Anu Recommends #27
An interview with author Jessica Martin
Hi and welcome to the Storyteller!
If you’ve been a subscriber for a while, you may remember the bonus recommendation in the Valentine’s Day issue—a town named Bard’s Rest, a dog named Puck, and an annual summer Shakespearean festival ring any bells? If not, click through to that issue (linked above) and get yourselves all caught up on my thoughts about For the Love of the Bard.
Publisher’s blurb for The Dane of my Existence (pub date: July 4, 2023)
When the history and character of her Shakespeare-obsessed hometown is threatened, a powerhouse lawyer goes toe to toe with a commercial developer in a hilarious rom-com from the author of For the Love of the Bard.
Portia Barnes is the youngest managing partner in her law firm’s history, and she and her stilettos are poised to step into the role of her dreams—leading the firm’s new Boston office. But first she’s taking a summer sabbatical in her hometown of Bard’s Rest, New Hampshire, where she discovers something’s rotten in the midst of the town’s annual Shakespeare festival.
Hotshot commercial developer Benjamin Dane is sniffing around Bard’s, and while Portia isn’t necessarily a Shakespeare fanatic like the rest of her family, she’s not about to let him bulldoze the town’s beloved outdoor theater. Yet to Portia’s dismay, Ben proves as skilled as she is when it comes to outworking, outmaneuvering, and one-upping the competition. While she’s never hesitated to wage war against hyper-successful alpha males, Portia is caught off guard by Ben’s openness and lack of arrogance. As her own long-constructed walls start to come down, Portia begins to wonder if he might be more than an arch-nemesis.
With her heart on the line and the future of the town hanging in the balance, Portia faces an impossible decision—Ben or Bard’s?—unless she finds a way to broker the merger of her life, and ensures the curtain falls on a happy ending for everyone.
I was thrilled to be given an early chance to return to Bard’s Rest for Portia’s story. The oldest Barnes sister had featured in the first book (centered around Miranda, the middle sister) but I hadn’t warmed to her sharp, ice-queen-ish vibes. It’s a testament to Jessica’s skill that I was very quickly in Portia’s corner—this compelling, flawed, often frustrating character you still root for and understand. The narrative voice was unique to her, as Miranda’s was to her character in Book 1, and following her on her journey towards becoming a more authentic version of herself was equally enjoyable during and at the end.
The Dane of my Existence (if you know, you know) has the same humour and wit I’d loved in the first book; all the Shakespeare puns, the quirky town you know isn’t real but still can’t help wanting to spend your summers at. Not to mention the equally quirky but wonderfully human inhabitants of Bard’s Rest, whom I loved meeting again (there was one particular character that I, along with Portia herself, saw in a new light this time around, and the book was all the better for it—you’ll have to read it to find out who I mean!).
Portia and Ben were well suited to one another, with crackling banter and chemistry. I also appreciated how realistic their problems were, individually and as a couple—things didn’t just work out like magic, and needed time and reflection, and a certain amount on working on themselves to achieve, however painful or scary to face. It was all worth it to see them finally make themselves vulnerable, to each other and themselves, and take a leap. Some of the emotional transitions, especially between the lead couple, read a little choppy, but since this was an ARC, I have a feeling that at least some of them will be smoothened out by the time this book hits the shelves.
I cannot wait to return next summer for Cordelia’s (the youngest sister) story!
In the meantime, let’s hear from Jess herself 😊
According to her bio, she is “a lawyer by trade, a writer by choice and a complete smartass by all accounts” and she lives in “the suburban wilds of Boston with a finance geek, a small sass-based human and a pair of dogs named after Bond characters”. How’s that for an introduction?
Anu: To start off, can you share how you got to where you are now? As your bio says, “lawyer by trade, writer by choice”. As an aside, has your work as a lawyer impacted your writing in any way, apart from the obvious?
Jess: I am where I am because of a Twitter pitch contest. I’m convinced I might be the only person who’s ever found an agent with 280 characters. I’d been writing for years, mostly contemporary fantasy, and had received many a rejection letter through the traditional querying process. But I’d recently had an idea for a rom-com I wanted to try. I was on my final round of edits for it when I noticed there was a Twitter pitch contest to connect unagented writers with agents looking for submissions. I had planned on tweeting twice but decided to throw in another with about an hour to go in the contest. Maggie liked it; we connected and hit it off immediately. Before I knew it, I signed on with her and Aevitas Creative. Within six months, she placed For the Love of the Bard with Berkley (Penguin Random House), and the rest is history.
I work full-time as an in-house attorney, and contractual writing is a big part of my day. I won’t say it’s the same muscle you flex when you write creatively, but there are a lot of similarities, especially the refining and editing piece.
Anu: What was the inspiration behind For the Love of the Bard? (Why Shakespeare?) The town, for all its shenanigans and colourful cast of characters, feels real and rooted in so many ways, and so do the people in it.
