Exclusive interview with Jacqueline Thomas -Jezebel’s Daughter

I had the pleasure to sit down with Jacqueline Thomas to discuss her latest novel Jezebel’s Daughter the follow-up to her national best-selling novel Jezebel. She has more than 50 plus titles that will surely keep you coming back for more.

 Tell us about Jezebel’s Daughter

Jezebel’s Daughter is my latest book and is actually the sequel to my book Jezebel. In Jezebel, Jessie Bell Deveraux, she is the main character and Jezebel’s Daughter picks up after her that. There are three women Natalia, Reina, and Chrissy who are from very different worlds, but they share one common goal and that is to discover all of Jezebel’s secrets. Mainly, it’s what led her ending up on the pavement below her bedroom because she was tossed over a balcony. However, that search in going to take them to answers that will lead them to stunning revelations for all of them.

What inspired you to writer Jezebel’s Daughter?

Well actually, it goes back to writing the book about Jezebel. What I did was took Queen Jezebel in the bible and I basically brought her into modern day. I was always intrigued by her and I grew up in a time (I am probably dating myself) where my grandmother and great aunt, they would see people and say, “oh that Jezebel”, she is nothing but a Jezebel. I always thought it was about a loose woman because of the way they said it. But when I started to study the bible for myself, I learned that for myself that she was not a loose woman, but a woman hungry for power. I learned about the Jezebel spirit which is a spirit of control and so that inspired Jezebel. Well, in the bible Queen Jezebel had a daughter and she was worse than her mother. In fact, her daughter killed her own children and grandchildren.   She was a very callous woman.

So with my book Jezebel’s Daughter it was inspired by Queen Jezebel daughter in the bible. The story is totally different. In this book, it’s about what can happened when a mother rejects a child knowing and unknowingly.   A mother’s rejection can do some serious damage to a child. Starting from the earliest days of life a child’s, relationship with his or her mother is the foundation of the sense of self. It is through the maternal attachment that we learn who we are, what we feel, and to acquire the ability to interact with others.

I have a degree in Psychology and one of the research papers I did was actually dealing with this topic of children that have been adopted. How some of them are not able to bond with other people and how they actually experience this form of rejection from parents that they don’t even know. But what happens is that child has bonded in the womb with the mother; he/she recognized her heart beat and her voice. After this child is born and is given away for adoption for whatever reason, the child is ripped from that mother and some adopted children act out. What they are doing is attempting to initiate some form of rejection from parents and people around (teachers, peer) them to prove that they are un-loveable before they object them. They want to validate that they are un-lovable. They find themselves rejecting those same people, but before they reject them. Some children are troubled. That is what I wanted to bring out Jezebel’s Daughter what can result in a situation like that.

What do you want your readers to take away after reading Jezebel’s Daughter?

What I would like for my readers to take away is to be careful of how we allow roots of bitterness (roots of rejection) to take root within us. We sometimes allow those feelings of rejection and lack of love to define who we become. I want them to understand what it means to truly forgive and to not allow your past to define your future.

Who inspired you to become an author?

 I have been writing since I was in 3^rd grade because I was very shy. Writing was my way of communicating with the world. My 3^rd grade teacher, Mrs. Appling who is past on now. I wrote a story about a young girl that walked out into the ocean. Now being in third grade, I really didn’t understand the full concept of that.   It concerned Mrs. Appling because that was the way I saw the story. At first she thought maybe I knew somebody that it happened to. I told her no, it’s just a story that I saw in my head. She actually over the years encouraged me and inspired me to follow what she called my gift of writing. I met Tina McElroy Ansa and grew up in Georgia. I met her and she was like one of the first authors to see her doing what could only dreamed to do. That was my inspiration. Mrs. Appling was there for me and she would read my work make sure I had books on the craft of writing, and she lived long enough to be at my very first book signing for my first book. I really have my third grade teacher, Mrs. Appling to thank for being the writer that I have become.

What else can we expect from you?

 Jezebel’s Revenge is coming out this fall. When I got to the end of Jezebel’s Daughter, I was like oh my God, there’s another book. I am with Brown Girls Publishing and I was offered the opportunity to have my own imprint Jacqueline Thomas presents. In September, I will debuting my first four authors. I am really excited about that because I love writing. The same way Mrs. Appling was there for me, I want to pay it forward. I enjoy working with other authors and having this imprint being a publishing manager allow me to do the two things I love the most.

What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Put pen to paper and give yourself permission to write it wrong. I find that a lot of writers get caught up trying to write it perfect the very first time. That is impossible to do for anyone.   I want them to set realistic goals. Set a goal of writing one word a day, because that way if you write two words you have exceeded your goal. Not to put a lot of pressure on themselves. Write it wrong, just get the story out because you can always go back to fix it. Read books on the craft of writing and read other authors that you admire. I advise you to tare a book apart not literally, but take notes. What did you love about this book? Why do you love this author so much? What did you not like? Recognize what you are looking for and write what you like. I always tell authors to never compare yourself to other writers.

Thank you Jacqueline for sitting down with us to talk about your latest novel Jezebel’s Daughter. Congrats to you on launching your imprint with Brown Girl Publishing. Sharing your gift of writing with new authors is truly a blessing.

Check her out on social media:

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jacquelin-Thomas-Readers/112663115442506

Website:

http://www.jacquelin-thomas.com/

Photo & Book Source: Courtesy of Jacqueline Thomas