Fiction/Inspirational, Misti Jackson's HELP FROM ABOVE contains all the warm heart-felt elements, which will keep readers spellbound until the last page is savored and enjoyed.  Below is a question and answer section which Misti took time out of her busy schedule to complete.  It will give readers a wonderful insight on what challenges a young author faces.

Misti Jackson: Since I was 8 years of age, yes, I always wanted to become an author. I was very interested in the story contests and etc. when I was in school, and I entered into some, but as the years went on my writing improved. I wrote short stories, poetry and books for many years, and they sit on a shelf. A lot of family, friends and teachers read them and told me I should send them in, but I did not think they were good enough for that at the time. I wrote then merely for pleasure to myself, but when I became older I started to wonder if I really could publish and be a writer. That is when I had decided not to sit on my dream, but to do something about it. And here we are at 26 years of age, that is how long it took me to send in my first book, HELP FROM ABOVE, and it was published.

As for my poetry that I have published I sent them in at around 14 years of age, and they were published. Now I do plan to write and publish more works in the future, in hopes that someday I will be known for my God given talent that I had put back for so many years.
 

Suzie Housley: Why did you select to write fiction? In the future, will you continue writing fiction or change to another gene?

Misti Jackson:I selected to write fiction because I enjoy making up my characters and their stories in my imagination. I love to use my imagination, and ideas come to me often for different stories.

As for the future, I do not know what will come of it at this time, because I am currently working on a non-fiction reference book for writers. If this book sells well I do plan to keep it updated yearly, but I believe that this will be the only type of non-fiction book that I will write. I have always written fiction and I enjoy it very much. I wanted to write the reference book for writers to help other writers. I myself know how hard promotion, finding publishers and etc. can be, and that was my main purpose for writing the non-fiction book for writers.
 

Suzie Housley: Have you had to overcome any challenges being such a young author? If so, explain.

Misti Jackson: I have not overcome any challenges as of yet by being such a young writer, but we do not know what lies ahead, and I still have a few more years ahead of me to find out what does challenge us young writers today.
 

Suzie Housley: In your experience, how long does it take for an author, once she’s finished her manuscript, to sell it and see her work in print?

Misti Jackson: This is a tough question I think. In my experience it took me a year to find a publisher and to publish my book. I have done lots of research on many publishers and asked them questions before making a final decision. And after the publication of HELP FROM ABOVE the selling is still going on. I sell copies almost every month, but you will be promotion and selling for as long as a book remains in print. I believe that even after publication of your next book you will still be selling your previous publication along with the current one.
 

Suzie Housley: Where do you find the inspiration for your stories?

Misti Jackson: Most my inspiration comes from my imagination, as I mentioned earlier. I have also had inspiration for stories through personal life experience and dreams.
 

Suzie Housley: Your first book, HELP FROM ABOVE, presents an accurate portrait of drug and alcohol addiction through the descriptions of events and everyday life, including the dialogue and speech patterns. How much research did you do for this book?

Misti Jackson: Not a lot of research was put into HELP FROM ABOVE because I had a cousin who done drugs and alcohol, and from watching her life I learned a lot about what the effects can do to you. However, the little research that I did put into it was finding out what an alcohol anonymous meeting was like, and some medical research.
 

Suzie Housley: What upcoming books do we have to look forward to? Could you give us a brief summary of each?

Misti Jackson: I already have 3 books planned to write after I finish the one that I am working on now. The titles for these books will be FAIR CATCH, SINS OF PASSION and UNFORGOTTEN CHRISTMAS.

FAIR CATCH, a story of love, denial and obsession. Will Deon Richards win the heart of Tiffany Bailey?

Since Tiffany's heart was broken two years ago she can't let herself fall in love again. Even though Deon puts her on a pedestal Tiffany is afraid of being hurt and betrayed again.

When Deon begins to win part of her heart he finds himself in another situation with his life long friend and neighbor, Michelle Winters. Michelle is obsessed with Deon and does her best to try and break him and Tiffany up.

Will Michelle succeed and wins Deon's heart, or will Deon finally get rid of Michelle and continue to win Tiffany's heart?

SINS OF PASSION, a story of love, lies, murder and obsession.  When Gale Edwards moves in next door to Brett and Angel Sweet it becomes very dangerous to them both.

Gale appears to be a nice neighbor and friend. Angel realizes that Gale's kindness is actually just a game to try and get into her husband's pants. And when she mentions it to Brett he just tells her that she is being silly and she is jealous.

UNFORGOTTEN CHRISTMAS, an emotional story of love and miracles. The one thing lacking in Nina and Josh Carter's marriage is a baby to love. They decide it is time to have this baby, but when they try they keep failing.

They begin trying everything know to man to conceive, but Nina's pregnancy tests still turn up negative. The only other option they have now is to see Dr. Marcus Smith, and after the checkup with Nina and Josh the Doctor delivers some unexpected news.

What impact, if any, do you feel the Internet has had on the romance novel industry?

I feel that the Internet has had a great impact of the Romance novel industry today. Before the internet, Romance was not as popular as it is now. The internet has changed Romance and brought it out to the reader’s attention more then it had been before.

After recent disappointments with romance novel covers, readers want to know more about the cover process. Do you, as an author, have any influence or final approval over your covers? How do you feel about the covers for your current release?

With my current publisher of HELP FROM ABOVE I did not have any say with my cover design at the time, and they choose the cover which I was not satisfied at all with. It was basically a generic design. However, I am in the process of changing publishers for HELP FROM ABOVE in where I will be able to use my own cover design or make a suggestion to the company for the kind of cover design I wish to have. I do think the cover has a great impact on readers choosing the book, but I also believe in the old saying, "Don't Judge A Book By It's Cover."
 
 

Suzie Housley: Any final words for your readers? How can fans contact you?

Misti Jackson:If anyone wishes to contact me they may do so by e-mailing me at: mj75@shawneelink.net I also would like to invite all readers to join my fan club, from my site. When you join you will receive notification of every article and book that I publish, along with other items, most of them autographed. See the site to sign up and read more on what you get when you join. Visit: http://www.geocities.com/illinoiswriterus/myfanclub.html