A List of Firsts With Jacqueline Paige

Folks, I hope you'll give a warm welcome to author Jacqueline Paige, author of the paranormal murder mystery novel, "Mystic Perceptions". I love a good psychic story, and this one sounds like a winner.

Jacqueline will be giving away a Mystic Perceptions tote bag stuffed with goodies for one randomly drawn commenter, so leave her a comment (maybe share a "first" of your own!!).

Take it away, Jacqueline!

1. First car? Best memory of it?

My first car was a 1978 Pontiac Parisienne. It was very used when I got it, and it was also the size of a small apartment. Actually, thinking back I probably could have packed my entire apartment into it and still had room for a few friends.

The memory that stays with me the most may not be the ‘best’ memory of it but it is most definitely one that will never leave me. It was the middle of winter and my grandfather was ill, so my fiancé and I packed the cat … by cat I mean my large mixed breed kitty that measured almost three feet long – not including his tail – and weighed in at forty pounds! I never did find out what he was crossed with but I suspect it was not an ordinary domesticated cat. I named him Mork … anyway, we packed Mork into the car and headed back up North to see my grandfather.

I had never been to the house they’d moved into during the winter months so I didn’t know that the road was only open on one end during the snowy season. We turned onto the road and headed towards the steep graded hill that was only a half mile from their home. A snow drift near the top looked a bit deep so my fiance accelerated to make sure my enormous car didn’t have any problems getting through it. We made it through and then discovered the road was not plowed from that point on! Did I mention right after the snowdrift the road dropped off on that steep down grade?

We were literally airborne in my faded blue car. The only thing I remember at this point was the car bouncing, twice, on the frozen over snow and me turning around to see my big kitty airborne and very unhappy about being bounced in the backseat.

After the final thud, the car stopped, Dolly Parton resumed singing I will always love you, the cat howled in disgust at being disturbed and my fiancé and I laughed until our sides hurt.

I wasn’t laughing long when I had to crawl through snow up to my waist – in the areas that were soft enough for me to sink – while carrying an angry cat all while wearing a skirt!

My father still tells this tale to everyone he sees, how his crazy daughter dragged the township plows out to clear the road and get her car. The snow banks, after the plows and blowers cut their way through were over fifteen feet high.

2. First kiss? What do you remember about it?

This question has made me feel old! I can’t remember my very first kiss … I’m not sure if this reflects on the lips on the other end, but I’m sure who ever he was he has improved since then.

3. First dance? Do you remember the song? Why?

My first “official” dance would have been in high school – during the eighties when I understood the music. Even though the song was from the late seventies, it was still going strong during my time, Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin. I was dancing with my boyfriend at the time, and the part I remember the most was the fact that he was taller than me! A very big deal in my world at that time where I had been the ‘tall girl’ for far too many years. Six feet tall is great when you’re on the basketball team, not so great for young girls and their love life.

4. First romance book?

I have always been a reader, as long as I can remember and when I was finally old enough to read the books my mom did, I was thrilled. I read so many, but the first one that still now sticks in my mind is Danielle Steel’s Palomino. After that I was hooked on her stories and for the newly discovered genre of romance.

5. First pet?

Hmm, I was farm girl – so I annoyed my parents by making pets out of the animals that weren’t intended to be ‘pets’. I had a pig that you could lead around on a leash, a huge steer that would let me comb his belly … basically when I walked into the barn all the animals wanted my attention.

My very first pet, away from the farm was of course Mork my giant kitty that wore a bandana and growled like a small dog.

There has always been an animal or ten present in my world. At one point I had five birds, a hamster, dwarf bunnies, two retriever dogs and a cat. All in a tiny little house! I’ve had a golden retriever kennel at the same time as I had a ‘stray or abused’ dog kennel. Picture if you will the months leading up to the ‘barn and run’ being completed for these strays and sharing my bedroom (which was quite large with a sliding glass door into the back yard) with 22 dogs of varying breeds, ages, temperaments and sizes…

When I had children and the pets dwindled somewhat or became ones that didn’t need as much attention. Presently I have a golden retriever, Mistique, that smiles and uses her paws like a human would (she doesn’t realize she’s a d-o-g), a turtle named Splash and Casper the friendly hamster.

6. First heartbreak?

My first heartbreak wasn’t the typical kind with a boy of my dreams involved. It was when I realized that John Schneider wasn’t going to write back to me. I was devastated! Did you see him as Bo Duke?

7. First story you ever wrote?

The first story I wrote was when I was in my mid-teens. It was a story about a teen and the way real life can be to many – of course it was probably slightly dramatic as only young teen girls can do. I put a lot of emotion into it and basically told it like it was. What happened to that story? The next question answers that…

In my grown up world the first story would be Beltane Magic – which turned into a five story series. :-)

8. First writing rejection?

I submitted the tragically truthful story to a teen magazine that I read frequently all those years ago only to be told it was dramatic and depressing – but please submit something else sometime.

As an adult my first rejection was last year, but it was an enormously helpful rejection and in turn I managed to make several changes to the story and improve it over all. It’s already been published.

9. First love?

My first love, after John Schneider that is, would be that taller than me boy I was dancing with a few questions ago. He was four years older than I was finished school and lived over an hour away from me. Did he have a name? Yes and he still does, but due to the fact that I still speak to him from time to time and that he has been checking out what I’m doing in my writing world I’ve decided to keep his name out of it so he doesn’t open a web page or news blog and see it on the page.

Thanks so much for having me here!!! The questions were quite different than what I’m used to.

You can find Jacqueline at her website and her blog.

Now ... what's "Mystic Perceptions" about? Check it out:

Jacinda Brown keeps to her safe existence doing investigative research, avoiding people and places with people. To most, it appears she has a normal life; blending completely undetected in her lonely continuation. She doesn’t investigate people; she can’t get that close. Through her hand she can feel emotions, thoughts. With a touch she can see what has been.

Unfortunately fate tosses her into a situation where her carefully guarded secret and her own conscience are at war when she finds herself working with detectives to find a killer. Jacinda clashes with the very strongly grounded detective, Reid Merritt, destiny has forced her to work with. At some point he begins to matter, making her decision harder. Will he look at her with abhorrence, like she’s some sort of freak when she’s through?

When the fifth murder happens, Jacinda makes the decision to use her gift to find the killer. She doesn’t let herself think of how she’s going to suffer afterward, the consequences that will curse her again, the chance she’ll be giving up everything and starting all over. She just thinks of finding some justice and stopping a killer.

What will be the price, this time, for the ability she doesn’t want?