Transcript: 6. Jaclyn Quinn

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Full episode transcript

Lee: Welcome to episode number six of the Low Angst Library podcast. Today we have an interview with Jaclyn Quinn.

I’m your resident librarian Lee Blair. This library is your stop for all things light, fluffy, funny, sweet, spicy, and everything in between. I not only publish low angst, queer romances, I’m a voracious reader of them too.

I created this podcast because I wanted to talk to other authors who write romances with main characters on the LGBTQIA2S+ spectrum so I could learn what draws them to the lighter side of angst, more about their books and their writing processes.

I’m excited to share my interview with Jaclyn Quinn. We talked about writing across the angst spectrum, the struggle with ending a beloved series, and pulling inspiration from her family Sunday dinners.

Jaclyn has been an artist from a very young age. From drawing cartoon characters and evolving into portraits, making jewelry, photography, and now writing, she has an amazing support system in her family and friends and couldn’t be more grateful. She lives in central New Jersey, loves summers at the Jersey shore, rock music, wine, sexy men, and laughing a lot with her amazing friends and family. Sunday dinners at her parents’ house are crazy hysterical, and you can count on a movie quote or 10 being thrown out. Insults between siblings is how they show their love for each other. When Jaclyn’s not creating, you can find her reading books from her favorite authors. She’s a hopeless romantic, starving for passionate characters and always craving that happy ending, whether in reading or writing her own books.

Before we jump into the interview with Jaclyn, I want to share a note about timing. This interview was recorded about five months ago and due to tech issues with the editing and transcription software I’m using, I’ve been really delayed in getting these episodes finished. So when we start talking about Jaclyn’s upcoming projects, know that the timing is a bit off. So I’ve recorded a brief update at the end to share a bit about what’s going on with her books now as of March 2023.

All right. Time for the interview.

Jaclyn Quinn, thank you so much for hanging out with me in the Low Angst Library. I’m thrilled you’re here.

Jaclyn: Thanks for having me. I’m kind of nervous, but we’ll see what happens.

Lee: I promise I won’t bite.

Jaclyn: Okay.

Lee: Not without consent.

So the first question I love to ask is, what got you into writing books and writing romance specifically?

Jaclyn: I started writing in high school, but it wasn’t, it was like poems and really, really short stories. And then I was reading J.R. Ward. And of course, Qhuinn and Blay, and I was, like, in love with this couple. So that really got me like hardcore into MM. And then I don’t know, I just had this story idea at one point. I sat down and it was like 15,000. words. I sat down and wrote and sent it to my best friend. And I was like, I wrote something, I don’t know. And she was like, where did this even come from? Like, I don’t know. It just kind of- And then from there on, I don’t know. I just had these ideas and I had no idea if I was gonna do anything with them. I wrote Havens Cove, the entire series, before I even decided to publish because I was, like, so nervous to do it.

I don’t know. I just love writing romance. I love reading it and I just had so many ideas that, you know- At the time I was a nanny. And she slept for two hours a day And I had all this time to- That’s where I wrote Haven’s Cove. Like every day watching her. So, I don’t know, it just kind of happened.

Lee: Well that worked out perfect that you had the time during that job, and I love the idea of writing the series. I mean, when you start publishing and you’ve got that pressure of readers wanting the next book in the series, which I’m sure you’re experiencing now with your Shore Thing you know, people get excited. So that had to be nice in a different way to have like the series done. And so you could just think about the whole thing together and put them out and.

Jaclyn: Yeah, that was the best. And actually, I, um, at the time found a couple beta readers who are now really close friends. Jen Gibson and Morningstar Ashley. They read the first book for me without even really knowing who I was. And they were so supportive that that helped me just move forward. I mean, I had a lot of tweaking to do for that series before it could go out. But yeah, it was definitely less pressure because nobody- Like, if I didn’t put it out, nobody would’ve known anyway. But, yeah, now it’s a little different. I mean, I appreciate that the readers want the next book, but I’m I’m still nervous about it.

Lee: Totally understandable. Same. Same with my series.

Jaclyn: I was like, why did I build him up from book one? Now I am like, now I gotta show something.

Lee: Okay, so when I get to my book five in my series, I’m gonna come to you for advice because I’m doing the same thing. I’m building up from book one up to book five, and I’m already like, oh shit. What did I do to myself?

