We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jacinta Carlton . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jacinta below.

Jacinta , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

My craft is mostly self taught but I have recently started going to school for writing and I had a very pleasant experience in my English class and passed with an “A”. Knowing what I do now I feel I should have gone to school earlier to learn what other genres I was good at writing and to practice with those genres so that I could reach a bigger audience. I belive that an open mind and willingness to learn and change your approach to writing is essential because your initial approach could be wrong for the audience you’re looking to reach. Well, the obstacles that stood in my way were money problems, fear of my work failing or no one liking it, and not being willing to take constructive criticism but I’ve changed my mindset and have learned to work with my obstacles.

Jacinta , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Well, my craft is writing and I also am a Clinical Instructor at a community College. I have always been a writer at heart and I used to write for myself as a kid. My now husband pushed me to send some of my writing to a publication after reading some of my work and I was published in an online magazine that only accepted flash fiction. After that beautiful experience I started a writing Instagram where I would post poems and reviews for books that I’ve read. What sets me apart from others is my love for melancholy and macabre subjects in the footsteps of my writing idol Neil Gaiman. I love to write poems that pull at the heartstrings and write stories that look at happy, normal situations from a darker lens. To be completely honest what I’m most proud of is my collection of Neil Gaiman signed books but as far as my craft goes I’m most proud of being published twice and writing a beautiful story about the Egyptian Goddess Bastet. Everyone should know that I write what I love to read and that writing is my passion and I can’t wait for everyone to read my work.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I hope to reach my goal of being on the New York Times Bestseller list one day.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding part of being a creative/artist is the positive reactions to your work. When a reader connects with your story and is moved by it, it is beautiful and fulfilling to know that you accomplished your task. That’s the most rewarding part of being creative/ artist for me.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @j.c.writer908