We were lucky to catch up with Jacqueline Smith recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jacqueline, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

My parents have always been more supportive than I deserve. From the very first moment I told them that I wanted to be an author, my parents were by my side, cheering me every step of the way. If I had been on my own, I would have just been writing books and publishing them. It was actually my dad’s idea to create my company, Wind Trail Publishing. He went with me downtown to the Dallas County Clerk’s office to help me register and claim ownership of my business. In fact, this month, I’m celebrating ten years as a business owner.
I think the most important thing that they’ve done right, however, is that they simply believed in me. They believed in me even when I found it difficult to believe in myself. And one of the only reasons I’ve been able to keep going is because I don’t want to let them down. I want to prove that I’m worthy of that belief.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’ve been writing for fun my entire life. I still have little paper books that I wrote, illustrated, and stapled together as a kid. When I was in high school, I discovered fanfiction and spent HOURS reading and writing stories about my favorite characters. Fiction was my escape from a world that was stressful and scary and the older I got, the more often I found myself retreating into that world. Funnily enough, however, I never actually thought I wanted to be an author.

It wasn’t until my junior year of college that I finally figured it out. It was spring break and I’d been battling a terrible sinus infection all week. All I could do was take my medicine, drink my water, and read all of the romance novels I’d found on sale at Half-Price Books. I was halfway through True Believer by Nicholas Sparks when it hit me. “Hey, I could do this.” I began working on my first manuscript the next day.

It would be another four years, however, before I went on to publish my first book, Cemetery Tours. When I first decided to publish, I debated whether I wanted to go the independent route or query for an agent. After doing a LOT of research, however, I ultimately made the decision to independently publish. I loved my book. I believed in it. I also really liked the idea of owning the rights to my work. I still do.

Still, the idea of independent publishing can be an overwhelming one, especially for a twenty-five-year-old fresh out of grad school. I’m very proud of myself for the work I put into learning how to publish my own book. I learned how to design covers. I learned how to format for both print and eBooks. I learned about ISBN and barcodes and everything that I thought I wouldn’t understand. Now I have an independent publishing packet that I happily hand out to anyone who is interested in publishing their book.

As of right now, I’ve written and published 14 books and I have at least five more in the works. The genres of those books range from paranormal to young adult to romance to suspense. I’ve also published 7 photography books. I’m particularly proud of those.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I’m going to answer this question with two of the best compliments I’ve ever received.

The first comes from parents who tell me that their child had no interest in reading until they started reading my books. Honestly, that is the most incredible thing I could ever hope to hear. One of these kids in particular is now in the process of writing her first book! She’s even sent me pictures of the cover she designed!

That leads me to the next best compliment, and that’s anyone who tells me that I’ve in any way inspired them to follow their own creative dreams. I would not be where I am today without the support of my loved ones, especially my family and my fellow authors, who have become my best friends in the world. I want, more than anything, to spread that same supportive love and energy to all the aspiring writers out there.

I grew up thinking that I wanted to be a Princess, but the older I’ve gotten, I’ve come to realize that it’s much more fun and rewarding to be someone else’s Fairy Godmother.

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

My goals as an author have definitely evolved over the years. To tell you the truth, I didn’t expect to fall in love with writing the way that I have (even though, looking back, I’m pretty sure I’ve been in love with it my whole life and I just didn’t know it).

When I first started out, I honestly thought it would be just like any other job, just one that I enjoyed a little more than others. As I kept writing, however, I realized that telling stories not only helped me to make sense of the world, it also helped me through some of the most devastating times in my life. I began writing Cemetery Tours (my third or fourth manuscript that I’d started) to help myself cope with an unexpected death. It’s a very personal story to me, which was something I didn’t anticipate when I first decided I wanted to write.

Now, I have dozens of stories in my head, and all of them mean something to me. One that I’m looking very forward to writing is inspired by wolves and how mistreated they are by the United States’ government. Storytelling is an exceptionally powerful tool and if you can create a story that people love, you can move mountains. You can change the world. Will I ever accomplish that? I don’t know. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to try.

You should try, too.      

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.windtrailpublishing.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacquelineesmith/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JacquelineSmithAuthor/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/jackiesmith114
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPou1xxX6olAryD91i7w4zg

Image Credits
The picture of the wolf is from Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center. I own the rights. PS I don’t know why some of the pictures uploaded sideways? I’m so sorry! They don’t look like that on my computer!