Meet the Author- Jean Joachim

Meet Secret Cravings Author Jean Joachim

Her newest SCP release The Renovated Heart is now available

Growing up- Growing up was an adventure for me. I was a very independent little girl. I walked to school from the time I was seven years old, had a best friend who lived two houses down who shared in my escapades. If I wasn’t making clothes for my paperdolls, reading or playing board games, I was out with Laurie, climbing the fire escapes at the local synagogue. We played imaginative games running up and down those rickety, rusty stairs from floor to floor, laughing and carrying on. No one ever knew we were there playing as we never got caught. Sometimes I shudder when I recall how dangerous that was. But it made me bold and confident, which carried over into my schoolwork. I became a star in elementary school.

Favorite games (board games and outdoor activity)  I’m sure I’m going to date myself on this one. Monopoly was a huge favorite with me. We used to set up two boards and have double the money. You could play this game for days, which we did. We even set up checking accounts with the bank and wrote checks. Outside games – well you couldn’t beat Ringaleevio, played with boys and girls in middle school. I also made up stories (precursor to my fiction writing) I acted out with my cousin, Andee in the backyard. And played horses with my neighbor and dear friend, Lydia. Impromptu games of kick ball sprung up on our street in the warmer weather. I was good at that and loved to play.  I adored the outdoors, wanting to be outside all the time in warmer weather and was a very active child, often wearing out friends and family.

Family pets  My brother brought home a dog who followed him from Hebrew school. He was allowed to keep the dog he named, “Boy”. No, he’s not the writer in the family. Boy was a Gordon Setter mix and an amazing dog. He followed me to school once. They kept the doors of the school open in those days. I was in the second grade and remember looking at the classroom door, horrified to find my dog standing there. I tried to hide behind my desk, but with his long snout, Boy picked me out immediately. He came trotting over, proud to have found me and licked my face, “outing” me as his owner. I had to take him to the office, call my mother who had to come pick him up. The principal was ticked off. So was my mother. Boy came to a sad end but left an indelible, loving paw print on my brother and myself.

Favorite holiday memory
There are many because holidays were the happiest times in my house growing up. Beloved aunts, uncles and cousins came to visit, brightening my days. I’d often sit by the big picture window when they were due, waiting to see their car come up the street. Christmas couldn’t be beat. Thanksgiving was also a favorite and still is as well as Passover. These were jolly times, stories and jokes were told, people ate fabulous food and spirits were high. I’m still a lover of holidays, perhaps as a reminder of the happiest times of my earlier life. Of course the one Thanksgiving when we discovered my black kitten standing on the turkey before we brought the bird to the table was a stand-out. We shooed him off and plopped the huge turkey on the dining room table as if nothing had happened. My mother and I laughed about that for many years.

When you grew up, you wanted to be ___________. Why?

I’ve always wanted to be a writer, even when I was seven years old. I’m not sure why, but I thought writers were the most exciting people on Earth. Of course now that I am one, I know better! LOL. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that I made up stories often when I was young. Or that my parents respected writers. And I was a reader, constantly with my nose in a book when I wasn’t running around. I feel lucky to be now what I dreamed of becoming when I was a child.

Favorite music group while a teenager

The Beatles, of course! Their music shook up the world of rock and roll and I loved every moment of it.
The Beach Boys. They were so adorable as well as talented.

Now-

I would do anything for/to ____________.
I would do anything to bring happiness to a friend, DH or my children. It’s corny, perhaps, but I’ve been in love with happy endings in life as well as literature ever since I can remember. And the wisdom of a few years experience (okay, maybe more than a few years) has not changed my optimist expectations or outlook.

Candy bar that best describes me. Why? Milky Way – because even if frozen, I’m still soft in the middle. And if not frozen, take a bite through the sweet chocolate outer layer and find a gooey soft center, that’s me.

Your idea of romance (ex. an event, a moment, a gift)
Most romantic gift I’ve ever received was from DH – tix to see the “So You Think You Can Dance” dancers live on stage in New York City. It showed so much thought and advance preparation, I was stunned, wow’d and in love.

Most romantic setting – a quiet place outdoors, perhaps in a green field, a sunny day, a luscious picnic and a hunky guy.  Throw in a blanket, some bird songs, a couple of butterflies…total peace. I wouldn’t be able to resist him for a second.


An embarrassing moment that happened to you written in a newspaper headline.
 Idiot Inexperienced Radio Copywriter Puts Commercial Through as Live that Should have Been Recorded. Subhead: Causes DJ to read “tip, tip, tip” (a sound effect) 42 times on the air!!
Sub subhead: Nice DJ Allows Copywriter to Live.


If I wasn't an author, I would be a/an____________.
I would be utterly miserable. Writing is my life. I guess I’d write stories in the sand at the beach with my finger or tell them to whoever would listen. There isn’t anything else I want to do.