On a recent afternoon in the home of family friends, former OVS art and theater teacher Mandy Jackson-Beverly greeted her guests, who had come from all over to support and celebrate the completion of her first-ever novel, A Secret Muse.
As she drifted through the house, mingling with well wishers, a smile lit up her face. Food and drinks were set up throughout the house, soft music played in the background, and in the center of the main entrance way, a glass table was piled high with copies of her book.
She was on cloud nine.
“Having A Secret Muse available for others to read is something I’ve worked for, and envisioned, for a long time,” said Jackson-Beverly, who after leaving OVS in 2014 dug deeply into her writing, devoting more time to her masterpiece. “Speaking with readers about the story, finding out which characters are their favorites, and answering questions they have is a lot of fun.”
Born in the small town of Pyramid Hill, Australia (population 419), Jackson-Beverly grew up in a household where her creative nature was always encouraged. She found everything from traveling to teaching as inspiration for her writing and art.
After five years of copious amounts of research and hours of writing and re-writing, Jackson- Beverly wrapped up her long awaited novel.
A Secret Muse is a fictional novel with the riveting plot based around UCLA art professor, Coco Rhodes, who is thrust into a crazy whirlwind world after receiving a letter from her dead mother. The book includes everything from passionate love affairs to warlocks and vampires to secrets woven around the world of art during the Renaissance period in Florence.
At the book signing, in early November, many former colleagues of hers came to give their love and support, including OVS English teacher Crystal Davis, college counselor Judy Oberlander and former longtime language and history teacher Gary Dinkins.
“She’s really so creative,” Ms. Oberlander said. “It was nice to see her feeling so happy. I’m really proud of her, she’s a really talented person.”
Jackson-Beverly had been hard at work on the book for several years, but in reality “A Secret Muse had been brewing for most of my life,” she said.
It was early 2014 when the inspiration for the “Allegiance” (the secret society in A Secret Muse) came to her.
“While grading my AP art student’s portfolios, I reached toward one of their paintings and became overwhelmed with a multitude of emotions: pride, joy, and a strong sense of over-protectiveness,” she said. “I thought of all the art, architecture, artifacts, and manuscripts that have been destroyed, often by the horrors of war and prejudice. At that moment, the Allegiance and A Secret Muse became concrete in my mind.”
It was no easy journey for Jackson-Beverly to get to this place.
Following completion of the manuscript in early May, she submitted it to her editor, John Hudspith, in England. Once the editing was completed, the manuscript was sent to her copy editor in Los Angeles, and an Oct. 1 publishing date was set.
While awaiting edits on book one, she began her research for a second book.
After speaking with professionals from both the traditional and Indie publishing worlds, Jackson-Beverly decided to start her own publishing company, Cricket Publishing.
“This route has worked out well for me,” she said. “I like the creative freedom it allows.”
This route also enabled her to use another creative talent of hers – she painted the portrait that appears on the front cover of the novel.
While Jackson-Beverly is basking in the success of her new book, she is now hard at work on her second book, targeting a publication date of May, 2016.
In the meantime, A Secret Muse is available online through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and most bookstores. The book is also sold locally at Chaucer’s Bookstore in Santa Barbara, Bank of Books in Ventura, Pages: A Bookstore in Manhattan Beach, and independent bookstores in Australia.
“In the beginning, I was frustrated with the lack of time I had to dedicate to writing… When I Finally wrote the words, ‘The End,’ I realized I was both smiling and sobbing,” Jackson-Beverly said. “Happy because I’d completed the story, and sad because neither of my parents were alive to see the book completed. There’s a certain melancholia that lingers about after years of researching and writing. But honestly, finishing the first draft is really the beginning, next comes the editorial process. Working with my editor confirmed for me the depth of my love for writing and the creative process.”