A 2020 Riverside High School graduate has realized her dream during the last month of becoming a published author at only 23 years old, an accomplishment that said she took drive, determination and a big leap of faith.
Recent Miami University graduate Paisley Jacobs started writing her dark romance novel, Heaven Sent, in January of 2024. The paperback version is now available online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, Target and Walmart, as the first book of three in her upcoming Whispers of Vice and Virtue series.
There is also an e-book version available on Kindle. In just a few short weeks, Heaven Sent will be in stores in Barnes and Noble, Target, Walmart and some local bookstores, she noted.
Jacobs, a DeGraff native who now resides in Richwood with her fiancé, Vance McClanahan, has been an avid reader since childhood, so she said it was a natural progression to look to writing as a career.
“I always had my head in a book when I was a kid and even now. I love reading books from romance, thrillers, and classics, to fantasy,” she said this week. “I own 200 plus books and fly through them, considering I read one to three books a day.
“I’ve dreamed of becoming an author since my senior year of high school. I read so many books that I loved the idea of writing one. The idea of it has always been in the back of my head, but I never thought it was realistic, so I looked at it as more of a far-fetched dream than a possibility.”
After high school, Jacobs began her time studying at Miami University, originally for a bachelor’s in English studies, with the plan to be an editor. However, her goal of publishing a book was still on her mind.
“I tried my best to balance school full-time, a job, and writing a book but unfortunately, I never found the time to write, and my book kept getting pushed aside,” she said. “Then one day I came across an author, around the same age as me, and heard her story. Her story inspired me to take a leap of faith and prioritize my book over everything else.”
The author said she made the choice to graduate early from Miami University after attaining her associate of arts so she could begin working on her book.
“It was a risky decision, and I was terrified to take such a big leap of faith, but looking back, it was the best decision I ever made for myself. I do work part-time at the Ribbon Box Bakery in Marysville, but I continue to keep my writing a priority over everything else.
“While I could have published a book without my associate degree, I don’t regret a second of my time spent on education. My time spent at Miami has made a huge difference in my writing and editing skills, and I am very grateful to my parents and fiancé for helping me get through college, and to where I am today.”
Heaven Sent follows the story of protagonist Angelina Vittori, who needs money to escape the obsessive control of her father, the antagonist. So Angelina becomes a gold digger, stealing from a mafia boss known as Nicolai Leone and gets away with it; that is until he finds her.
Nicolai falls in love with Angelina and gives her a purpose in life.
“He trains her to be his new partner in the mafia through lessons in combat, knife-throwing, strategy, awareness, marksmanship, poker, driving in action and murder,” Jacobs said. “Nicolai thought training her to be ruthless would protect her, yet he lost her in the end.
“Read the book to find out what happens to Angelina and if she survives. ‘Heaven Sent’ is thrilling and exciting, and you’ll never want to put it down.”
The RHS grad, who said her favorite authors include inspirational young author Lauren Roberts, along with Penelope Douglas, Emily McIntire, Sarah J. Maas, Rebecca Yarros and Freida McFadden, said the writing process was “long, stressful and hard work” as a publisher on her own, but also extremely rewarding. She also described the time-consuming process of editing and formatting her novel.
“‘Dreams don’t work unless you do’ is a very accurate statement to describe how the process was for me,” she said. “I had to learn everything along the way, do a ton of research, and most importantly, I had to prioritize my book above all else. I was hardly working any hours at my job, and when I was free to spend time with friends/family I was glued to my computer.
“My biggest challenge was doing this on my own. I did not have a publisher, agent, or anyone with knowledge of publishing to help me….It was lonely at times without anyone to understand the struggles I faced, but in the end, I can say I did it all on my own and that is a feeling like no other. It makes you feel like you can accomplish anything you put your mind and work into.”
Jacobs said her favorite fellow young author, Roberts, who wrote Powerless, inspired her to follow her dreams and made her believe publishing a book was possible. She learned about Roberts’ journey on social media.
“She is around the same age as me, and I felt like I could relate to her so much. Seeing how happy she was after taking a risk like dropping out of college to become an author, opened my eyes to the fact my dream was possible.
“Without hearing her story on her social media and podcasts, I truly am not sure I would have found the courage to follow my dream of publishing. Lauren Roberts has no idea who I am, or that she has changed my life with her story. I hope to be an inspiration to others to follow their dreams as she was to me.”
For other aspiring authors of all ages, Jacobs encouraged these writers to “never stop writing.
“Write when you feel like it and write when you don’t. There were times I was up writing until 3 a.m., had to cancel plans to write, or put on my headphones to write amongst the chaos. If you want your dream of publishing to come true, write the book first and worry about the rest later.
“Don’t leave an untold story inside of you, because you never know whose life you may change with your words.”