J.A.JACKSON

SO, AUTHOR J. A. JACKSON…
WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING LATELY?

An Extremely Serious Interview with an Author Who Has Absolutely No Intention of Being Serious

“So, Author J. A. Jackson, what have you been doing lately?”

Excuse me?

What did you just ask me?

What have I been doing lately?

I stared at the person interviewing me.

They stared back.

Apparently, they expected an answer.

My first thought was:

PANIC?

My second thought was:

CRY?

My third thought was:

TAKE A NAP AND HOPE THIS PERSON IS GONE WHEN I WAKE UP?

Instead, I took a long, suspicious look at the person sitting across from me and wondered exactly when this innocent little interview had turned into a GET-IN-J. A. JACKSON'S-BUSINESS INVESTIGATION.

Really?

Seriously?

You want to know what I've been doing in 2026?

HOW LONG HAVE YOU GOT?

Pull up a chair.

Get comfortable.

I'll try not to wonder why I agreed to this interview in the first place.

Actually…

What was the question again?

Oh, yes.

“What have you been doing lately?”

Are you sure you don't want me to sing Janet Jackson's famous song about that instead?

No?

Okay.

How about this:

Would you like some peanut butter cookies?

I make excellent peanut butter cookies.

I'll even put extra peanut butter in them.

Why?

BECAUSE WHILE YOU'RE CHEWING, YOU CAN'T ASK ME ANY MORE QUESTIONS.

Unfortunately, my interviewer wasn't falling for it.

Apparently, this person had been promised material for a Fabulous Newsletter and wasn't leaving without it.

Fine.

You win.

Let me tell you what Author J. A. Jackson has been doing lately.

I'VE BEEN INTERVIEWING PEOPLE WHO DON'T EXIST.

There.

I said it.

I have been interviewing characters for my upcoming books.

Yes.

Interviewing them.

Sometimes weekly.

Sometimes daily.

Sometimes at ridiculous hours when respectable fictional people should be asleep.

But my characters are not respectable.

They live rent-free in my head, eat all the imaginary food, create unnecessary drama, fall in love with inappropriate people, uncover family secrets nobody asked them to uncover—and then have the nerve to wake me up with ideas.

These pesky little boogers never leave me alone.

Yes.

I said BOOGERS.

Because some characters are exactly like that dried little clump of nasal foolishness you wake up with in the morning.

You didn't invite it.

You don't know where it came from.

But somehow—

THERE IT IS.

And now you have to deal with it.

Welcome to the glamorous life of an author.

AUDITIONS ARE NOW OPEN!

Before I allow one of these people to become the hero or heroine of an entire novel, I need to know something important:

CAN YOU CARRY A STORY?

Being handsome isn't enough.

Being beautiful isn't enough.

Having abs that could grate Parmesan cheese?

Impressive.

But still not enough.

I need to know how my characters behave when life goes completely off the rails.

So I pull out my trusty list of Character Interview Questions.

And that's when things get weird.

Very weird.

QUESTION #1: THE GROCERY CART CATASTROPHE

You're in the grocery store.

Your cart suddenly breaks.

One wheel flies toward Frozen Foods.

Your eggs hit the floor.

Your oranges roll into Produce.

Your toilet paper sails past an elderly woman.

And your family-size package of underwear lands directly in front of the most attractive person you've seen in six months.

What is the FIRST thing you do?

A. Scream.

B. Pretend none of it belongs to you.

C. Blame Walmart.

D. Pick up the underwear, look the attractive stranger directly in the eye and say, “Well… since you've already seen them…”

Now THAT tells me something about a character.

THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

A zombie outbreak starts RIGHT NOW.

What completely useless, non-weapon item does my character insist on saving?

Family photographs?

Coffee maker?

Favorite shoes?

A forty-seven-inch television?

Grandmère's cast-iron skillet?

The Wi-Fi router?

Wait.

WHY ARE YOU TAKING THE ROUTER?

The zombies have eaten Comcast.

THERE IS NO INTERNET.

Put it down and RUN!

THE GREAT WI-FI MELTDOWN

The internet disappears for one entire week.

How long before my character loses it?

Five minutes?

Three hours?

Day two?

Or does my character stand in the middle of the living room holding the router over their head screaming:

“WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?
I'VE ALREADY UNPLUGGED YOU AND PLUGGED YOU BACK IN!”

This is important character development, people.

I am a professional.

Please try to keep up.

THE UNATTENDED FRENCH FRY TEST

Would my character steal one French fry from a stranger's unattended plate if they were starving and 100% certain nobody was looking?

Think carefully.

Because today it's one French fry.

Tomorrow it's someone's inheritance.

Then somebody discovers Grandma changed the will.

Next thing you know, there are three bodies, a suspicious butler and a detective named Earl asking questions.

This is how novels happen.

