Featured Interview With N.D. Jackson
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Chicago and spent most of my childhood in a suburb close to an hour away from the city. I went to college and grad school smack in the center of the state, which you’ll be able to see in my stories.
My husband and I now live in Germany, a small town outside of Stuttgart, but before that we met and fell in love in Boston before moving to sunny Los Angeles. We travel too much for pets these days but I always miss my turtle Bob Dylan Thomas.
When I’m not writing, which is rare, I’m listening to music (classic rock mostly or alternative), cooking (Indian food is my absolute favorite!) and catching up on my favorite American TV shows.
I have recently developed an addiction to Zumba, cupcakes and Alabama Shakes.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I can’t say for certain but I remember killing it during the summer when my elementary school had those read-a-thons. My family didn’t have a lot of money but they all chipped in because they knew I would read tons of books even when I didn’t have to. When I was in 3rd grade that was the first time I can remember grabbing a book instead of flipping on the television. The next year I wrote my first story, as much as a 9 year old can write a story. It was a blend of my two loves; politics and romance. It was a romantic thriller involving me as a teenager and saving the First Son who, of course, was totally dreamy and ever so grateful to me!
Today that has pretty much continued. My first romance novel has a hint of local politics in it, the second has small business themes and my 3rd novel is a political satire of capital punishment. So as you can see I still love what I’ve always loved. Politics & Love.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Some of my ‘go to’ authors include Susan Mallery, Jill Shalvis and Marquita Valentine when it comes to romance. Although he hasn’t written anything lately when I want a cynical laugh about the state of politics Christopher Buckley is my guy but sometimes I go to P.J. O’Rourke.
When I’m in search of a new book I look for romance, political satires/thrillers and any type of murder mystery. Occasionally I’ll venture into another genre, usually when a fellow author wants feedback and sometimes I stick with the genre.
In my writing I guess Jill Shalvis and Susan Mallery and big inspirations because they have successfully combined the quirky small town feel (Fools Gold & Lucky Harbor) with real life modern people with modern problems. Their towns aren’t throwbacks, they are just small and that’s something I hope my Mustang Prairie series achieves. I love that not everyone is perfect but even those who have problems aren’t full of angst, it makes for a good story even when times get tough.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is not a romance but a political satire. It is about an event planner named Lucky who, despite her best efforts, has trouble hanging on to a job. Her best friend Taryn is ambitious and thinks Lucky would be the perfect Post Conviction Events Coordinator, which is just a fancy way of saying she’ll “put on” the executions. The Governor is a legacy, her grandfather was Governor for 3 separate terms and she has a lot to live up to, which is why she reinstated the death penalty against her Party’s wishes. Now she wants to make the executions family friendly.
The biggest problem for these ladies is a mass murderer turned pastor who refuses to be put to death. Pastor Bishop Parsons is a reformed man but Governor Madigan must appear strong and tough on crime. Lucky begins to question her job while Taryn hopes to parlay their successes into a better job with a higher profile politician.
This is actually the second book I wrote when I decided to make a go of being a published author. It sat untouched for a long time because I couldn’t get the ending I wanted. Lucky and Parsons just wouldn’t cooperate with me so I put it away and came back to it years later, newly inspired and made plenty of changes.
When I came back to it I wanted it to feel like Legally Blonde meets Thank You For Smoking, so dark but funny. Of course it is very difficult to make this topic funny but even in college this was an issue close to my heart and I knew I had to do the story and the topic justice.
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