JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Jackie Loggins, author of Mama’s Pills
(Elrig House Publishing)
Rachel Newsome and her two children have been abused by her husband Donte for the past four years. To make matters worse, she has a family secret that could make things even more hostile. Her only saving grace are the pills she’s been taking since she was a teenager, but now they are missing. Will Rachel find the pills? Or will things go from bad to deadly?
Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the inspiration to write Mama’s Pills: A Short Story?
Jackie Loggins: I got the idea for Mama’s Pills from real life and movies. As a kid, I always watched scary movies like Friday 13th, The Howling, and The Night of The Living Dead. These were all basically stories about how circumstances or tragedies can force an average and sometimes good person to transition to darker, more sinister versions of themselves.
As far as the domestic violence element of it, abuse was a thing I witnessed growing up as well, whether it was verbal abuse or a slap on the face. It just seemed like putting both things together would make an interesting story.
JP: What sets Mama’s Pills apart from other books in the same genre?
JL: Well, I believe what sets Mama’s Pills apart from other stories is the element of real life. It doesn’t start out as a horror or supernatural story. The story starts out with a mother who’s stressing over her lost medications and whether or not her husband will put his hands on her, once he gets home from work. Actually, the bulk of the story is about a human being who fears being pushed past their breaking point.
JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that lead to Mama’s Pills getting out to the public?
JL: Doing it myself and not waiting around for some agency or person to pick me. Also studying and learning about marketing and promoting. A lot of my journey has been based on trial and error. I guess you can say I studied at the school of hard knocks.
JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take you to start and finish Mama’s Pills?
JL: Hahaha! I still have stories sitting around waiting for me to finish them. My stories start in different. Shoot, sometimes God gives me a story. When that happens, I can sit down and write it from start to finish because it came from Him. But mostly, I come up with an idea and then I map out the story structure on note cards.
After I do all that, I fill out my personality sheets which help me flesh out my characters. That way when I sit down to write I have a good heading and pretty much know what’s going to happen. As far as a time frame, I’ve written some short stories in a day and some stories have taken me up to three months.
JP: What’s next for Jackie Loggins?
JL: I’ve just completed a novelette that will be out in December 2016. It is the first in a series. I’m still debating on whether or not I’ll extend it to a novella. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Also, I’m working on refining my drawing skills, because I want to start doing comics, cartoons and children’s books.
http://elrighouse.com/
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“Go to http://elrighouse.com/ and check out some of my other books. Also join my the mailing list to stay up to date on new material I will be releasing.” ~ Jackie Loggins