THE EMERGENCY HAIR QUESTION

My character wakes up on the morning of the most important event of their life.

Wedding.

Job interview.

Book signing.

Meeting with the President.

Whatever.

Their hair is frozen into a shape resembling a frightened porcupine struck by lightning.

What do they do?

Panic? Cry? Cancel? Wear a bucket?

Or walk outside and announce:

“YES. I MEANT TO DO THIS.”

That's the character I want.

THE 3:00 A.M. TOE TEST

My character gets out of bed at three in the morning and stubs their little toe against the coffee table.

What happens next?

Do they whisper:

“Oh, excuse me, Mr. Coffee Table.”

Or do they invent a curse word so powerful that somewhere in Louisiana Grandmère Catherine suddenly sits straight up in bed and says:

“WHO SAID THAT?”

Important questions.

Important research.

This is literature, my darlings.

BUT WAIT—THERE'S MORE.

Someone leaves my character ON READ for four days after a perfectly normal text.

How long before the revenge fantasy begins?

Day one: They're probably busy.

Day two: Maybe their phone died.

Day three: Perhaps they were kidnapped.

Day four:

I HOPE THEY WERE KIDNAPPED.

Because now my character has planned an entire imaginary courtroom trial, divorce, funeral and revenge sequence—and these two people weren't even dating.

EXCELLENT.
YOU'RE HIRED.

Welcome to the book.

AT THIS POINT, MY INTERVIEWER LOOKED CONCERNED.

I leaned back in my chair.

“Well?”

Silence.

“Didn't you think any of that was funny?”

More silence.

I narrowed my eyes.

“What's wrong with you?”

My interviewer slowly looked down at their notes.

I continued.

“And another thing. Are you buying me dinner after all this?”

Apparently not.

Fine.

I'm keeping my peanut butter cookies.

BUT SERIOUSLY, MY DARLINGS…

Yes, I wrote this quirky little story because somebody needed material for my latest newsletter.

But the truth is, this really is part of how stories happen for me.

Characters arrive.

Sometimes quietly.

Sometimes loudly.

Sometimes they practically kick down the front door of my imagination and announce:

“MOVE OVER.
THIS BOOK IS ABOUT ME.”

And I listen.

I ask questions.

I imagine impossible situations.

I let them argue with me.

And eventually those strange little conversations become mysteries, romances, betrayals, weddings, legends, magical adventures, family secrets—and sometimes a very suspicious cannoli.

And if you enjoyed spending these few ridiculous minutes inside my head…

YOU SHOULD SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I WRITE AN ENTIRE BOOK.

Because I've been busy.

VERY BUSY.

We're talking legendary queens of California.

Hidden bloodlines. Contractual fiancés. Matchmakers. Wedding planners. Italian chefs. Secret recipes. Paranormal dreams. Women remembering lives that may never have belonged to them.

The California Magic Gang.

A Christmas bride who disappeared forty years ago.

Magic in Firebaugh, California.

Mysteries around the Berkeley BART station and Telegraph Avenue.

And, because apparently I don't know when to stop—

Sweet Pepper Cajun recipes to impress your family and friends.

I told you not to ask me what I've been doing lately.

But you wouldn't listen.

★ COMING FROM AUTHOR J. A. JACKSON ★

LATE 2026 THROUGH 2027

The Deceiver's Vow
The Deceiver's Secret Series, Book III

The Deceiver's Secret — New Edition

The CROWN And The ROSE

The Contractual Fiancée
An ancient queen. A hidden bloodline. A contractual fiancé.

The Matchmaker, the Makeover and Matteo Costa's Last Pork Schiacciata

The Matchmaker, the Wedding Planner, and Dante Costa's Secret Recipe

WHEN A TAKER DREAMS — BOOK III: WHEN THE MATCHMAKER DREAMS

The California Magic Gang and the Christmas Bride Who Never Arrived

The Matchmaker, the Wedding Planner, and Luca Costa's Last Cannoli — Book II

The Woman Who Remembered Lives That Were Never Hers

The Law of Ending

WHEW.

Are you happy now?

You asked what I've been doing.

THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN DOING.

Writing.

Rewriting.

Creating characters.

Interviewing imaginary people.

Arguing with imaginary people.

Falling in love with imaginary people.

Occasionally threatening imaginary people.

And drinking something while wondering why these imaginary people refuse to follow the outline I painstakingly created for them.

Such is the glamorous life of an author.

Now—

if this interview is finally over—

I'm going to make those peanut butter cookies.

And NO…

YOU CAN'T HAVE ONE.

You should have minded your business.

With love, laughter, books & just a little bit of magic,

Author J. A. Jackson

Take time off from the world…
Enter the mind of Author J. A. Jackson.

And whatever you do—

DON'T ASK WHAT SHE'S BEEN DOING LATELY.