FreshTalkingKids

A Freshtalkingkids reader did an interview with author Jackson Pearce recently, and she offered to post it here on the blog! Thanks so much Groovy Gal for sharing this with everyone!

As You Wish

By Elizabeth Waid 9/09

Have you ever asked your librarian for a book with a specific plot or characters, and then been disappointed to find out that such a book doesn’t exist? Well, that’s what started the newly published author Jackson Pearce on her writing adventure.

At the young age of 9, Jackson Pearce asked her school’s librarian for a book about an orphan, baby animals, and magic. Upon finding out that no book matched her description, she wrote her own. Her book was about an orphan girl that little baby animals were strangely attracted to.

15 years later, she is now an “official” author. Her book, As You Wish, is about a teenage girl named Viola who accidentally summons a young genie from his world to hers, where he will remain until she makes 3 wishes. Now I bet you’re thinking, Just wish for more wishes! Well, Viola can’t. Like everything else in life, there are rules as to what she can (and can’t) wish for.

Rule #1- You can’t wish for more wishes.

Rule #2- You can’t bring people back from the dead (one lady does bring back a dog, though).

Rule #3- You can’t change what a person is, so you couldn’t turn into a mermaid, or make your mortal enemy suddenly nice.

If more wishes was your first thought for a wish, then I bet world peace was your second thought. Viola thought of that too, but her genie cautioned her against it, because it wouldn’t last. If you’re thinking I’d wish for happiness, then sorry! He told her that she should wish for something that would make her happy, and not just happiness, because it wouldn’t last, just like the world peace.

Anyone would leap at the chance to have 3 wishes granted, but really think about it: whatever your heart desires within your grasp. Would you immediately wish without hesitation? Or would you ponder it for weeks or even months? Viola not only contemplates her wishes, but actually tries to delay them, because once she wishes, her genie will go back to the world from which he came, leaving her forever.

This exciting story is written in 1^st person present tense, with the chapters switching between Viola’s point of view and her genie’s. Jackson prefers 1^st person to 3^rd person, because she thinks that 1^st person is more “in the moment” and that it sort of gives you an inside look on everything.

Jackson Pearce is one persevering tough chick. Her first book she tried to get published was called The Keybearer…it got rejected 76 times. In her frustration, she started writing As You Wish to take her mind off it. The two stories do not resemble each other at all, because she wanted to completely start over.  “The key is to keep writing, even when you think you’re not going anywhere,” she told me. “I’ve always been writing, as long as I can remember.”

I asked Jackson if any of her characters resemble anyone she knows. She said that “there’s never just one person” who completely makes up a character, but little details here and there reminding her of friends. “Whether you intend to or not, people you know start climbing their way” into the story.

When you’re writing, does reading help you, or does it cause you to self-consciously copy other authors? “Anytime you read, it helps your own writing. If I’m stuck, if I read another book it’ll get my mind moving forward again.”

And now, here are 10 fun things about Jackson Pearce.

1. She’s part of a writer’s group called the 2009 Debutantes . It’s made up of about 50 authors that debuted in 2009.
2. She lives in Atlanta.
3. Her Web Site is www.asyouwishthebook.com and her blog is www.jacksonpearce.com .
4. Her YouTube videos are hilarious!
5. She has a cross-eyed cat, “but he counts as 7.”
6. She teaches High School color guard.
7. She dances and twirls batons.
8. When she was in High School, she tried out for the circus.
9. About 3 years ago, she auditioned to be the princess at Medieval Times and even made it to the top 5.
10. She’s an awesome writer!