Jacqui Jacoby

articleissues
notable=June 2008
onesource=June 2008
primarysources=June 2008Infobox Writer


imagesize = 150px
name = Jacqui Jacoby
caption =
pseudonym = Leslie Scott, Jacqui Wilson
birthdate = 1963
birthplace = Glendale, California
occupation = Writer
nationality = American
period = 1993 - present
genre = Short Non-Fiction, Paranormal Romance, Romantic Suspense.
debut_works =
website = http://www.jacquijacoby.com/
footnotes =

Jacqui Jacoby (born in Glendale, California in 1963) is an American writer of novels and short non-fiction. She also gives workshops for writers, live and online. [http://www.jacquijacoby.com/index.html]

Biography

Jacqui grew up in the Foothills of the San Fernando Valley, technically saving her from the title of “Valley Girl.” She graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts in 16th Century British History. An award-winning writer of romantic suspense and paranormal romance, she’s written numerous articles on writing and has interviewed best-selling romance fiction writers, and is a regular contributor to RWR (Romance Writers Report) and KOD (Kiss of Death). [http://www.jacquijacoby.com/index.html] She’s a martial artist, which she uses in one of the several workshops she presents on the internet and in person. [http://rwamysterysuspense.org/2008killerinstinctsjul.html] In 2008, after raising her three kids, Jacqui returned to school to obtain a second Bachelor of Arts, this one in Modern Languages, majoring in French and minoring in Spanish. She lives in Northern Arizona with her husband, three children and the exchange students the family hosts. [http://www.jacquijacoby.com/index.html] [http://magicalmusings.com/?p=1929] [http://www.jacquijacoby.com/JacquiJacoby/AJ_CactusRoseInterview.php]

elf Defense and The Martial Arts

Following the deaths of several of Jacqui’s classmates in the late 70's and early 80's, the LAPD started coming into the high school to teach self-defense to the teenage girls. It was a lesson Jacqui took to heart, and self-defense became a lifelong passion. She has continued in this field for the last thirty years. Jacqui has studied tae kwon do, kung fu with some tae chi and weapons training. She’s competed in tae kwon do, winning several medals in sparring and forms. [http://www.jacquijacoby.com/index.html]

Writing career

Jacqui’s writing career began on October 26, 1993. Though she had written several novels before then, she credits them to education and claims this date as the day she moved from hobbyist to professional. She enjoyed both agent representation and success with her articles during the nineties, but suffered a drawback when her agent died unexpectedly. It took eight years before she signed with another one. She spent those years turning out more books and working for several non-fiction publications. [http://www.jacquijacoby.com/index.html] [http://magicalmusings.com/?p=1929]

Pulling from her experience in martial arts, Jacqui has made “tough chick heroines” a trademark of her books. [http://www.jacquijacoby.com/index.html] She coined the term “Romance with a Body Count” in the early nineties, a decade before “branding” became popular. [http://www.jacquijacoby.com/index.html]

In 1997, Dean Koontz critiqued her novel and said: “You have talent and will ... get to where you want to go.” In that same year, Clive Cussler asked to see her book and offered her an endorsement. These events gave Jacqui the self-confidence to continue through discouragement. [http://www.jacquijacoby.com/Keyboard/FTK_FromTheGiants.php]

In 2006, on the recommendation of Suzanne Brockmann, Jacqui left behind her pseudonym, [http://www.findadeath.com/ Leslie Scott] , and returned to her legal name.

As her career grew with online and live classes [http://www.heartofcarolina.org/online_classes.html] [http://www.tucsonrwa.org/speakerssep.html] , she increased both her non-fiction as well as her novel production, winning numerous awards along the way. For her work in non-fiction, Jacqui has interviewed Nora Roberts, Suzanne Brockmann, Sandra Brown, Debbie Macomber, Jayne Ann Krentz, Janet Evanovich, Jennifer Crusie, Christine Ridgeway and Vicki Lewis Thompson, to name a few. [http://www.jacquijacoby.com/Keyboard/WriterToWriter_cover.php]