Jaclyn: I have alpha readers. I have at least I think I have like five alpha readers. I have more alpha readers than I do beta readers and they read as I go along. So they can tell me, like, it’s good. It’s not good. You need this, this didn’t make sense because by the time I’m done with the book, I’m like, there’s no way I can fix it all then. So, they helped me a lot to know if I’m going the right direction or if I need to change.

Lee: That’s amazing I love that you’ve got that support system. and getting that feedback.

Jaclyn: I have an amazing support system. Yeah.

Lee: Oh, good.

Jaclyn: Really great.

Lee: Nice. Well, and so you’ve written books that have varying angst levels and I’m curious. So with your Shore Thing books, they are definitely on the lower angst side of the spectrum, and I’m curious, what drew you to writing books that are lower angst.

Jaclyn: I needed it for me. Like my mood was tanking and as much as I loved writing Beyond the Cove, especially Drawn to You, there were like a handful of months after I wrote Drawn to You where I just couldn’t pull myself back out of it because it was such an emotional book. And I think that was why the next book I went into, Thirst for You, was completely different. It was, you know, like more suspense because I needed- I knew the third book was going to be very emotional again. And so when I got to, I think it was the fifth book in Beyond the Cove, I still have books to write for Beyond the Cove that I haven’t just because I needed a break.

So I just wanted a series that was gonna be focused on romance. You know, just mainly focused on romance and a really- I love writing family and friends. So a really close group of guys. Yeah, I just needed it for me, honestly. For my mental health, I needed to lighten it up for a little while. So, they’ve been fun.

Lee: That makes so much sense. I mean, they say you’re supposed to write what you want to read. And if that’s what you’re, the space that you’re in, it shines through. This series is so good. It is one of my absolute favorites. I love close friend groups and I just, ugh, the vibe and the setting.

Jaclyn: It’s funny because now that I’ve written them, I’m getting that, like, I need to get a little deeper kind of feeling again. And there have been points in this one where I was like, alright, what if I? No, I can’t kill that person. That’s not this series, Jackie, can’t do that. Like, I have to remind myself. Like, no, you don’t wanna show that. You don’t wanna get too heavy. You know, I found myself having to pull back, which funny because in the other series, I found myself having to push myself to write the things that were hard. You know? So, yeah.

Lee: Well, that’s nice that you can do both. That you are finding a way to navigate two ends of that extreme.

Jaclyn: I think it was important for me. I didn’t wanna write myself into a corner when I first started. I didn’t wanna be known for one thing. I’ve even thrown out to my readers that I may even dive into urban fantasy or something at some point. I have a whole series planned in my head, but writing is another story. So. Um, yeah, I just, I don’t wanna be just one kind of writer, I guess. I don’t know. If that makes sense.

Lee: Yeah, I think that’s totally fair that you know that about yourself and-

Jaclyn: I want my readers to not know what to expect, I guess, from me. So.

Lee: That’s great.

So you’ve talked about, with these books, you needed something lighter and just less deep in the emotional intensity. And I’m curious, so as I’ve been talking with authors, one thing that I’m noticing is the definition of low angst varies from person to person. So I’m curious, what is your definition of low angst?

Jaclyn: I think for me, it really is just focusing on how a relationship builds. Rather than maybe deeper, heavier things that have brought a person to a certain point, like in Drawn to You or Appeal to You, where they had some really heavy things in their background that kind of formed who they were. And not to say that these people in Shore Thing, don’t, but it’s more focused on just building the relationship, I guess. I’m not big into huge black moments at the end of books either. So I’m more like gray, dark gray moments at the end of a book. I think that for me is what makes it a little low angst. It’s really just focused on romance. You know?

Lee: Yeah. That’s great.

Jaclyn: Yeah.

Lee: Going into a bit about your books and your writing process, I would love to know what is your writing process like?

Jaclyn: Okay. So, my writing process is pretty much turn the computer on and hope for the best. Because I write whenever my brain allows me to. It’s kind of hard. I do have a couple friends that I sprint with a lot and that it helps to a certain extent. Sometimes sprinting does not work for me at all because I feel the pressure of everybody coming back and being like, I wrote all these words and I’m like, I wrote two. So sometimes I can’t really get into sprinting, but yeah, I’m very, um, hope for the best, kind of thing. I’ve told myself, probably since one of the books in Beyond the Cove that I wasn’t going to put a release date out until I was at least like three quarters of the way through a book because I was putting so much pressure on myself. And I don’t work well like that.

