• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Jacqueline C. Thomas - Romance Novelist

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Quarantine Stories
  • Writing Samples
  • McKinley Park
  • The Lake Michigan Affair
  • About
  • Contact Me
  • The Insufferable Writer’s Podcast

My First Book, Learning to Be Patient, and Half Moon Bay, CA.

March 14, 2019 by jackiecthomas Leave a Comment

My first book came flying out of me, and I know that sounds a bit dramatic to say but it is the truth. I felt like I could not type it fast enough. I woke one morning after having the most intense and vivid dream of my life, thinking that would make a good book. I shrugged it off and went on about my day, I wasn’t a writer. Yet, the more I thought about it, I thought it would make a good book. Maybe I could write it, just sit and write down the story, it sounded simple enough. I laugh at that now.  I had no idea where to start, but as my husband says “put your arse in the chair.” I sat down opened my Word program (I now prefer Scrivener) and did not get up for almost a week. That week, I wrote through a cold, multiple technical issues, and two small kids at home. The teacups multiplied as I worked on, plates with food that had been easy to microwave were stacked around the desk. By day three, I realized I needed to shower, but I just couldn’t stop. I could not get the words out fast enough.

Finally, at the end of the week, the first novel I ever wrote was done. It was one of the best moments of my whole life. I had written a love story set with two unlikely people set in Silicon Valley. I thought it was brilliant. I am very lucky to have a few trusted people in my life who told me it wasn’t. “It had promise, keep working on it,” they both said. Normally I would have just walked away, thinking, I am not a writer. There was something different, something in me had changed. I felt like walking away would have been giving up on my characters, people who I had created. I went back to work, fixing plot holes, and adding depth to my characters.

I wrote and rewrote and edited again and again. The biggest compliment I ever got about the book was from Jon who said, “I just can’t stop thinking about your story it is so good, the writing is.. well..it is written by someone who has never written anything before.” I went back through the book again working at it, trying to get it right.  Finally, I got it to a point where I was ready for a few beta readers. I sent it out and the feedback was mostly positive, but Jon’s sentiment was echoed, the story is good, the writing needs work. I wanted to do more but I knew I had exhausted my efforts at this point. I needed to let it rest.

I put the book aside, knowing that I needed to let it rest and move on creatively. I moved on to other projects with the understanding that I would go back to that first book eventually. It has sat untouched for almost three years. I have often thought about picking it back up but I knew that the time was not right. I needed to wait.

That first book was important to me and still is. I set a large part of the book in Half Moon Bay, California. I told myself that the next edit/rewrite I would do in Half Moon Bay. I needed to be there, to smell the air, walk along the Pacific, hear the ocean. As a working mother, a student and co-owner in a business it was easier said than done. I just kept telling myself, “someday you will go.” I told myself that when I could find the time to get out to the coast I could rewrite the book there. I was firm with myself, I am not to touch the book until then.

Then by happy circumstance, two weeks ago I was informed that I would be going to San Francisco for work. It is scheduled so I can stay for a long weekend. I could not believe my luck when I got the news. I was in my car, waiting in line at Starbucks when I got the tickets in my inbox, it was real, I am really going to Half Moon Bay! I started to scream with excitement. I am normally a very composed person. I scared the poor barista who must have thought the worst. As tears streamed down my face, all I could say was, “I’m okay, I am going.” She must have thought I was nuts but I didn’t care.

I got to choose where I wanted to stay and of course I chose Half Moon Bay. I booked a hotel on the coast. Now I get to smell, see and hear the ocean, like the characters in my first book. I am going to rewrite it in the place that it is set. It is an amazing treat and I am so grateful for it! I am sure I will write about the experience. I leave two weeks from today and I cannot wait to dig in! I know a long weekend will not be enough time to rewrite an entire book, but it is a good place to start.

David and Naomi, here I come..

(They are the characters from the book.)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: First Book

Sign-up For Jackie’s Newsletter

Sign-up to get the latest updates from Jackie's blog.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Jackie’s Newsletter

Sign-up to get the latest updates from Jackie's blog.

Recent Blog Posts

  • The Insufferable Writer’s Podcast: Episode #3 Creating the Perfect Writing Space, Romance Sub-Genres, and A Sort of Book Review
  • The Insufferable Writer’s Podcast: Episode 2
  • Introducing: The Insufferable Writer’s Podcast
  • Is Trauma the New Taboo in Romance?
  • I Finally Made it to Half Moon Bay!
  • Hot Romance Book Summer!
  • McKinley Park is Coming Back!
  • Querying, Job Hunting and Homemaking
  • Shit.. this hurts!
  • A Short Story Contest Entry.

Archives

  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • July 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019

Categories

  • #KissPitch
  • #PitMad
  • Beta Reader
  • Book Stores
  • Erotica
  • McKinley Park
  • Nano-Wri-Mo
  • Quarantine Stories
  • Querying
  • Representation
  • Romance
  • Sailing in Silicon Valley
  • Self Care
  • Self Doubt
  • Self Publishing
  • Short Stories
  • Taboo
  • The Insufferable Writer's Podcast
  • The Lake Michigan Affair
  • Uncategorized
  • What I am Reading
  • Writing
  • Writing Space

Footer

Follow me on Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Jackie’s Newsletter

Sign-up to get the latest updates from Jackie's blog.

What’s Jackie’s Reading Right Now

  • The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

Copyright © 2023 · Genesis Sample on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in