ReaWrite: When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?

Jacquelyn: I’ve always loved to write and, in fact, always have.  It just took me some time to dig up the nerve to send one of my stories to a professional in the publishing world.  I’m so happy I did!  Maybe becoming an author was my destiny.

ReaWrite: Where did the initial idea for The Dragonfly Prophecy come from?

Jacquelyn: I was having one of those days that anyone with kids, or who even knows a kid, can relate to.  Conflicting basketball games, a science project due the next day (that I only heard about a few hours earlier), the dog barking at the plumber, and I still couldn’t find the car keys.  I blurted out, ‘this is not my life.’  Later on when the house got quiet, I started to think about what it would be like to wake up and find that your life really wasn’t your life.  That’s where it all started, and well, you know where it ended up.

ReaWrite: Why dragonflies?

Jacquelyn: I stumbled upon that completely by accident.  I researched lots of things for the story like auras, palm reading, and universal energies.  The original title was “Dream Me Awake” until I read up on dream interpretations.  That’s when I discovered the meaning of dragonflies and wove that into the story.  I wanted to have something real to tie the supernatural parts to.

ReaWrite: From concept to completion, how long did it take you to write The Dragonfly Prophecy?

Jacquelyn: It took me four months to finish the story, but then I put it away for about a month before starting the rewrite.  The final copy was complete in just under a year.

ReaWrite: Without giving anything away, what scene was the most fun for you to
write?

Jacquelyn: If I can only pick one it would have to be the fight scene.  I tried to convey that Lexi had the power to help herself and her friends all along, even though she was quite insecure.  I think everyone has some level of insecurity about who we are and what we’re capable of and it was fun to write about Lexi overcoming hers.  I had a great time making up the cool things she and her friends could do to defeat the bad guys.

ReaWrite: Do you have any favorite authors? What are you reading right now?

Jacquelyn: I have many favorites, but I’ll give you the short list!  James Patterson, Judy Blume, John Grisham, and Nora Roberts.  Right now I’m reading The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht and loving it!

ReaWrite: Annndd, finally… Are you working on anything right now?

Jacquelyn: I’m bouncing between working on a crime story with a science fiction twist for adults, another YA science fiction aimed at and narrated by a teenaged boy, and I’m wrapping up the sequel to The Dragonfly Prophecy.

ReaWrite: Thank you so much for answering all these questions!

Check in tomorrow for your chance to win Jaquelyn’s debut novel, The Dragonfly Prophecy.