If I put a deadline on myself and said this book is gonna be out at this time, I would not be able to write it. So, yeah, I don’t have a process. I can’t listen to music. There isn’t anything that I eat. Well, I need my seltzer. I need my emotional seltzer. Um, and that’s about it.

Lee: Well, whatever you’re doing, you’re not process is working because you’re putting out great books.

Jaclyn: Oh, thanks. Thanks.

Lee: Where do you get your- I, oh, sorry. Go ahead.

Jaclyn: No, I was gonna, I was laughing. I was like my not process. I’m gonna call it that from now on.

Lee: Where you get your ideas and your inspiration?

Jaclyn: Well, a lot of the banter and humor is just me and my family. Like a lot of those things I’ve actually pulled from my family and I’ll tell them too. I was like, that’s going in a book. Or I’ll say, remember that thing you did? Yeah, that totally went in a book. And it could be down to like the simplest thing.

I think in one book — I don’t even know why I’m admitting this — in one book. Oh, it wasn’t the, I don’t, I didn’t even put this one out. It was the 15,000 word one that I have not put out anywhere. Um, one of the guys is making fun of the other guy for he used to eat Eggo sandwiches with peanut butter and mustard. After school. Yeah, that was me. I used to eat that.

Lee: Mustard and peanut butter?

Jaclyn: My siblings just brought it up last night. Yeah. I don’t know why. But yeah, I don’t know all of those funny things come from Sunday dinner with my family. Stories from when I was younger. I don’t know. So I pull a lot from that. Like a lot of those ideas come from there. And then a lot of ideas come from songs. I’ll be listening to a song and then I’ll be thinking, I wonder what the story behind that is, and then I’ll just make my own story for it. So.

Lee: I like that. A mix of real life inspiration and-

Jaclyn: Mm-hmm.

Lee: -fictional music and stuff like that. That’s great.

Jaclyn: Yeah.

Lee: And to have such a big family that’s just always fodder for your stories. I love that.

Jaclyn: Oh, it absolutely is. I can’t even tell you the amount of things in my books that are actually real. That either I’ve done, my siblings have done, we call each other or whatever the case may be. So readers probably know more about me than they think they do.

Lee: Oh my god, that’s amazing.

Jaclyn: Yeah. It’s fun.

Lee: So my next question is probably the hardest one I ask, at least if I were asking myself this this would be. What’s been your favorite book or characters to write?

Jaclyn: Oh, gosh. Um, that is hard, you know? For, I don’t know if it was because it was so emotional or because it was the start of another series that readers were already there for, but Drawn to You has always stuck with me. I don’t know, there was just something about Eli and Jake that I think because I knew going in it was going to be a sad story. So I was already feeling protective of them, I guess. You know, and then to make sure that it, they ended with a happy ending.

But I don’t, it’s really hard to say. Like, I feel like honestly, a lot of the times it’s the couple I’m writing at that point, because. I have to get into their heads or I can’t write. And sometimes that’s what stops me. I’ll be like that this person is very clear to me, this person is not, and it has, it takes me a while. Um, but, yeah, I don’t know. I would say Eli and Jake.

Lee: Nice.

Jaclyn: Yeah.

Lee: I get what you mean though is I have that same issue of when you’re- Like, I’ve just started a new book last week, and so one of the characters is very clear to me because he’s part of the friend group, so I’ve gotten to know him over the last couple books.

Jaclyn: That’s exactly, yep.

Lee: But the other one, the new character, because I’m bringing in a new love interest that isn’t part of the group. It’s like trying to figure it out in that balance of I know I need to write for a while to get to know him, but yet I need to know him a little bit to start to write him. And that, that’s so hard ’cause for, I don’t know about for you, but for me, my process changes with that from book to book of how I get to know my characters. It’s never the same way. Sometimes I literally do a character questionnaire. Sometimes I have to just write, other times I need to just sit and think about him. It’s always different.

