More about Me

My name is Jacquline.  Yes, I know you think that it is misspelled, but no.  I always tell people it’s spelled the French way.  I don’t know if that’s true or not.  The truth is that my mother couldn’t spell.  I do go by “Jacquline” although I answer to “Jackie” or “hey you.”  When you grow up with five siblings you understand that “hey you” is a title of respect.  My father’s name was Jack, his siblings called him Jackie, my brother’s name was Jack, we called him Jackie, my nephews name is Jack, we call him Jack so needless to say I prefer Jacquline.

Most of my adult life has been spent in Houston, Texas.  I graduated from James Madison High School in 1977.  My BFF Barbara and my very good friend Shiela were both at Madison with me and we are now closer than we ever were back then. I went to college in Illinois for a while then back here to Texas before taking time off to serve 18 months as a missionary for the Church of Jusus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I served in the California Ventura Mission under President Hyrum Smith.  I was the most spiritual time of my life.  Afterwards I went to BYU for a couple of years.  I was an RA at Deseret Towers.  It was wonderful until I suddenly got very sick.  I had stayed on campus for Thanksgiving that year and was planning to spend Christmas with my Granny in California.  On Thanksgiving day I started feeling bad.  It got worse and worse but the Health Center was closed until Monday.  I had a high fever by the time I saw a doctor.  They did all the tests they could at the health center but recognized that I was in bad shape.  I asked a friend to take me to the hospital.  I passed out in the waiting room.  I was in the hospital for 40 days.  I was diagnosed with Crohns disease.  I won’t talk about that here; it deserves a blog all to itself.  When I got out the new semester had started and I tried to continue but I was too weak.  I came back to Texas and went to work.  I got a job as customer service agent at Makita Power Tools.  After a few years I got married, we moved to Austin and I went to work in customer service for R Johns Class Rings.  After a few years I was tired of the long drive and sent my resume to a blind ad site in the newspaper.  That turned out to be a company I stayed with for 19 ½ years.  Part of that time was spent back in Houston and during that time I got divorced.  Best decision I ever made.

The office in Austin called and asked me to come back.  I spent another ten years there before I got totally burned out as a customer service rep.  I applied for a promotion but since I did not have a college degree I was told I didn’t qualify. I left there for a job as office manager for a small computer company but they ended up going under.  I came back to Houston and decided to go back to college and get that degree.  I started classes at The University of Houston, Main campus, 12 days before my 40^th birthday. I got a campus job as a peer tutor and advisor in a program for first time in college students.  I loved it and it set the tone for years to come.  I graduated with a BA in Creative Writing in 2002 and became a full time Academic Advisor.  I discovered the job I was meant for.  In 2003 I had a little battle with cancer and decided to look for an Advising job with better pay.  I ended up at The College of the Mainland in Texas City.  I found my true career there.  I decided to pursue a Master’s Degree in 2004.  In 2005 I received the award for National Outstanding Academic Advisor of the year. In 2007 I started having trouble with my legs and fell several times.  I went to see a doctor and was diagnosed with Inclusion Body Myositis, a slow progressing muscle disease.  It turns out that the steroid push I got to save my life back when I was at BYU is probably what activated several previously hidden conditions. I continued taking classes at the University of Houston-Clear Lake and in 2008 I received a Master’s degree in Humanities with a graduate certificate in Women’s Studies.  I continued in Texas City for another year before my body gave up.  I had an insurance policy that supported me and while I couldn’t earn any money, a condition of the policy, I could write.  I spent the next twenty years writing.  The Sapphire Legacy had a brief publication in 2009 but I put it to bed and worked on other things.  In 2025 I edited it and gave it new life.  I also have a great series called “Nadia’s Journey” that is still waiting for editing and several…ok, a lot of book idea paragraphs that will someday see the light of day.  My latest series is Reclamation.  It is five volumes and I am currently editing volume 3.  I started seriously editing and preparing my material for publishing when my insurance policy ended on my 65^th birthday.  Now I edit and write and walk my dog.  My life is full.