Jackie Collins
Jackie Collins
Jacqueline Jill "Jackie" Collins OBEwas an English romance novelist. She moved to Los Angeles in the 1960s and spent most of her career there. She wrote 32 novels, all of which appeared on The New York Times bestsellers list. In total, her books have sold over 500 million copies and have been translated into 40 languages. Eight of her novels have been adapted for the screen, either as films or television miniseries. She was the younger sister of actress Joan...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth4 October 1937
CityLondon, England
For a perfect holiday I need my iPhone and my writing tools. I write all my books by hand so black felt pens and yellow legal pads are a must. And my eyebrow pencil. I'm very low-maintenance.
I write about real people in disguise. If anything, my characters are toned down-the truth is much more bizarre.
I don't believe in writing anything that I don't know about or haven't researched about personally. I like to transport the reader to places, and in order to do that I have to do the research.
I have this theory that people in Hollywood don't read. They read 'Vanity Fair' and then consider themselves terribly well read. I think I can basically write about anybody without getting caught.
I am still shocking people today, and I don't know why. Is it because I'm a woman talking about sex and men? One magazine said that no one writes sex in the back of a Bentley better than Jackie Collins.
There's always things that you know about that nobody else, because everybody's life is different. So you write about what you know. That's number one.
I have written 20 books, and each one is like having a baby. Writing is not easy; some people want to write books but just can't put a story together. I can put together a story that interests both me and my readers.
I'm a storyteller; I write what I want to read.
I write synopses after the book is completed. I can't write it beforehand, because I don't know what the book's about. I invent something for my publisher because he asks for one, but the final book ends up very differently.
Where was Paris Hilton a year ago? She's a fabulous character to write about.
I write about the American dream: if you set your mind to do something, you can do it. My fans know they're getting the real thing.
A lot of people talk about writing. The secret is to write, not talk.
I'm a storyteller, I'm not a literary writer, and I don't want to be a literary writer. People say to me, "Oh, when are you going to write something different?" What? I don't want to write anything different. I'm writing relationships between people, all different colors, all different sizes, all different sexual orientations, and that's what I want to do.
Whatever you have a passion for, then you must do. If you want to write, write about something you know about.