Jaclyn: Sometimes I’ll go back and read just their parts. The hardest part is when I’m introducing, like you said, like they’re characters in the book that readers know, but then there were a couple of books where I introduced a new love interest. So Then it’s like, I need to make sure readers also like them because they don’t know them. You know, I think I had to do that with, I had to do that with a few. I was worried about Drew for Thirst for You and he ended up being actually really easy to write. I don’t know why, but in the back of my mind, I had that worry because, you know, it was a character readers didn’t know. So, yeah.

Lee: It’s tough. It’s stressful every single time.

Jaclyn: Mm-hmm. It is.

Lee: But then it works out. The readers like it, and then you move on and start being anxious about the next book. It’s a cycle.

Jaclyn: Exactly. Yeah. Yeah, exactly.

Lee: So you have three series out in the world. You’ve got Haven’s Cove, and Beyond the Cove and Shore Thing, and you’re currently working on book five in the Shore Thing series, right?

Jaclyn: Mm-hmm. Yup.

Lee: Which I am so excited about. Oh my gosh. I’ve been reading it the whole time, and I’m just like, yes, yes, I can’t wait for their story. So I’m curious, what draws you to writing series? ‘Cause you do have a few standalones as well, but you know, you’re mostly a series writer so far.

Jaclyn: I have a feeling that if I’m ever gonna write more standalones, they’re going to be like what I’ve done already, which is novellas. I don’t know why. I, and sometimes I don’t even mean to with Beyond the Cove. I didn’t have anybody except for Eli and Zach because they were Jonah’s brothers from Haven’s Cove. So those characters really came up as I wrote. And I think that, I think that’s part of my problem with series, ’cause I could even go into it and say, okay, I’m not gonna write a series. And then someone pops up, and I’m like, okay, but now they need a book.

And then there are times in like Wrote to You. Parker was with a guy named Mike first and I knew if I didn’t make him happy with somebody else at the end of the book, I was gonna be like, but he needs a book. So I was like, nope. I gotta, I have to stop it somewhere. Because I already had other characters I needed to write for. So I was like, no. Mike needs to be in a relationship and then I won’t have that urge to write a book for him.

Lee: It’s so funny how that happens. I feel like we’re almost either consciously or subconsciously trained as romance writers to think in series because we’re, that’s usually what we like to read. That’s what readers ask for. And I don’t know, I feel like so many of us are just subconsciously dropping in little openings. Like we’re opening these windows with all of these characters just in case. And, but then readers start asking for that, and then you’re like, oh shit. I backed myself in a corner here.

Jaclyn: Yeah, like, I think. I’m not even sure. I know I had the five friends going into short thing I knew that it was going to be them. I’m pretty sure Sage, like the first time he came on page was when I was like, all right, well, he’s a character now. Like. um, And it kind of just. Like immediately I was like Levi and I just go from there.

Lee: Oh, Sage.

Jaclyn: That happened in too. It was like, All right. I know what’s going to happen. I don’t, wanna, you know, Thirst for You was kind of a suspense. So I didn’t wanna say anything, but I knew what was going to happen but I didn’t know how. And then as I was writing it, it was just like, oh, okay. That’s what’s gonna happen.

So a lot of times, like characters just come outta nowhere. But I love that. I love that about series books, and I love reading series books. I think that’s probably where it started. Before I even started writing, I always read series books. Like even going back to Nora Roberts, I had to have every single one in the series. So.

Lee: I’m the same way as a reader. It’s so nice to just watch the characters develop over the series. And I especially love offshoot series or worlds where you’ve got secondary characters that just pop in all over the place. So fun.

Jaclyn: Yeah. Yeah.

Lee: And I love that Sage was someone who just popped up organically ’cause oh, he is one of my favorite characters. He’s so funny and just larger than life. He is great.

Jaclyn: Yeah, I mean I knew that I had to have somebody more outgoing to be with Levi to kind of bring him out of his shell. But he really did not become clear to me until the first time he came on page. And then I was like, oh, okay. And then he was very clear to me, kind of like Drew. And I was like, all right, this is where this is going. So.

Lee: So, with the Shore Thing series, I would love to know more about what inspired you to write in that like tropical location and with a group of friends owning a business together. Where did that idea come from?

