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NTRWA December
2003 Spotlight On...
VON JOCKS
by Juliet Burns
From the
moment Yvonne Jocks could hold a crayon and print words, she’s been
writing stories. Not surprisingly, she published her first story in a
local newspaper at the tender age of twelve! Even less surprising, the
story was about ghosts. Von has always loved stories about magic, ghosts,
and witches. She grew up reading all the classic gothic authors like
Phyllis Whitney and Mary Stewart.
Her
father was in the Navy where he met Von’s mother, a WAVE—a woman Navy
member—who worked with electric and radio repair, as well as stuffing
parachutes. Von credits her mom with inspiring her own feminist
tendencies.
But
as a military child, she, her two brothers and two sisters moved
around a lot. Sometimes this nomadic life was hard on a shy, quiet middle
child. But as with all of us, her life experiences shaped her writing.
Especially difficult was losing her older sister in a tragic car crash.
This loss affected Von deeply.
After
moving to Texas, (Von says she got here as
fast as she could) her father retired from the Navy and she’s lived
here for 22 years. She earned a Master's Degree at the University of Texas at Arlington (her thesis traced the
history of the Romance Novel) and now teaches—what else?—English at the
Southeast Campus of Tarrant County Community College.
Though
she loves teaching, she loves writing even more. In 1984, while still in
college, she joined RWA® and began her first serious
manuscript. When she learned Silhouette was starting a new line of
romances with a paranormal bent called Silhouette Shadows, she
immediately began working on a proposal and sent in a query with only the
first chapter written. She sold that novel, WAITING FOR THE WOLF MOON, in
1992 and three more books followed, all under the name Evelyn Vaughn, and
all featuring witches and monsters.
She
went on to sell a series of historical romances called “The Rancher's
Daughters” under the name Yvonne Jocks for Leisure Books. She’s also
written short stories and novellas in the Science Fiction/Fantasy and
Mystery genres as Von Jocks.
An
unapologetic TV addict, she lives happily with her cats and her imaginary
friends.
Von
had 3 books released in 2003. BURIED SECRETS, an Intimate Moments, in February.
THE PLAYER in August, which placed #4 on the Waldenbooks bestseller list,
and THE DEVIL SHE KNEW in Silhouette’s Halloween anthology, When Darkness
Falls in October. Next month, her latest historical romance, SAY
GOODNIGHT, GRACIE, will be released. This is part three of the
"Three Graces" series begun by Pam McCutcheon in BELLE OF THE
BALL and continued by Karen Fox in A TOUCH OF CHARM.
Her
first Silhouette Bombshell, A.K.A. GODDESS, is coming in August 2004.
Currently she’s working on the as-yet untitled sequel, and Book 8 of
Bombshell's "Athena Force" continuity, currently titled ENIGMA.
Visit
Von’s
website.
POSTSCRIPT,
August 2005 --
Von, writing as Evelyn Vaughn, won the
2005
RITA®
for Best Novel with Strong Romantic Elements for A.K.A. GODDESS, Silhouette Books Natashya
Wilson & Stephanie Maurer, editors.
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