Jacqueline J. Holness is a seasoned and sassy
journalist with more than 20 years of professional experience. Currently a
correspondent for Courthouse News Service, her articles
have also appeared in UPSCALE, Christianity
Today and Atlanta Tribune magazines
as well The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Atlanta
Business Chronicle newspapers. Additionally,
she was a columnist for The Lookout magazine and a
contributor to Urbanfaith.com. Finally and
faithfully, she blogs at
afterthealtarcall.com. A proud Jamerican, Jacqueline reps metro Atlanta as her
home where she lives with her handsome husband.
How can readers get in
contact with you? (mail, email, website)
AftertheAltarCall.com
Tell us about your
manuscript to published author journey.
Writing Destination Wedding was
my response to the real ABC News Nightline report that I saw
in December 2009, 10 years ago. While that statistic was startling enough
by its lonesome, Linsey Davis, the reporter for the segment, interviewed
successful, single, black women living in Atlanta to illustrate this
point. As a successful, single, black woman living in metro Atlanta at the time,
to say I was insulted by this report was an understatement.
However, as
insulted and defeated as I felt at the time, thankfully, a
blessing from God was right around the corner. My husband and I went on our
first date in February 2010, Valentine’s Day weekend to be exact. And although
it seemed that my days as a single woman were coming to a close at a very fast
pace, I could not forget the 42 %. At the time, I was fiend for self-help
books, particularly those that focused on relationships. And as a writer, I
considered writing a self-help book for the 42 %. I felt that all of the
lessons that I had learned over the 10 years it took for me to prepare myself
for my husband could be compiled in a wonderful self-help relationship book.
But then, four
women, Jarena, Senalda, Mimi and Whitney, my main characters, began showing up
in my imagination. And then I started thinking about how I felt
about self-help relationship books at the time. By the time I started dating my
husband, I had sworn off self-help relationship books because I was sick of
reading them without getting results. And at the same time, I felt I had
something valuable to share. What was the solution? A novel in which I folded
in many of the lessons that I learned about purposeful dating, choosing the
wrong men, being the right person and self-love, the most valuable love of all
aside from the adoration we express for God… A fun read with lessons folded in.
How did it feel to see
your manuscript in print?
It’s been nothing
short of awesome! This has been ten years in the making so to actually have the
finished product (after years of just being words in a MS Word document) in my
hands will go down as one of the greatest joys of my life!
What did you learn
while writing this book?
That writing a novel
is hard! As a journalist, I had no experience whatsoever
in writing fiction. I started writing in 2013, and I wasn’t finished until
2017! I had to learn characterization, plotting, showing not telling, etc. It
was hard, but worth it in the end.
What did you hope to
accomplish with this book?
I want single black
women to know that if you want to
fall in love and get married to the man that God has for you (because I know
that all single black women don’t want to be married), it can be done despite
negative statistics swirling around them and even internal barriers to that impede
the process. I also want Destination Wedding to be a fun,
hilarious and wild ride of a book. I think I am accomplishing both of those
goals based on the feedback I have received so far.
What was your greatest
roadblock in publishing your first book and how did you overcome it?
Getting the story just
right! Again, it took me from 2013 to 2017. I just had to keep taking the steps
to get to my goal: a polished manuscript that made me proud that I had written
it. For some, it may be a short journey to that goal but for me, it took time.
I had to have patience with myself and the process.
What are three things
you wish you’d known before you reached where you are now?
I think I knew this
before I started, but now, I really know. There are no shortcuts to getting a
polished manuscript. Now, I do believe as I become more skilled at writing
novels, writing a polished manuscript will happen more quickly. But it takes
time to acquire skills. Having a story that you LOVE is the greatest
achievement of the whole publication process. That is second. And third, I can
always trust God’s timing.
What advice would you
offer to someone whose first book is about to be released?
Plan way in advance
for marketing and promotion.
What do you do to
interact with your readers?
I have a blog After the Altar Call that I started in
2008. I’m also active on Facebook and Twitter. Additionally, I’m working to
meet readers in person through various events. My interactions are evolving.
What would you like
readers to take away from your book?
Again, I hate to be
redundant, but I will say what I said before: I want single black women to know
that if you want to fall in love and
get married to the man that God has for you (because I know that all single
black women don’t want to be married), it can be done despite negative
statistics swirling around them and even internal barriers to that impede the
process. I also want Destination Wedding to be a fun,
hilarious and wild ride of a book.
Which character did
you have the most fun writing about?
That’s a hard question
to answer. Let me explain why. So these
are my four main characters:
Bossy bank executive Senalda breaks down men
from business to bed no holds barred.
