Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to this week’s featured author!
Today I had the great pleasure of interviewing romance author Vallean Jackson!
Author Vallean Jackson was born and raised in Birmingham, AL. She is a Jacksonville State University graduate, and majored in print journalism with a minor in biology. Vallean Jackson is a journalist who has written for various publications and loves being a journalist just as much as she loves writing books. Vallean Jackson’s genres of books range from anthologies, romance, urban fiction, some horror, and recently children’s books!
Excited to start our interview, I (of course) asked author Vallean Jackson my most popular kick-off question: What was it that first sparked an interest in writing?! Here’s what Jackson had to say!
“There was a point when I was feeling like these ideas and feelings were crowding my head, and in a sense it was becoming a lot so I started to write one day. At first it just started with the standard little journals, and then after reading books I started saying to myself I would have done this and that, creating my own scenes in my head. I decided to combine what I wanted to express and transfer the imagination building in my head to paper and it kind of took off from there. Writing is one of the best ways to express myself, express my voice, and feel comfort in my head that seemed overcrowded at times with ideas.”
I can understand that completely, being a fellow author. When the ideas start to pile up they need to spill out somewhere! Because I’m a huge sucker and fan of any kind of romance thrown in my face, 😉 my next question for author Vallean Jackson was what steered her to writing a few of her works in the romance genre! This was Jackson’s fabulous answer!
“Lol! Honestly, it sounds corny, but I love love! However, I want people to understand that love isn't cookie cutter. Love takes work, patience, some hardships at times, understanding, forgiveness, communicating effectively...etc. There are levels to love and getting to the best levels doesn’t come easily; I wanted to share that with people, and to encourage them as well with a realistic perspective.”
I truly adored Vallean Jackson’s response to that question, and I don’t think it’s corny at all! LOL
This is what makes a romance novel so intriguing: the realism of the pain and joy love can bring!
My next question for author Vallean Jackson was what type of scene she enjoys writing best! Here is what she had to say! “All scenes, honestly, but dialogue is my favorite because it gives a voice to the characters instead of just the story being told. To me dialogue gives a more realistic feel and relatable aspect to the book.”
I have to agree with that. For me personally, reading the dialogue really brings out the personality of the character! And to me, that’s important in a story. Next, I had to know how author Vallean Jackson comes up with such fantastic story ideas! “I get my greatest ideas probably while walking or just simply moving, or honestly even at times just doing something as simple as washing dishes. For example, if I have been stuck on a scene and don’t know to do next, boom! an idea can just hit me while I’m washing dishes, and I'm like YES! That's it! That will be fire! Okay! Or I can be walking in the mall and see somebody arguing or a situation as simple as someone returning a purchase, and boom, it hits me at that moment. I try to hold onto it or jot it down so I can use it later.”
After conducting many of these interviews I’ve come to learn that fellow authors will get amazing ideas in the most random places! LOL So, my next question branched from there. Are there any true events or people written into your book?! Here is author Vallean Jackson’s answer!
“Not exactly, because a lot of the storyline is based upon a combination of things I have seen people go through, talk about, and are even currently going through. Some may be family and some strangers, quite truthfully. My imagination is just crazy sometimes, but in my characters there are parts of them I can relate to or even understand.”
To conclude our interview I asked author Vallean Jackson to tell everyone a bit about herself, and let us know if she had anything new coming out! “Outside of being an author, I am also a journalist. So when I'm not writing, I'm writing. lol! But I love it! I am a mom of a beautiful daughter who keeps me busy around the clock, so in between being a mom, I'm doing interviews, promoting, working on my podcast show, What's Your Spill? on Anchor FM, my YouTube channel Author Vallean J, working on the next project and just overall keeping busy. I love music more than television, and I love being outside...I can not wait to go hiking this year, and I have a small/big love for ice cream.” “Yes, my goal is to release part 3 of the Love On Thin Ice series called "Healing" and maybe the second edition of my first series, as well as new releases for my children's book series Adventures With Liyah. I will continue dropping new episodes on my podcast, and will be launching my online store that's coming soon.”
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, Google, Anchor. FM at @authorvalleanj or Author Vallean J.
My personal website is www.valleanj.com
My books can be purchased on my personal website, amazon, kindle, google books, Barnes and noble, and walmart.com.
Here are all book links:
Adventures With Liyah presents: Learning With A Trace- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HFV3RHL/
Adventures With Liyah presents: Colors At First Sight- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GB7MKR4/
Love On Thin Ice 2-Exposed: https://www.amazon.com/Love-Thin-2-Exposed-Vallean-Jackson-ebook/dp/B09MBFVN83/
Huge thank you to author Vallean Jackson for an amazing interview! I wish you all the best and can't wait to see what you come out with next!
Come back next Sunday for another up close and personal interview with author Lindsey Bakken!
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