Who the Hell is Jackie Kessler?

Some kids want to grow up to be doctors, or movie stars, or political assassins. Me, I wanted to draw comic books. Not Archie comics, either—superhero comic books. Maybe it was all the heavily muscled guys in spandex…

Around the time I was 15, I realized that as much as I enjoyed drawing (note that I’m saying nothing about the quality of those pics), it was a lot of fun putting words in the characters’ mouths. I didn’t know the term “fanfic” back then, but I started writing stories about the X-Men, Alpha Flight, and the Teen Titans. Didn’t do anything with those stories, other than horrify my mother. She asked why I couldn’t write nice stories, you know, about bunnies. Nope—me, I wanted to write about power. About magic. About hot guys in spandex. And about beating those guys bloody and senseless. (In retrospect, maybe I really did want to horrify my mother. Hey, not my fault. When I was a kid, I busted her doodling on the cover of New Teen Titans #6. Argh!)

So maybe it’s ironic that the book I wound up writing had nothing to do with overly muscled men and everything to do with scantily clad women. (Well, temporarily scantily clad.) Oh, right, and demons.

Previously, I was the fantasy editor for Wild Child Publishing. Along with working with terrific authors and editors, I’d been fortunate enough to interview a number of fabulous people for WCP, including Margaret Weis (I think Raistlin was my first crush).

In case you’re wondering, I live in Upstate New York, along with my Loving Husband and two Precious Little Tax Deductions, two cats, and about 9,000 comics. (But actually, that number is now closer to 8,000, thanks to a flooded basement. Alas!)

Hell’s Belles (Kensington/Zebra Books, September 2008 – mass-market paperback)

Hotter Than Hell (Kensington/Zebra Books, August 2008 – trade paperback)

“A Hell of a Time,” Eternal Lover (Kensington Publishing Corp., April 2008)

“When Hell Comes Calling,” Lilith Unbound (Popcorn Press, March 2008)

The Road to Hell (Kensington/Zebra Books, November 2007 – trade paperback)

“Red,” Realms of Fantasy (April 2007)

“To the Core,” Dreams & Desires Vol. 1 (Freya’s Bower, February 2007)

Hell’s Belles (Kensington/Zebra Books, January 2007 – trade paperback)

“Why Monsters Don’t Do Group Therapy,” From the Asylum (December 2006)

“The Ties That Bind,”* Farthing (Spring 2006)

“Giving the Devil His To-Do’s,” From the Asylum (December 2005)

“Reflections,”** Ruthie’s Club (November 2005)

“Hunger,” Byzarium (September 2005)

“The Compromise,” Wild Child Publishing (August 2005)
 
“Guilty Pleasures,” Peridot Books*** (Winter 2005)

I also had a book review published in Tenebres in 2000, but it was translated into French, so I can’t read my contributor’s copy. C’est la vie…

* Honorary Mention, Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror (October 2007)
** Under the byline J.M. Kaye
*** Now called Allegory

 
Memberships

Backspace. The best online forum for writers, bar none. Everything I know about the business of writing, I’ve learned from Backspace. If you’re serious about writing, check  it out.

Absolute Write. Another terrific online forum. The Beware and Background Check is worth its weight in gold. (Um, virtual gold?)

Fangs, Fur & Fey. Do you do urban fantasy—either as a reader or as an author? If so, check out this fabulous LiveJournal community.

League of Reluctant Adults. Mark Henry, Stacia Kane, Caitlin Kittredge, Anton Strout, Jaye Wells and I absolutely refuse to grow up without a fight.

Romance Writers of America. I’m an active member of the Capital Region RWA, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

SF Novelists. Probably the smartest, savviest writers of science fiction and fantasy out there. And they let me join! Yoikes.

SFWA. Lifetime member of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America. (One of these days, I’ll actually do something with my membership…)

• Article in the Albany Times Union

• Podcast interview at Tale Chasing

• Interviewed by AccessRomance

• Interviewed by ParaNormalRomance

• Interviewed by Media Blvd. Magazine