Writing

Goodbye 2023!

December 31, 2023 by jackiecthomas 1 Comment

Today is the last day of 2023. A couple of years back I learned of a lovely Scottish tradition at the new year where you clean your house the day before the holiday so that you don’t bring last year’s baggage into the next year. So, for the past couple of years, I’ve taken part in this tradition, deep cleaning my house to get ready for the new year. Last year, I cleaned my dream house in LA, this year, I am back in Chicago.

2023 was one hell of a year, and for as amazing as it was, it was in equal measure horrific.

The last time I posted on the blog, was the day The Lake Michigan Affair debuted. It should have been one of the best days of my life. I worked so hard on that book, and shopped it around to agents for a long time before I decided to self-publish it. On the day that The Lake Michigan Affair debuted, I was laid off from my job in LA. The job that I had relocated my entire family, and life to LA for, less than one year after starting. It was cold, cruel and heartless dressed in fake kindness as layoffs often are. Suddenly, the years of hard work put into the book didn’t matter, my life literally fell apart that afternoon. Granted, no one died, but a piece of me certainly did. I walked through that afternoon with a mix of panic, nausea, and numbness. Anger would come later.

So, you’re probably asking yourself, what does this all have to do with your writing Jackie. I realized something this afternoon as I was mopping my floors in anticipation for the New Year, while I wrote just about every day while I lived in LA, and self-published a book, my attention to my biggest goal in life, being a published author, was swayed by the lure of living in LA. This thought hit me hard.

I Loved Living in LA. (This is what happiness looks like.)

I recognized that while, yes, I can have two goals or more and actively work on them at the same time, one will always be primary, the rest are secondary. I lost focus.

Living in LA had been a lifelong goal for me, one that I’d had since I was a child. When we bought our house here in Chicago, with two small children at the time, I never thought I’d have the opportunity to live in LA. We were settled. But when the opportunity came, I jumped at it. I knew that I would not get a second chance at accomplishing that goal. I was living a dream in LA and I’d done it despite the odds of being settled in Chicago. Yet the entire time we were there for as much as I loved it, I could not help but feel that we were hanging on to the lives we were making there by a thread. It turns out, I was right, I just didn’t expect to find that out in under a year’s time.

I am sitting in my house back in Chicago, where I now live full-time again. With the loss of the job, the loss of my income, and the loss of the life I’d worked so hard to build, we were left with no other choice but to come back to Chicago. Over July 4^th weekend my husband and I, our two kids, two cats and two dogs moved back across the country. The whole drive felt like some surreal nightmare that I couldn’t wake from.

On our second day driving as we pulled into our hotel for the night in middle of No-Where’s-Ville Nebraska, with the harsh realization that I would not see the mountains that fed my soul daily for a very long time, I saw a hitchhiker. It was almost nine pm and the sun was setting on the western horizon, with the most luxurious golden light over green grassland. The clouds in the sky were purple and orange, and here was this man walking. I can’t tell you why, but there was something about him that I could feel in my soul. Then there it was a spark of an idea for a book. That night I fell asleep thinking about the man, and when I thought I’d break down and cry driving the next day, I’d think of the book idea for this man that I’d saw the night before.

We’ve been home for almost six months now, and the spark of an idea for a book inspired by this hitchhiker has stuck with me. While the writing has been pathetically slow, I’m working on this idea.

At the Ribbon Cutting for My New Business

I’ve also started my own business, a PR firm, gotten involved in my local community and adjusted to life back in Chicago. 2023 was a whirlwind, and I still can’t decide if the good out weighted the bad. What I’ve learned this year is that life will pull you in different directions and it can be next to impossible to stay focused on what matters. In 2024 it is time to refocus my efforts. It’s time to be leaner, meaner and take no prisoners for accomplishing the goals I’ve set for myself. With that, I wish you all a Happy New Year and I look forward to putting in the work for what 2024 will surely bring.