Jaclyn: Um, well, I’m a Jersey girl. Born and raised. So I’m also a beach girl because Jersey beaches are gorgeous. But we only have the beach for a few months out of the year and then it’s cold. So I’ve always wanted to like, just write in a setting like that, where it was just beautiful every day. Like that’s where I would wanna live. Basically. I wrote where I would wanna live.

And then with the guys opening businesses there, I don’t even know how, and again, this is just how it happened. Like I was gonna have them own a business together. And which technically they do under Shore Thing Management, but then under that is three different businesses. And then I got to a point where I was like, oh my god, what have I done?

You know? Um, I’ve worked it out obviously, but, yeah. I just wanted to write a town that I would wanna live in. You know that tropical feeling that like- And again, I think it went along with the romance of the book. I just wanted that setting that to me is romantic, I guess. Which would be the beach. So.

Lee: I love the town that you’ve created down there. It’s so vivid and the secondary characters and getting to revisit the businesses in each book. And I really like how, like the bars and the restaurants and everything, how they become part of the story each time. It’s such a fun place to visit.

Jaclyn: Yeah, It is fun. I had a lot of fun thinking of those names that had to do with maybe beach themes or whatever. And some of them were not so great and weren’t used and then others I was like, oh, I really like this. But, yeah, I wanted to make the town very clear because when I started with Haven’s Cove. That was what I intended that town to be like, and I didn’t really get there. I don’t know if it was clear for readers, but in my mind, it wasn’t as clear as Brighton Pier in Beyond the Cove because that’s basically where I live. Like that is a lot of the things in that book were, is, you know, real. The setting.

And so I knew going into Shore Thing that I wanted that small town to be a lot clearer than I had in Haven’s Cove. So I was determined. Business names and all that kind of thing, just to kind of really build it.

Lee: Especially when you’re investing five books in the series and revisiting over and over. That makes a lot of sense that just really kind of making the town its own character. And when you were starting out and kind of developing the series, did you anticipate or plan like, okay, these are the five friends, each guy is gonna get his own book, this is gonna be a five book series. Or were you kind of starting with one or two and then waiting to see how it went?

Jaclyn: They were five friends from the very beginning. And not only were they five friends from the very beginning, but I’ve had each of their covers since before I put out Convincing Cole.

Lee: Oh my gosh. awesome.

Jaclyn: I had every single cover ready. I knew exactly what they looked like. I don’t know how it happened because I have a hard time finding cover models. These guys just fell into place. Yeah. I knew from the beginning that I wanted five friends. Actually when I first started planning it, it was four friends. And then Burke came outta nowhere and I was like, all right. I need a guy like this. So he was added in. But again, that was before I even started writing Convincing Cole. I had all five of them.

Lee: Nice. That’s gotta help for planning and moving forward. Just kind of, I don’t, I mean, at least that’s how my brain works and I don’t know how yours does. But when you’ve decided, okay, this is gonna be this series, it’s gonna be this many people. For me, it almost feels easier to start building up characteristics of those other guys from the beginning, because you kind of know, okay, I do want him to get a book and I want readers to know this thing about him. So, for me anyway, it’s easier knowing that from the beginning because it’s kind of helped me set them up in the other books.

Jaclyn: Yeah. For me though, it was kind of like I picked five friends, because I was like, all right, five friends, five books, move on. Then you can’t create anybody else. That’s it. You have to end at five books. And now I’m on Burke’s book and I don’t want the the series to end. But the problem is that, you know, it really was built on these five original friends. So I don’t wanna bring somebody in that just doesn’t fit. But I may do, you know, like a novella here and there. We’ll see. But yeah, that originally it was to stop myself. Like you have a five book limit with this series. And that’s not working out. So, I don’t know.

Lee: That’s funny how that happens. You just get attached to the worlds you build. I get it.

Jaclyn: Mmhm. Yeah, I really am attached to these guys. And I think even more so than the last series. And I don’t know why. They’re just, they’re very clear in my mind. I don’t know. I don’t know why. They’re fun. I love their friendship I guess. I love that about them. So.

Lee: Friendship series are so fun. I love those too.

Jaclyn: They are. Yeah. I love it. them.

Lee: So not only do you have amazing series, you’ve got some awesome standalone books as well. Bet on It is one of my all time favorites. I think that was one of the first MMs I read and I just, I loved the guys and the premise and it was steamy and I just love good roommates to lovers story. And A Taste of Christmas is one of my favorite holiday books. I’m so excited. I’m like building up my TBR list for November to just get me in the mood. And that one as a reread is definitely on there.

