Five years today that my writing mentor, and bonkbusting author, Jackie Collins departed this earth.

It’s hard to believe, still, even though so many passed in 2016, and so many have passed this year as well, but for me, she was one to aspire to.

She didn’t take bullshit, lived her life the way she wanted, had husbands and lovers (now there’s a book title), and wrote what she wanted without giving a damn.

She was strong, she was gutsy, she was who I inspire to be.

RIP Miss Jackie C.

I’ve been doing posts every year since her death, this is the fifth. She inspired my current Porn Star Brothers series, plus novels The Road To Vegas and Hollywood Dreams.

You can see the other posts here.

2015’s post

2016’s post

2017’s post

2018’s post

2019’s post

I also wish I had her desks to write and find inspiration at…

It’s been three years since Jackie passed and I am still gutted by that fact. By the fact she died knowing she had ignored her lump until it was too late when she could have halted that damned disease in it’s track.

Oh Jackie…why?

In 2014 I had the vague idea for a porn star, yes, singular then, and then it grew in early 2015. When she died, I knew I had to get it out of my head and onto paper, then out into the world. And I did.

For Jackie.

Her death urged me on to write the initial novellas, then the novels came, and so this whole series is dedicated to her.

Jacqueline Jill Collins. 

My inspiration, my hero, my mentor.

Back in 2007 when she was here in Aus, she was on morning tv and inspired me to write her a letter on her website. She answered on her site and subsequently answered a second question. I didn’t get to take a screenshot of it, but did manage to copy/paste her replies into word.

Here they are.

TIARA KING IN ADELAIDE (my questions)

Q: 1 – was it easy for you to first become published? 

2 – how long does it take you to write a book from the very first idea to when it’s done and do you write your book from start to finish, or do you write each person’s story, then weave it all together? 

3 – what is the genre of your books these days? Is it “romantic suspense” or “erotica?” And when does it cross the line and become erotica? When there’s romance, sex, murder, stalkers, killers in any one book, that’s quite a few genres. 

There’s also something I hope you can help me with. For years I had a very vague idea of a book that I wanted to write and I kept thinking of a scene I read in one of your books. I kept thinking, that’s the sort of book I want to write, but for the life of me can’t remember the book. There was a man that made his woman strip down and serve his business friends drinks. She fluffed her hair, put on a gold belt, lipstick and stilettos then walked into the living room and asked the men what they wanted to drink. They stared in shock at the naked woman in front of them and then she walked back into the bedroom. That was one of yours, wasn’t it? I’ve only read a few of your books, but that scene clearly stuck in my head. So much so it’s been there for about ten years. 

Jackie: Hey Tiara: Great name. Let me answer your questions. 

1 – It was not easy, but I managed it. 

2 – It takes me about nine months to write a book, and my characters take me on a visual trip. 

3 – I would call my books “relationship” books, and they would probably listed under literature, although I consider myself a storyteller, not a literary writer! 

And the book you are talking about was The Love Killers, and yes indeed, it was one of mine. 


TIARA KING IN ADELAIDE (my second lot)

Q: Hi Jackie, I think my name’s great too, so if you ever want to use it for a character name, be my guest, just make me a hot, sexy, ass-kicking woman. Lol. I have a couple more questions: 

1 – Who first suggested cutting down the chapters from the “normal size” to just a page or two. You or the publisher? I’ve found that a little strange since publishers like 20-25 page manuscript chapters, and in reading some of your books the chapter is sometimes only a page or two long. Although in thinking about it, it seems that each person’s story is a chapter and so the book flows that way. I’m curious as to why they are short, who thought of doing it and do you write that way? 

2 – I heard you say when you were here in Australia that you don’t type, so does that mean you don’t type up your books – I know you write in longhand, so do I – I figure you have an assistant, so I just wondered how you present the book to your editor. If that’s not too rude a question. 

Jackie: Hey Tiara: 
Nobody suggested cutting down the chapters, that’s the way I write. I think short chapters are fun. I remember when I was growing up and reading books, I would be in bed at night really tired and I could never get to the end of the chapter because they went on forever. So my style of writing is short sharp chapters that really capture the characters and what is going on in their life. To answer your second question, I have a great assistant, Vida, who puts my handwriting onto the computer and types up all my books. 

Here are some of my favourite quotes from her…

Two years ago today, Aussie time, I heard the news that Miss Jackie Collins had passed.

I was gutted, and cried off and on for months. Hell, I even shed a tear every now and then now. She was my mentor, my idol, my inspiration when it came to my books and the way I wrote. 

That’s why I pushed for the Porn Star Brothers books. The whole series is dedicated to her, and I already had the idea for the first book and was waiting to write them when she died. And then I felt it was an absolute necessity to get them done and released on the anniversary of her death. Which I did last year, when the first three novellas were released as tribute across her death and birthday anniversaries. Forever, the current novel, is officially released today, as a continued tribute. I will release future books on March 19th and September 19th until they are all released.

It’s hard to describe the feelings one has when they lose a mentor. Someone that means the world to you even though you never met them. Business experts tell us all to get a mentor, whether they know it or not, and to follow the things they do that work, and ignore what doesn’t. 

I followed Jackie for years. Wrote to her at her website in 2007 after she had been here for her book tour. And she replied, twice. She also liked two of my pics on my Instagram style page, and her family liked one from the first anniversary of her death when I read her last book as a tribute.

It’s tough to lose someone you look up to. Can they be replaced? Maybe. But in my case no. There will never be another Jackie Collins. There will never be another ballbustingly, bonkbuster writing, rollicking Brit author as Jackie. Her sense of humour, her knowledge, her…everything.

I have a US paperback edition of Hollywood Zoo, which was later named Sinners. On the cover she is likened to Jacqueline Susann (first pic below, book on left). I’ve never read Valley of the Dolls, but somehow came across this Vanity Fair piece on Jacqueline Susann and found out that she herself, died from breast cancer.

What the hell are the odds of that?

Two bonkbuster raunchy authors called Jacqueline dying of breast cancer.

I posted last year about the Jackie Collins collection I had acquired at that point, and you can read it here.

Below are the books I’ve managed to buy this year. I’ve been so busy writing and releasing my own, money has been tight on what else I buy, but I got these early on in the year.

I plan to continue the collection when I have the time and the money. This year has been busy getting books edited and released, and that will continue…but for now, I’ll see how I go.