The Lake Michigan Affair Ten Day Countdown: Fact #6- There’s a Pandora Playlist for The Lake Michigan Affair

April 10, 2023 by jackiecthomas Leave a Comment

I love listening to music when I write. This was my go-to playlist for The Lake Michigan Affair as I was writing. This playlist sets the mood for the book. There is one scene in particular that takes place towards the end of the book (I can’t be more specific) where Rosalie is walking by Lake Michigan, this is a very dramatic scene. If this book was ever made into a film the only thing I would push for is that this song plays for this scene. The link can be found below, and to me it will always be Rosalie & Sebastian’s song.

Link to Pandora Playlist

Link to Rosalie and Sebastian’s Song

The Lake Michigan Affair Ten Day Countdown: Fact #3- The Italian-American Culture is a Big Part of This Story

April 6, 2023 by jackiecthomas 1 Comment

Homemade cranberry and pistachio biscotti is a Christmas tradition.

I wanted to highlight Italian American culture in Rosalie’s story because it is a big part of her story. She comes from a tight-knit Italian American community. As a proud Italian American, I wanted to highlight the value of family, and the respect that is held for elders, and in some small circles the reverence that is still held for the Catholic church. Rosalie is very much a product of her culture and upbringing, in a beautiful culture that is also toxic. The story shows how she is very much a product of her environment.

There are beautiful scenes in this book of celebration of family and food. Traditions are celebrated in the book in a truthful way. It was special to me to share my culture and the beauty of it and the not so pleasant things as well. As an Italian American I grew up in a culture where adults were the law, and respect for elders was never a choice, it was the law. There was also a strong reverence for the Catholic church. Celebrations were marked with food, family and laughter.

The Lake Michigan Affair will be available on April 14, 2023.

The Lake Michigan Affair Ten Day Countdown: Fact #2- The Book is Set in Chicago

April 5, 2023 by jackiecthomas Leave a Comment

It is said to write what you know, and Chicago is my hometown. I never questioned where to set this story because it was always obvious to me, that this is a Chicago story. I feel like the city itself is almost a character in the book. There are so many Chicago landmarks that are key to this story.

Here is a list of some of the Chicago locations in the book:

The Lake Michigan Shoreline (Near North Ave. Beach): So many poignant scenes take place here. I’ve walked there a million times and when I think of Chicago, this to me is my city. While the scenes aren’t on the beach, they are on the paved trail at the beach, that provides the most spectacular view of Chicago. You can see the beach here. Also the view of the skyline on the front of the book was taken from this spot.

The Field Museum: One of the most important scenes in the book takes place in the Field Museum in downtown Chicago. An event is held here in the book and trust me, look up events at the Field Museum, the space is incredible for fundraisers, and weddings. You can visit their Instagram page here.

Rosalie’s Parish Church: Chicago is full of gorgeous robust Catholic parishes throughout the city. Rosalie’s parish is an amalgamation of lots of Catholic parishes. Her parish is not named after any one parish in particular but I wanted it to feel very Chicago in nature, and the anchor of Rosalie’s community.

Rosalie’s Neighborhood: As I said earlier, Chicago is a city of neighborhoods, each with their own culture and flavor. While Rosalie’s neighborhood is made up, you can still find pockets of tight-knit neighborhoods like hers. She lives in a mostly Italian-American neighborhood, full of old worker’s cottages.

UIC Hospital: While I don’t think I ever mention the hospital by name, I always assumed that Richard (Rosalie’s husband) practices medicine here.

There really are too many places to mention but I hope you enjoy learning a little bit about Chicago in this book.

10 Day Countdown to the Launch of The Lake Michigan Affair- Sharing 10 Facts About the Book.

April 4, 2023 by jackiecthomas Leave a Comment

Today marks the 10 day countdown mark for the the release debut of The Lake Michigan Affair on April 14th. To mark this countdown. I will be sharing a fact, excerpt, and interesting tidbits about the upcoming book. Each day I will share something new to get you all ready for debut day!