And I’m curious, do you have any plans to write more standalones? So you kind of mentioned that earlier, that you might do like novellas here and there and that your standalones tend to be more novella length. But do you have any in mind for the future or just wait to see where it goes?

Jaclyn: Probably wait and see where it goes. Oddly enough, Bet on It was the second thing I’ve ever written. It was after that first 15,000 word story and there was just something about it that I loved. And I was like, I have no idea how this is gonna hit with readers, but I’m doing it anyway. So, and that actually might have been- I don’t remember the timeline, but I feel like that might have been after Drawn to You _where I was in that emotional slump and I needed something else. I feel like it might have been around there. But I don’t know, they just kind of come. I don’t think I’ll ever write like a full length Christmas book, you know. But I would love to write another Christmas book. So that will probably be a novella. I actually- I don’t know why I did this. But _A Taste of Christmas is supposed to be two books.

Lee: Oh.

Jaclyn: Yeah. I put a lot of pressure on myself with that one ’cause now, you know, it’s October and I’m like, oh my gosh. And I get worried. I don’t write series books where it focuses on the same couple. Ever. So writing another book about them is different for me. And I’m almost worried, you know, I don’t wanna ruin the first book by making the second one not as good.

But even now I started a different book, probably while I was writing Noah. And it’s a more serious book. And I think it was a few weeks ago, I was talking it over with my friends and I was like okay, but maybe it should be in a series with this and blah, blah, blah. And it just automatically goes into series books again. So I don’t know. I mean, I usually do good with novellas if I’m forced to. Like, if I’m doing it with a group of people and everybody has to write a novella, and then I’m like, okay, this is my limit. But it’s hard for me to do that. My brain just automatically goes to. What else can I do with this? So.

Lee: Because that’s what you did with your Ace’s Wild standalone, right? Like that was kind of a shared premise?

Jaclyn: Yeah, it was a shared world, but our characters weren’t connected at all. It was just, you know, this is the town, this is the college, this is the store, these are the owners, but then everything else was our own. Yeah, it was fun. It was a lot of pressure. It’s a lot of pressure when it involves other people, I think. Because I get in that head space of, I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to write today. But at the same time, like I’ve never not finished a book when it involved other people because that’s definitely the motivator.

Lee: Yeah, that external pressure. Yeah.

Jaclyn: Yeah. But unfortunately it’s pressure on them too ’cause they’re like, are you gonna finish? like.

Lee: So, what can readers get excited about in terms of upcoming projects?

Jaclyn: I have two projects that are a joint kind of thing that I can’t really talk about yet, but that’s coming next year. Um, hopefully the second book for A Taste of Christmas. We’ll see if I can get that done by Christmas. The first book I think I put it out like the day before Christmas. Um, But other than that, I mean, I have a series idea in my head, but it’s not completely clear yet. I do also have an idea to go back for Beyond the Cove. There are a few characters that I always intended to give books too. And then I even have covers for them. And I veered off into Shore Thing ’cause it was just what I needed to do. So I’ll probably go back and revisit that in Beyond the Cove. I don’t know if you remember, but at Zach’s bar this new guy, Mallek, comes in. He’s very funny and I actually started a book for him.

Lee: Oooh.

Jaclyn: So that I have no idea when that will happen. And again, I have his cover and it’s gorgeous, but hopefully it sees the light of day because. Um, yeah. So, hopefully a couple more books in Beyond the Cove, the Christmas book, and then I do have those two shared projects that will be happening next year.

Lee: That’s exciting.

Jaclyn: Yeah.

Lee: Very, very exciting.

Jaclyn: It is exciting. Yeah.

Lee: So one of the things I noticed in your bio, it says that you have had several artistic interests. Drawing, photography, jewelry, and now with the writing. So do you still do any of those other artistic pursuits or are you mostly focused on writing right now?

