Jackie Merritt's first book was published in December of 1988, and since then she's been deeply engrossed in the writing game. While she's gone through dry spells, where she can't write a word that makes sense and every idea ends up in the trash can, for the most part she's usually working on a viable story.

Jackie honestly believes that anyone with a reasonable grasp of language and grammar can write a bookif they're self-disciplined enough to put in the time and effort that writing demands. Starting a book is easy; staying with it until it is finished is the part that stops many would-be authors. Jackie believes she had an advantage that a lot of people do not have. As a former accountant, she was used to working alone and completing long projects. Oddly enough, the same principles apply to writing.

Plus, of course, you have to love it. Jackie's first attempts to write fiction were so bad they were comical, but she still fell in love with writing. She had written hundreds of business letters before that, but never a word of fiction, and there, all of a sudden, was a whole new world for her to explore.