Featured Interview With Jacki Ring
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in western Nebraska. Until I was 13, I lived in a small town owned by my parents. It had a population of four and consisted of two acres of land, a house, a post office, a shop, and two gas pumps. At 13, I moved with my family to my grandmother’s cattle ranch where we raised about 200 head of Angus cattle.
When we lived at the town we owned, I attended a one-room country school. At the most, we had 14 students in grades K-8. After we moved, I attended a junior and senior high school that had around 120 students in all six grades. I graduated in a class of 32. Ironically, I or my sister also had to drive 32 miles to get to school.
As an adult, I have lived in Nebraska, Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado. I have lived in Colorado since 1996. I live with my husband, daughter, and grandkitty Zuma. When I am not writing a novel or taking graduate level writing classes, I love to read romance, mysteries, or suspense novels. Word games are also a favorite past time of mine.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Oddly, I didn’t like to read books as a child. I did, however, read Ann Landers and the obituaries. When I was 18, I had a minor dirt bike accident. My grandmother’s best friend loaned me a stack of Harlequins for my recovery. I was immediately hooked! I eventually broadened my taste to Regency romance and then to romantic suspense and mysteries.
At the time, I wrote an unpaid newspaper article on mental health at my husband’s request. I also wrote Christmas plays for my sister’s one room country school. Then I decided to try my hand at writing my own novel. Several books later, I have more plot ideas than I could ever possibly write!
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I mix up my reading between romantic suspense, thrillers, and cozy mysteries with a romance thrown in now and then. I have too many favorite authors to name and I usually read books by a new-to-me author and then a familiar author.
I haven’t been influenced by any one author. As far as writing in general, “On Writing Well” by William Zinsser has made a huge impact on my life.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
When I was a teen there was an escaped convict living in an empty house near our ranch. My father carried a loaded rifle everywhere to protect us. After a few days, the convict moved on without mishap and was arrested. One day, however, I was thinking about that and how remote rancher’s can be. If we would have had to call the sheriff, it may have taken them upwards of an hour to arrive. Consequently, the rural people I know are strong and independent, not vulnerable. They also ban together in times of need. It was then that I came up with the plot of “Dangerous Revelations”:
Upon the passing of his stepmother, Dillon discovered she had given a baby girl up for adoption before she had come into his life. In her will, she had left her journals and quilts to this girl, Carly James. Carly, upon hearing of the bequest, decides to drive from Oregon to Nebraska to learn more about her birth mother from her newfound stepbrother.
When Dillon and Carly meet, they experience an intense attraction. Dillon encourages Carly to stay as long as she likes. As she stays on the ranch and helps Dillon out, she finds herself falling in love with Dillon, his motherless daughter, and the rural lifestyle.
Then a stranger drives in to inquire about the journals she had inherited. He is followed by two more and soon violence erupts. Dillon and Carly soon realize the strangers are seeking the journals and will not stop until they get them.
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