Jaclyn: Drawing will always be something that I do. I’ve been drawing since I was five. Sometimes I do commissions, but mostly I do it for me. I draw portraits. I know that will always be something that I do, but I go in like waves. Like right now I’m not really doing that but I’ve started doing designing t-shirts and mugs and things like that for an Etsy store that I intend to open. I don’t know when. Right now I’ve just been ordering samples to see how they actually are before I like, have a person order them. It’s really at the very beginning stages of that. But that’s like completely separate from Jaclyn Quinn. It’s, you know, really a- Christmas things and Halloween and just fun kind of things. So, we’ll see what happens with that. The jewelry, I still have everything. I just haven’t done it in a while, but I’ll probably go back. I rotate things, so it will always be something I need to do to be creative. But.

Lee: It’s the same for me. I have a few like crochet, jewelry and hand embroidery, and they just sort of rotate through seasonally or like a specific project that’s calling me. I have drawers of beads and jewelry supplies and drawers of yarn floss and everything, and it’s like, ugh. So now that we’re heading into Halloween and fall, I’m like, oh, last year I started crocheting, garlands of fall leaves. Maybe this is the time of year I pick that project up and finish it.

Jaclyn: Yeah, yeah. Yeah,

Lee: I would love to know a little bit about your reading habits. So you are writing and you’ve got these artistic pursuits. When you read, what angst levels do you tend to read?

Jaclyn: It really depends on the mood that I’m in. Sometimes I can’t handle heavy, but if I’m writing, a lot of times I’ll read something that’s completely different from what I’m writing because I’m always so afraid that I will draw on something that I’ve just read or be influenced by it, or, you know. So I tend to stay away from series books when I’m writing. I’ll go back though, like I’ll reread series that I’ve already read. But I tend not to start new things. I am not good with very heavy. Like it’s just not good for me emotionally. Right now I’m into low angst, just happy. I just want happy, quick stories. I read at night, you know, so, yeah.

Lee: Nice.

So what can readers expect from a Jaclyn Quinn story?

Jaclyn: Oh, gosh. Um, they can expect close relationships, first and foremost. There’s always going to be either a close knit group of friends, family, both, friends that are family. It’s just, it’s what I love to write. They can also expect that if I do get into those heavier topics, I’m always 100% going to lighten it with humor because I can’t do all heavy. And quite honestly, that’s just how I am. It’s how my family is. We go through those hard times by making each other laugh and making each other smile. And so that will always, always be in my books. Those heavier moments lightened with some kind of humor. That’s basically. it. Those are the Things that I love to write.

Lee: Nice. And where can readers connect with you and find out more information about you and your books?

Jaclyn: The best place right now is probably my reader’s group, in Quinn’s Cove. I do, believe it or not, keep my website updated, which is just JaclynQuinnBooks.com. I’ve been pretty good with that. I do send out newsletters when it gets closer to when I’m releasing. So that’s a good way. I’m not great on Instagram or Twitter, so probably not there. But I think your best bet would be Quinn’s Cove and on Facebook. That’s where I’m mostly at now in my little reader’s group. My little safe space. Yeah.

Lee: Great, and I’ll put links to all those in the show notes.

Jaclyn: Thanks.

Lee: It was great chatting with you. Thank you so much for being here. I love learning about you and your books.

Jaclyn: Thanks for having me. It was fun.

Lee: I had such a great time chatting with Jaclyn. I was also lucky enough to get to meet her at the Gay Romance Lit Retreat. It’s the place to be y’all. As I mentioned earlier, I wanted to provide an update on her books. Baiting Burke, which is the fifth book in her Shore Thing series just came out like a couple of days ago. And I’ve got a link to her Amazon page in the show notes.

Thanks so much for joining me in the Low Angst Library. I hope you enjoyed this interview. Is there an author of low angst queer romance that you’d like me to interview? There’s a link in the show notes and on LowAngstLibrary.com with a guest suggestion form. And if you’re an author writing low angst queer romance, there’s a self-suggestion form in the show notes and on the website as well.

A major goal of mine with this podcast is to have guests writing main characters in romance novels who represent identities all over the LGBTQIA2S+ spectrum. And your suggestions will help me with that.

If you’d like to financially support the podcast to help offset the cost of hosting, editing software and transcription for accessibility, you can buy me a coffee. The link is in the show notes. Other ways you can support the podcast are sharing episodes with your reader friends, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or another podcatcher that you found the episode on. And you can share social media posts. The podcast is on social media @LowAngstLibrary.

Until next time, keep reading.