Noodler of the Month: Delle Jacobs

Q. Tell us a little about your writing journey so far.

A. Long. But only occasionally dreary. I'm one of those authors who always wanted to write (meaning, write fiction), but for a long time didn't. There were thousands of reasons and things that got in the way. It took a computer that my son built for me to persuade me the put-up-or-shut-up time had arrived, and I decided to find out if I could actually write a complete novel that had a plot and reasonably consistent characters. That did me in. I ended up giving up all my other creative hobbies to put every spare moment I had into writing historical romances.

That was 13 years ago, and I'm now working on my 14th novel. I have published four e-books, which have done quite well, and I'm now the only person in the world who has won three Golden Hearts, for 2003, 2004 and 2005. I still have a long way to go to accomplish all my writing goals, but that's okay. I couldn't live long enough to do that if I were only 20 years old. And if I did, well then, what would I do?


Q. What's the best piece of advice you've ever received from another author?

A. Two things: Jo Beverley once told me to "decide what story I want to tell, and tell it." At the time, it was exactly what I needed to be told, because my wonderful story wandered in and out of what really amounted to three stories. It's another version of "Don't just write. Find a direction for your writing."

The second is said in so many ways, the best of which is, "Kill your darlings." Don't fall so in love with your words or your characters that you let them get in the way of your story. Be willing to kill them off. If you can't, then maybe they're really just there to support your ego. And that's not good.


Q. If you could spend an hour picking the brain of anyone, who would it be?

A. That answer changes every day. I wouldn't pick a romance writer because I can and do pick their brains all the time. In the past, I've hungered to meet such historical figures as Mohandas Ghandi, the Duke of Wellington, Jane Austen, Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Isabella, wife of King Edward II (called the She-Wolf of France; I want to ask her if she really did kill her husband). Yesterday, I really wanted to talk with Anna McCloy, the wife of the miner who is still in critical condition. I find her so amazing, so incredibly poised and focused on her goals. And she's just a kid! But today, it happens my interest has been revived in an author of the past, Sir Walter Scott, who I consider the pioneer of the adventure novel. He was a rather unassuming man who set out to use his talent to overcome devastating financial reversals and spent the remainder of his life fighting his way out of debt. Mostly, I am just intrigued by the way his mind worked.

Q. What do you feel is your best strength as a writer?

A. I was going to say mule-headed stubbornness, but I think instead it's that I love writing so much I'm willing to persevere and sacrifice for it. It keeps me going even when I feel like I ought to just dump it and pick up those knitting needles I abandoned years ago.

Q. Is there a type of book you'd love to write that you haven't?

A. I'd like to write the kind of book nobody would publish. Oh wait, I've already done that. But I do love unusual settings and time periods, and unfortunately there is little market for them. My stories are like personal time travels for me, and writing them takes me to times and places I'll never otherwise experience.

I've also been thinking about doing some paranormals based on ancient Celtic myths. Right now, I'm toying with an intriguing Bretonic myth that I think could be the base of a very powerful romance set in an alternate world. If I leave out the gory parts, that is.

Q. What, in your opinion, are the three writing books no writer should be without?

A. I'll limit my reply to English fiction writers, since I know nothing about any other kinds of writing.
Roget's Super Thesaurus by Marc McCutcheon is the one book I must have. Along with a good dictionary, I can't think of a better way to find the right word when it is being elusive.
GMC: Goal, Motivation and Conflict by Debra Dixon is the one book I recommend most to other authors. I think I have it memorized.
The Writer's Digest Character-Naming Sourcebook by Sherrilyn Kenyon stays by my side when I write. I understand there is a revised edition, and I'll probably get it.

Q. What is your writing process like?

A. I have to know where I'm going before I start, and since I write historicals, I have to have done my research. Lots of it. It's not enough for me to say my hero was in the Peninsular War. I have to know his regiment, rank, every battle he fought and every place he went. That may never go into the story, but I have to know it. I pride myself in vivid settings, so I must know what they would really be like.

My stories may begin with only a tiny glimmer of a question. Right now, an old engraving is inspiring all kinds of questions. Once the story has its question, the unsolvable problem that must be solved, its people come to me for they are the only ones who can solve the unsolvable.

Once I begin writing, I often write the major part of the story within a month, but I spend a great deal more time filling in blanks, editing and sometimes even completely changing parts of the plot. I try hard not to write something just to fill in a gap when I don't have a clear idea what needs to be there. Too often that results in scenes that really don't have a purpose or have no uniqueness to them. So I take my time and only put in a scene if it really belongs and shoves the story forward at the speed of light.

Q. Other than writing and reading, what other activities do you enjoy?

A. I do a lot of digital art using PhotoShop. I've always thought of myself as creative and artistic but not really an artist. Well, I was wrong. It took PhotoShop to bring out my true talent. I designed three of my own book covers, and the more I did, the more I could do. Now I'm doing covers for other e-book authors and am setting up a graphics business.

I collect all sorts of things, including old engravings, fans, antique linens, etc. I collect them; they collect dust. Got to do something about that!

Q. What is your dream vacation?

A. I'll need three or four years for that! It will take me all over the globe, although I admit I'll focus on Europe and the South Pacific. I'm planning on going back to England in 2007 to tour the South Coast and research my smuggler story (even though I've already finished writing it). But I also want to see Spain and Portugal, and will actually tour all those Peninsular War battle sites. In Belgium, I must see Waterloo. I love the Alps but haven't seen the Swiss ones, and I must see Germany and Austria again. That's for starters. There's no room to talk about everything I want to see. Then there's Fiji and Tahiti and New Zealand...


Delle's books:

Firedance, Awe-Struck E-Books, 2000 - Medieval Romantic Suspense
Loki's Daughters, Awe-Struck E-Books, 2001 - Viking Romance
The Mudlark, Awe-Struck E-Books, 2003 - Regency Romance
Lady Valiant, Awe-Struck E-Books, 2004 - Regency Romance

Expect to see somewhere, sometime:
Lady Wicked - Regency Historical Romance
Aphrodite's Brew - Regency Romance
Lady Scandalous - Regency Historical Romance (smugglers and spies)
Almost Forever - Vampire Historical Romance

 

To email this article to a friend, click here.

To read last month's Noodler of the Month article, click here.

back to the top