Fact #1: The Lake Michigan Affair was written during Nanao-Wri-Mo 2017

If you are not familiar with NanoWriMo it stands for National Novel Writing Month and is held annually each November. The premise of the program is that you have one month to write a novel. You can write at your own pace and log it on their webiste. This program is completely free, and through the month of November there are usually local meet-ups where authors can share, support and kick off the month together. If you want to learn more about this awesome program, look into it here.

The Lake Michigan Affair would be my second book that I’ve written. I knew that I wanted to write a romance with a power imbalance, and the nuances contained therein. I first thought that I this would be a story about a woman having an affair with a political figure, but as I mulled through it, I got a better idea of the character of Rosalie and I just knew that it had to be a priest that she falls for. However, it had to be bigger, not a parish priest, and that is how I came to settle on the character of Sebastian, being a Catholic Bishop of Chicago. I remember having the characters in my head at my first ever NanoWriMo meet-up. As the other authors went around the circle and shared what they were working on, my heart began to beat in my throat. As a Catholic, in a predominantly Catholic community, I knew that just the mention of the subject matter could result in serious backlash. So when my time came I simply said, “it’s about a woman who is in a terrible marriage and finds love through an affair.” That was enough to satisfy the group.

For the next month, I wrote like a mad woman. I had my characters, and I knew how I wanted the book to end but the rest came to me as I wrote. I completed the novel in the month of November thus “winning” NanoWritMo 2017. The book that I ended up with at the end of that month is not the book you’ll see in ten days. There have been wonderful revisions where the characters have revealed more of themselves, their desires, and their wish for a happily ever after.

Hello From Sunny LA!

January 30, 2023 by jackiecthomas 2 Comments

Hello All!

It’s been the better part of a year since I posted, and there’s decent reason for that, I moved across the country last May for work. It has always been a dream of mine to live in Southern California. I tried for a few years to find the right job that would bring me out here, and last May I found it. The entire transition happened so quickly that it is a bit of frantic blur now.

What an adventure it has been so far too, and so much fodder for writing, it’s like a literal goldmine. I took the job in early May and by the end of May I was an Angeleno. I loaded up my car and drove across the country with my King Charles Cavalier and myself. We drove across the country to go ahead and start the new job and find a place for my family to join me. I rented an adorable Airbnb in Studio City and lived alone for the first time in my life while I looked for more permanent accommodations. I found myself in a new job, a new city, and a new living situation all at once. I look back at it now and I cannot believe I made it through one of the most difficult and transformative periods of my life so far.

Adjusting to life in California has been interesting, complicated, and wonderful. I consider myself to be so blessed to be able to drive down to the ocean just about whenever I want, or hike in the mountains. Life is totally different out here, with it’s own quirks that I am still learning. The seasons are very strange to me, as someone who comes from the midwest where there are four distinct seasons.

I am learning so many wonderful things, like green juice, I am obsessed! I love how easy it is to eat healthy out here. The weather is incredible, and it seems that a couple of times each week I have to remind myself to keep my eyes on the road as i drive through the mountains on my way to work, they’re just so beautiful!

Despite all of that beauty and newness, I’d love to say that I’ve been writing like crazy, but until recently I went though a little bit of a dry spell. I finished re-editing a book for resubmission to a potential agent. I’ll send that off shortly, and that is exciting. L.A. has been a strange spot for inspiration but it is finally starting to flow and I am so grateful.

I have so many unique experiences at my disposal now through this transition. I actually started a project about a woman who moves from Chicago (different circumstances) and her celebrity crush falls for her! This has been so much fun to write, and some of the scenes are based on my real-life experience with celebrity sightings. This project has been so much a blast to work on!

It is my hope that as I now venture out of the transition phase of this journey and settle in, that writing will continue to go well, and that it can resume as the significant part of my life that it is. I am hoping to dig back into the writing community, on Twitter (or what’s left of it) and get back to writing.

Below are some of the photos of life in California from this Chicago-girl.