Jess: Thank you, I love that. As a child, I spent summers with my parents in small New Hampshire towns swimming in silty lakes and hiking the white mountains. The people I met were such a change of pace; everyone had a story about how they’d ended up where they were and why they stayed. I never stopped being in love with small towns and the people who inhabit them. Bard was born out of those experiences and the desire to create my own small town on the page full of quirky characters with a shared love of the arts and, in particular, the Bard.
Anu: As a follow-up question to the above: what draws you, motivates you to write or develop the stories that you do? And is there anything you'd like readers to take away from your stories?
Jess: I’m drawn to quirky characters—they’re the ones I like to read and the ones I want to write. I love taking those quirky characters and dropping them into settings that I’d like to live in. I’d like readers to walk away with a good laugh and having felt like they’d met a quirky character they could root for or find a place in my books they’d like to live in.
Anu: Can you share what the publishing and writing process was like for your debut novel? Was it any different from The Dane of My Existence?
Jess: I didn’t know what to expect for my debut in terms of publishing, so everything felt new, especially when I met my marketing team. I was woefully underprepared to promote my debut on social media, so I had to learn quickly. Regarding Dane, I had a much better sense of what was happening this time and knew how to get ready. The editorial process also went more quickly because I had a feel for what I thought my editor would want to see on the page.
Anu: How did you go about building the world in the book; did it come first or did the characters? As a writer, are you more of a planner, a "go with the flow" or somewhere in between?
Jess: Usually, it’s characters first for me, but in both books, it was this kernel of a thought of how fun it would be to create a small town in New Hampshire. The townspeople needed a common thread to unite them. Why not Shakespeare? It could permeate their festivals, their livelihoods and even their love lives.
I always plan a chapter-by-chapter outline, but so often, the story goes where the story wants to go, and my finished product seldom resembles that initial outline.
Anu: Is there any advice you wish you’d gotten when you first started out? Or just any advice for aspiring authors from your own experience, something that’s really helped you in your writing and publishing journey so far?
Jess: Sure, here’s two tips I’d wish I’d known early on.
First, don’t worry about writing that perfect chapter or sentence. I used to waste so much time to get it right on the first pass, but sometimes, I didn’t feel like writing scenes or dialogue at that moment. So I’d sit there and try to force something that wouldn’t come. Or I’d rewrite the same paragraph a dozen times. You’re unlikely to get where you going if you do that. Just get it all down and then work it section by section until it feels write.
Second, start your social media presence now. Figure out what platforms you like and start building your audience. For me, that was following bookish influencers, other writers and booksellers. It helped me understand what other writers would do for promos, giveaways, reviews etc.
Anu: What's your favourite writing/creative and your favourite non-writing part of the publishing process?
Jess: My favorite part of the creative writing process is when I write a hilarious line of dialogue, and I know it’s solid gold. Nothing makes me happier when someone says, “I literally laughed out loud at this part, Jess.” Mission accomplished.
My favorite part non-writing part of the publishing process was getting a vote on my narrator for the books. I’m a huge audiobook fan, and listening to audition clips was an absolute thrill. On a side note, I love my narrator, Gilli Messer. When I heard the clips, I thought, this is her. This is Miranda (and, later, this is Portia. She is nailing Portia).
Bonus questions:
Anu: What's in the works going forward, apart from Cordelia's book, which I'm very excited for? (If you're allowed to and want to, share, of course.)
Jess: I’ve got a speculative rom-com in the works that is very much in its nascent stages. I love the idea of doing another rom-com with some cross-genre elements.
Anu: And can you share a recommendation or two for the readers of this newsletter?
Jess: Sure, but once I start, I can’t stop. For rom-coms, I absolutely loved The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren (Fizzy Chen is my rom-com heroine for the ages), the Thistle Grove paranormal series by Lana Harper, and With Love From Cold War by Alicia Thompson (this one is out in August, but I got an advance read—wowser). I also love sci-fi/fantasy, so if you’re looking for something that grabs you and won’t let go: try Leigh Bardugo’s Hell Bent series and Book of Night by Holly Black. And, finally, my favorite recommendation for your summer tote bag is Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree. This one’s billed as “high fantasy, low stakes” (in the best possible way) and is a highly engrossing read about an orc who hangs up her mercenary blade and opens a coffee shop. No really. Trust me.
Thank you so much for taking the time out to answer my questions, Jess!
You can find her at website | instagram | twitter - which have buy links for both of her books.
As always, please feel free send in recommendations—books, movie, TV shows, authors to interview, ideas of what you’d like me to write on, rants/ramblings/excited monologues, GIFs and memes (especially them) and more. Just drop me a line and turn this into a conversation, even if just to say hi and let me know what you thought of the latest issue 😊 Or share this with someone you think might enjoy it.
Take care and see you next week!
Anu
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You can find me on Twitter at @AnuNande (follow for all the football chatter) and on Instagram at @booksinboston.
"Lawyer by trade, writer by choice."
We should all come together to form a club of some sort. 🙈