Jacqueline DeGroot, Novelist

Jacqueline DeGroot is a prolific self-published novelist who specializes in erotica. She calls herself “Jack,” saying that the nickname is a result of being in auto sales. Ben Steelman, feature writer with the Star News in Wilmington, N.C., recently dedicated a column to her. Despite her popular sex scenes in “Climax,” “Barefoot Beaches,” and her latest “Tessa of Crooked Gulley,” one book in the Widows of Sea Trail series, my favorite book is “For the Love of Amanda.”

In this novel, the protagonist, Michele Moore, wants to save her daughter, Mandy, from dying of leukemia. One way is to harvest stem cells from an umbilical cord. The problem is that Michele is a widow whose husband, Kevin, died in an airplane crash. Michele is desperate, though, so asks Kevin’s twin brother, Michael, for his sperm. Michael agrees.

I like the story because it approaches love from several angles. The reader admires Michele for her love of Amanda and praises Michael for his love of Michele. Then you have Mandy and her friend Gabby and her cousin, Sam.

Jack does her research and knows what she’s talking about when she delves into the medical field. Michael is a physician, which can be complicated if the writer doesn’t know procedures, techniques and medical terms. Jack knows all about these, and I give her credit for writing so lay people can understand what she’s saying.

Jack is also wonderful at self-promotion. She attends festivals, book discussions and book signings where she sells a good number of her books. Her dozen titles are available at amazon.com and on her Web site at jacquelinedegroot.com.

Amazon, book reviews and HCRW

It came to my attention that I was reviewing the same books on this blog as I was reviewing on amazon.com. I had hoped to give more coverage to little known books that are worth reading, but amazon gets a lot more readership than my blog does. So in the interest of efficiency, I will only review books occasionally.

There are dozens of books being published that are excellent reads. Heart of Carolina Romance Writers in Raleigh, N.C. is one group with talented writers. The organization, a chapter of Romance Writers of America, promotes its membership and their books. A list of the nearly 50 authors in HCRW is at heartofcarolina.org. More information about the authors is available by clicking on their names.

Other information is at the Web site as well. Nonmembers can read about the organization, which meets the second Saturday of each month, usually at Cameron Village Library in Raleigh. Nonmembers can also take online classes HCRW offers.