Authorsday: Jacqueline Corcoran

1. When did you know you wanted to be a writer? At seven years old, my mother tells me that I announced I wanted to be a writer.

2. How long have you been writing? I started a novel when I was 17 but didn’t finish it. I finished my first novel when I was 20 and have written about 15 novels since then, but didn’t get published in fiction for 28 years after I started. That’s persistence! 3. How did you pick the genre you write in? When I started out, I was still a teenager, so I wrote YA and middle-grade fantasy, but I turned to mysteries when I started reading mysteries – in my mid 20’s. 4. Do you plot or do you write by the seat of your pants? I try to plot, but end up writing a lot by the seat of my pants. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages, but it’s hard not knowing what to write next. 5. What drew you to the subject of Backlit? I’ve been around for awhile now and have had many adventures. This describes one part of my life when I was a lot younger. 6. Did you encounter any obstacles in researching it? I always have some difficulties with the legal aspects of my stories. Luckily, my husband is a lawyer, so he referred me to a friend who could answer some of my questions. 7. What was the name of the first novel you wrote? Did you try to publish it? My first novel was called A First and Last Choosing, and I did try to publish it in the days when you sent everything by post with self-addressed, stamped envelopes. It was never published. 8. What do you know now that you are published that you didn’t know pre-published that you wish you knew? There is a lot more writer support now than there used to be. Critique groups and online support abounds, but those were the days before personal computers. I typed my first manuscripts on a regular, old typewriter. If the support had been available, I would have had more eyes on my work earlier. 9. How many rejections have you received? Hundreds probably since they spanned over 28 years, and I still get rejected! 10. What was the best writing advice someone gave you? I don’t know if I have a single best piece of writing advice. I learn all the time from writing itself, from reading craft books, and taking online classes.

Author Bio: I was born to Irish and Welsh parents in England, but I’ve lived in the U.S. for most of my life – in California, Michigan, Texas, and now in Alexandria, Virginia with my family. In addition to my non-fiction, I’ve published Time Witch (middle grade fantasy, Solstice Publishing), A Month of Sundays (mystery, Whimsical Publications), and Backlit (mystery, Etopia Press). I have a YA mystery Memoir of Death coming out in May 2012. I am a blogger on Downtown YA, and my website is http://www.jacquelinecorcoran.com/. Book Blurb: When photographer and Miami topless bar waitress, Liz Volpe, believes she has found the love of her life in federal public defender, Jules McAdams, she is shocked to wake up on his lawn one morning to find that he is dead and that she has been accused of his murder. Even as she doubts her own innocence, Liz must find the real killer or face life in prison.