In 2003, she opened her own production company, Body Count Productions, Inc. [http://www.jacquijacoby.com/index.html] Along with her novels and non-fiction articles, Jacqui is a sought-after speaker for live and on-line workshops. [http://www.tucsonrwa.org/speakerssep.html] [http://rwamysterysuspense.org/2008killerinstinctsjul.html]

Jacqui’s proudest career moment was the success of her article [http://jacquijacoby.com/Keyboard/AA_LessonsFromTheGiants.php “Lessons From the Giants"] , which has appeared in publications in the United States, Canada and Australia. [http://www.sfarwa.com/newsletters/jan03.pdf]

Awards

* [http://www.hodrw.com/2007MollyFinalists.htm First Place, The Molly 2007, Paranormal Division for "MAGIC MAN"]
* [http://contestdivas.blogspot.com/2008/03/2007-divas-pasic-book-of-your-heart.html Third Place, P.A.S.I.C. 2007, Paranormal Division for "MAGIC MAN"]
* [http://www.cfrwa.org/contest.htm Second Place, Touch of Magic 2007, Paranormal Division for "MAGIC MAN"]
* [http://contestdivas.blogspot.com/2008/01/2007-divas-daphne-du-maurier-winners.html Honorable Mention, Daphne du Maurier 2007, Paranormal Division for "THE FOURTH SWORD"]

* First Place, The Suzannah 2006, Paranormal Division for "MAGIC MAN"

* Second Place, Dixie First Chapter Contest 2006 for "MAGIC MAN"

* First Place, Daphne du Maurier 2005, Paranormal Division for "MAGIC MAN"

* Honorable Mention, Daphne du Maurier 2005, Historical Romantic Mystery/Suspense for "DEAD OR ALIVE"

Artilces By

*Kiss of Death: "Writing/Submitting/Hoping", January/February 2001
*Kiss of Death: "Lessons From the Giants", March/April 2002
*FindaDeath.com: "Pete Duel", 2002
*Kiss of Death: "Watch Out. I'm Armed"., November/December 2002
*Kiss of Death: "Writer's Spawn", November/December 2003
*FindaDeath.com: "Alexander Godunov", 2003
*FindaDeath.com: "Rudolph Valentino," (co wrote), 2004
*Kiss of Death: "Keeping It Going", July/August 2005
*Kiss of Death: "Beyond Rebecca: The Life of Daphne du Maurier", January/February 2006
*RWR Magazine: "Tough Chicks: Heroines in Today's Market", June 2006
*Kiss of Death: "Reinventing the Wait", January/February 2007
*RWR Magazine: "Schmoozing In San Francisco," June 2008

References and Resources

* [http://www.jacquijacoby.com/index.html Jacqui Jacoby Official Website]

* [http://magicalmusings.com/?p=1929 Magical Musings Interview]
* [http://www.jacquijacoby.com/JacquiJacoby/AJ_CactusRoseInterview.php Cactus Rose Interview]
* [http://www.randywrites.blogspot.com/2008/06/interview-with-jacqui-jacoby.html Randy Writes Romance Interview]
* [http://rwamysterysuspense.org/2008killerinstinctsaprint.html KOD Killer Instincts: An Interview with Jacqui Jacoby: From Austen to Aliens]
* [http://rwamysterysuspense.org/2008killerinstinctsjul.html KOD Killer Instincts: An Interview with Jacqui Jacoby: Josh Whedon Workshop]
* [http://www.tucsonrwa.org/speakerssep.html Tucson Saguaro Romance Writer's]
* [http://www.rwanationalconference.org/Schedule/Schedule_workshops_thurs.html RWA 2008 National Conference Schedule]
* [http://www.heartofcarolina.org/online_classes.html Tough Chicks Workshop]
* [http://lowcountryrwa.com/online-workshops/ RWA Lowcounty Workshops]
* [http://www.sfarwa.com/newsletters/jan03.pdf SFARWA newsletter with "Lessons From the Giants"]

External links

* [http://www.jacquijacoby.com/index.html Jacqui Jacoby’s Official Website]
* [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/openthebooks/ Jacqui’s Open the Books Book Club]
* [http://www.rwanational.org/ Romance Writers of America (RWA)]
* [http://www.rwamysterysuspense.org/alt/home.htm RWA Kiss of Death Chapter]