Read And Revel

Interview with USA Today best-selling author J. Penner, author of A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic, Adenashire Series, and many more including the upcoming Death Meets Cute.

About this book:

Death Meets Cute is coming out soon! How does it feel? 

Exciting. I’ve been sitting on this book for over a year now and I’m glad to finally be sharing it with readers. 

How did you come up with your title? 

There were lots of title options for Death Meets Cute but none of them were clicking. My publisher and I worked through so many. Finally, I did a little research on romcom titles and brainstormed from the information I found. Poison Pen Press loved it and we’d finally arrived at the perfect name.

Can you tell me a secret about Death Meets Cute that no one else knows? 

The series is a kind of love letter to all those former theater kids out there who had a brief love affair with Shakespeare. The three sisters in the stories are the three witches from Macbeth. And there are tons of Shakespear references and Easter eggs in the series.

How did you know that you wanted to write in this genre? 

I started writing cozy fantasy because prior to that I wrote YA dystopian since 2016. I needed a mental health break from high-stakes books that reminded me too much of our current world. It’s been an amazing journey I don’t regret. 

How would you describe this book in 3 words? 

Sweet, silly and romantic.

Walk us through your process:

First idea: Do you remember the exact moment that you knew you wanted to write this story? 

For sure. I was in contract negotiations with my publisher for A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic. An author friend of mine suggested pitching an idea for another series to the publisher, so I came up with the idea that afternoon. I pitched it the next day and they immediately accepted it.

Do you start with the character or plot first? 

Plot. But my books are heavily character-driven.

What is your method to outlining?  

I have a basic outline on file and I sit down and start filling it in chapter by chapter for each new book. I only map out a few sentences maximum for the chapters and then usually pants the rest. I consider myself a “plantser”. 

The Process: What is your writing routine? 

This changes to some degree but right now I’m trying writing two days a week for about six hours each session. This way I can write three chapters a week and have five days to think about them before I write the next three. The entire process will take me about nine weeks to write the book, and then I’ll spend the weeks after that editing.

What tech do you like to use? How do you set your environment up for writing? 

My laptop computer is set up on my dining room table all the time. The only thing fancy about it is I have a stand for the laptop so I don’t hurt my neck looking down too much.

Did you pull inspiration for your book from any real life experiences? 

Sometimes. People ask me all the time whether any of my characters are based on myself. And there is always a little of me in there. Since I’m writing the fifth book in the Adenashire series, I was telling my husband the other day that I think the main character (Verdreth) is more like me than any character I’ve written. He holds himself to high, impossible standards, overthinks everything and is an only child. And since I pants so many of my stories I didn’t know this before I delved into his.

Write what you know—what does that mean to you? 

Hum. Not sure I write what I know. I’ve written dystopian worlds, on and off Earth, wolf shifters, high fantasy characters living in other realms. I think I just write what’s in my brain… lol. Though I learned to bake for the Adenashire series.

What do you think your readers will take from your writing? 

I hope that this world can be kind… that community is possible even though our society makes that so difficult.

What motivates you to keep writing? 

Ha. It’s simply what I do. If there and people who want to read the stories I’ll probably keep telling them. 

Post writing: Why did you decide to go this way in publishing vs another? 

I started publishing indie in 2016 and was perfectly happy. My first series (The Configured Trilogy) has sold 50,000 copies and just as many people have read it on Kindle Unlimited. The series was also optioned for a potential movie or TV deal in 2018, although the contract ran its course without securing a deal. I was completely happy with indie publishing and had no desire to publish traditionally. In 2023, before A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic was published, my current agent contacted me out of the blue and wanted to sign me. She also wanted to shop the series even though I had plans to publish it a few months later. I figured that trying a more traditional course didn’t hurt. In 2024, Poisoned Pen Press bought the print rights to that series and here we are. I love indie publishing, but so far I’m impressed with the traditional route. Both can be viable options.

What has been community (or online community) involvement in publishing and promoting? 

Especially when there were not as many cozy fantasy books I tried to connect with every cozy fantasy author out there to support them. I still have quite a few connections that I’ve really enjoyed. 

What comes next for you? 

More writing. I have the last book in the Death Meets Cute series as well as Adenashire (although I’m strongly considering writing more than five books in that series).

About your writing life: 

How many books have you written, including those that weren’t published (or haven’t been yet)? 

I have published all the books I’ve written (I’m weird that way). The first book I wrote was Configured and immediately the book was profitable and successful so I kept going. Since then, I’ve written 25 more books.

Why do you write? 

Honestly? It’s my job. When I graduated from college with a music degree I knew it wasn’t what I wanted to do every day. That said, I wanted to do something creative with my life. Since then I’ve run a successful photography business, was a professional blogger and then I moved on to author. Being an author allows me to make a living and share my creativity with the world.

When did you realize you wanted to become an author? 

Ha… suddenly in 2014 after reading The Hunger Games and a few other YA dystopian books. One day I got an idea and sat down and wrote the first chapter. After that I had no clue what to do next so I Googled “How to write a novel.”  

What is the secret to being an author? 

For me? Consistency. I’m lucky that being an author is my only job so I have time to do it every day. And if you want to be an indie author you have to be a bit scrappy. But that’s not a problem for me. 

What is the hardest part about being an author? 

It’s a lonely job. 

What would you tell a brand new writer? 

Be consistent… whatever that means for them. 

How do you tackle diversity and inclusion in your work? 

I hired a sensitivity reader to make sure my portrayals are correct and don’t hurt anyone. 

Are books still relevant in the modern world? 

At the heart of the Adenashire series is the soft exploration of healing, poor mental health and finding worth in community. Those topics are pretty relevant, in my opinion. 

What authors or books have inspired your writing journey? 

Suzane Collins.

What book made you fall in love with reading? 

The Chronicles of Narnia. 

What are you reading at the moment? 

The Baby Dragon Bookshop. 

If you could have coffee with any author dead or alive who would it be? 

Suzanne Collins. The Hunger Games changed the course of my life. Without her I wouldn’t be a USA Today Best Selling Author.

What’s something you’ve learned from researching for this book? 

That a hedgehog is really mentioned in Macbeth.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve had to Google for a book? 

 I’m not sure it’s THAT weird, but in my first book I had to research how a person would repel down from a tall building.

If you could spend a month writing anywhere in the world, where would it be? 

Truly? Home. I’m a homebody.

Something you really want to write about is? 

Hummm… cats in space. Lol.

Reality vs fiction—is art really crazier than life? 

Ha. Who knows these days?

Cats or dogs? Cats. But I love my dog too. 

Coffee or tea? Both. But I can’t really drink coffee. It’s sad. 

Physical book or e-book? Ebook. I don’t have the space for more physical books.

Huge THANK YOU to J. Penner for doing this interview with me. You can preorder Death Meets Cute or purchase their many other books here.

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