Frequently Asked Questions... Behind the scenes with author Jacqui Nelson

Question: 
    How did you get interested in the Western genre?
Answer: 
    I grew up in the middle of nowhere in Canada (north of Edmonton, Alberta) on a cattle farm. We had only two TV channels (in the days before cable TV and even before, gasp, VCRs). The old Clint Eastwood movies came on TV and instantly I was hooked on Westerns. And "For a Few Dollars More" and "The Outlaw Josey Wales" are still in my top ten movie list.

Question: 
    Can you tell us about the manuscript that won the 2010 Golden Heart® for best historical romance?
Answer: 
    One of the "scribbles" in my notebooks was about a white woman who is raised by Indians. She runs away when white men murder her adoptive mother and sister. The Indian brave, she once called brother, holds her responsible and vows to kill her. To escape and build a new life, she hires on as an interpreter and scout for a wagon train bound for Oregon. 
    Two years after starting this story, I had a completed manuscript titled Between Heaven and Hell. I started pitching and entered it in several contests including the 2010 Golden Heart. And the rest is history. First book, first time entering in the Golden Heart...which just goes to show that with a little bit of luck anything can happen.

Question: 
    Where were you when you got the call that you were a Golden Heart finalist?
Answer: 
    At work. I'd only given the contest coordinators my home phone number, because I didn't believe I had a chance at being a finalist. At lunchtime I checked my email and found a message from the contest coordinators saying they had left several voicemail messages at my home phone, and that I should call them as soon as possible. I did and received the good news.

Question: 
    Do you have more manuscripts now?
Answer: 
    Yes. The first editor I pitched Between Heaven and Hell to suggested I keep writing Westerns. I had no more "scribbles" for Western stories, so I opened my series of Time Life Old West books and started reading. 
    I found an interesting historical fact stating how the small farms between Texas and Dodge City were often decimated by the cattle drives when a longhorn tick caused the local cattle to develop a fever and die. I asked myself what would happen to a woman if she lost her farm during this time period (the 1870s)? Who would help her? Where could she find work? I decided my heroine would end up working in a saloon in Dodge City and that the cowboy (whose herd destroyed her farm) would be consumed by guilt and come back a year later to see what happened to her. 
    One year later (I'm getting quicker!) I had a completed a second Western historical romance manuscript titled A Wicked West.
    After that I switched sub-genres and started work on a Victorian romantic suspense set in London. The first manuscript in a planned series of three standalone stories is titled The Shadow Hour.

Question: 
    What are your favorite stories of all time?
Answer: 
    1. Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid
    2. Jean M. Auel's The Clan of the Cave Bear series
    3. Oscar Wilde's The Happy Prince & The Selfish Giant

Question: 
    What's the easiest part of a book for you to write?
Answer: 
    The opening scenes.

Question: 
    Are you a plotter or a pantser?
Answer: 
    I'm a plotter -- big time. I outline all the scenes in my book (like building a story board for a film) before I start to write. That doesn't mean that the story can't take a detour as I write, though.

Question: 
    If your book was turned into a movie, what actor and actress would you choose to play your hero and heroine?
Answer: 
    I don't know, but I know who I'd choose as director--Clint Eastwood.

Question:
    What are you working on now?
Answer:
    I'm happily immersed in Victorian London and seeking representation for this historical romantic suspense series.