed.com and I will randomly choose a winner on June 15^th.  Good luck everyone and thanks again Jacquelyn!