Hip hop PR guru Jarena praises the Lord and
pursues married men with equal persistence.
Famous and infamous radio personality Mimi
fights with her fans and for the love of her on-and-off-again boyfriend.
Their “happily married” best friend Whitney, a bougie lawyer in a
troubled marriage, is a project consultant for project Destination Wedding.
I love all four because they are so dynamic. I
love Senalda because she has my bossy tendencies. I love Jarena because she
loves the Lord like I do. I love Mimi because she’s wild and crazy, and I have
a wild and crazy side as quiet as kept. And I also love Whitney because I have
been told I have bougie tendencies from time to time. I LOVED writing about all
four of them.
What do you believe
makes your stories stand out?
Novels that have
complex characters in addition to fast-paced plots stand out to me, and that is
what I was aiming for in Destination
Wedding.
What three literary
events would you recommend a writer in your genre attend?
That’s hard to say
because it depends on where you live and the kind of resources that you have at
your disposal. As I live in metro
Atlanta, I have attended the Atlanta Writers Conferences many times, and there
is always a great selection of publishing industry professionals there. I love
to attend the AJC Decatur Book Festival every September because it attracts so
many authors. And then I have attended the Greater Philly Christian Writers
Conference twice, and both times I met people who helped me to advance in my
writing career.
Who was the first
author you ever met?
I’ve met so many at this point, I cannot
remember the first BUT the most memorable one to date has been when I met
Candace Bushnell! And the fact that Candace
Bushnell, whose Sex and the City column led to the
creation of the wildly successful HBO series of the same name, actually
endorsed Destination Wedding is the cherry on top of
this Destination Wedding experience!
What’s the most
interesting change in your life as a result of being a published author?
I’m not sure
yet. It hasn’t been long enough to note any significant changes other than the
feeling proud of myself for finally realizing my dream of becoming a novelist.
What has surprised you
most about being a published author?
I guess the fact that
life goes on. Maybe if I become a world-famous published author some day, things
will be different. I LOVE being a published author but there are other things
in my life that I’m equally excited about as well.
What about writing do
you wish non writers would understand?
Writing is not just
writing a sentence because anyone can and does do that. But being a writer as a
profession involves studying the craft of writing a sentence which is a much
more intricate process.
Can you give us one do
and one don't for those aspiring to be an author?
Do persist. Do not
give up if writing is your dream.
When you're not
writing, what do you like to do in your spare time?
Spend time with my
hubby, family and friends; reading, traveling and dancing/working out.
Oprah always asks,
what do you know for sure?
Anything that is to be
done well takes time.
Any last words for our
readers?
Successful best friends in Atlanta, the black
Mecca, believe they are thriving. But when an ABC News Nightline report reveals that 42% of black women have never been
married and features black women in Atlanta specifically, the friends resolve
to defy the sad statistic and marry in a year: project Destination Wedding is
born. Only love is not an experiment easily confined to a timetable.
Three successful best friends in
Atlanta believe they are thriving in the Black Mecca. Bossy bank executive
Senalda breaks down men from business to bed no holds barred. Hip hop PR
guru Jarena praises the Lord and pursues married men with equal
persistence. Famous and infamous radio personality Mimi fights with her
fans and for the love of her on-and-off-again boyfriend.
But when an ABC News Nightline
report, "Single, Black, Female -- and Plenty of Company," asks why
can't a successful black woman find a man? The friends are suddenly
hyper-aware of their inclusion in the sad statistic: 42% of black women who
have never been married. Like the women in the report, they are
career-driven, beautiful black women living in Atlanta who have everything --
but a mate. They resolve to defy the statistic by marrying in a year and
have it all by tackling their goal as a project with a vision board, monthly
meetings, and more. Project Destination Wedding is
born. A “happily married” best friend Whitney is a project consultant.
But as the deadline ticks closer,
the women wonder if they can withstand another year of looking for love in the
media-proclaimed no-man's land of Atlanta. Senalda wrests a marriage
proposal from the male version of herself, but the proposal comes simultaneously
with a devastating secret. Jarena unleashes hell when her call to ministry
coincides with dating her married college sweetheart. Mimi faces losing
her career and jail time chasing her boyfriend and marries another man in the
process. Whitney’s power couple profile plummets when her husband, a
pornography addict, announces he would rather pursue photography than be an MD.
Inspired by an actual Nightline report, Destination
Wedding charts four women’s journeys as they discover that love is not an
experiment easily confined to a timetable.
Join Our Community Today - Learn About The Current Books
Do you need help with your promoting? - https://conta.cc/2HrlqBQ
