Interview with Jenny Frame, author of A HAVEN FOR THE WANDERER

 

I am so thrilled that I was able to interview one of my favorite authors this month!! I got to interview Jenny Frame! She is an author of sapphic fiction and I've read several of her books and loved each of them! Seeing Jenny Frame's name pop up in my form responses was an absolutely amazing moment for me.

In this interview we talked about how she first got started with writing, what her writing schedule doesn't look like, and where the idea for the Rosebrook Romance series came from. This was an amazing interview and I am still so excited that I got to conduct it. As always, links to Jenny Frame's social media accounts will be at the bottom and so will a link to purchase her books.      

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How did you first get started with writing?

I had a back injury and had to give up work as a civil servant. I was looking for something I could fill my day with, something that could give me some kind of purpose. At the same time I discovered fan fic - Xena fan fiction especially, and from there I found many of the authors had books published, and began to read everything I could get my hands on. I then thought maybe I could try and get some story ideas of my own on paper and submit them to the fan fiction sites. Once I did, I just couldn't stop, and writing became something that kept me going every day. After some good feedback on the fan fiction sites I decided to submit to a publisher, and the rest is history.

I love Xena fanfiction! I used to read a bunch of it when I was originally trying to find sapphic stories that my family wouldn't know about. I'm sorry about what led to you having to give up your work but I am also very happy that you became a writer and decided to submit to a publisher.
What was the process like for you when you were getting your first book published?

I had a friend who I had met through fan fiction, beta read my book, A Royal Romance. She was very honest with me, and I trusted her opinion. I changed and rewrote portions of it following her advice. It's very important to have people who you trust and who can give you constructive criticism. Once I submitted it to Bold Strokes Books, I was paired with my amazing editor Ruth. We got on great together and I've learned so much. I have heard other authors say they dread editing, but I really love it. Fine-tuning the story is lots of fun for me.

Sounds like an amazing friend! Glad that she was there to help you grow and edit. Honestly the idea of editing terrifies me so I'm always surprised and interested when I find authors that seem to enjoy the editing process. That is so awesome.
You've written contemporary romance books as well as some paranormal/urban fantasy romance books. Is it strange or hard for you to finish a book of one genre and switch to another genre?

No not hard. The love story at the heart of the book is the main thing for me, the genre and rules of that particular world are just the settings I put the couple in. It's like having a company of actors, who I move from film to film. I love writing different genres. I don't like to box myself into just one genre

That's a great way of looking at it! I love the wording you used there, it makes a lot of sense as to why it's easy for you. I'm glad that you have the ability to write in multiple genres and that you don't have to box yourself in.
Do you have a set writing schedule? If so, what does it look like?

Ah..no. I'm the most unorganized writer you could find. I'm autistic and so schedules and plans never work with me. But I can say that the work does get done, thankfully.

Ha, I'm the same way with schedules. I have to keep them vague and flexible or I end up just ignoring everything I have to do. I'm impressed that you can still get the work done without a schedule! Kudos to you!!
You recently published A Haven for the Wanderer, the third book in the Rosebrook Romance series. How did the idea for this series originally come to be?

I was reading about an abandoned village in England. It was abandoned after the Second World War and attracted visitors to see what a traditional English village was like in the past. Cottages and small farms were left abandoned, and it occurred to me that this kind of village was a blank canvas, where a benefactor could buy the land and estate to build their own vision. This is what Evan Fox does. She wants to make an ecological village that will also be a safe place where LGBTQ+ people and other minorities feel they are living in a safe haven.

Ooh that's interesting!!! I love the Rosebrook series because the idea of living in a village like that honestly sounds like a dream!
Were you originally intending to write 3 books in this series or did the series grow as characters demanded a romance of their own?

I knew there would be at least three. When I start on a first book of a series, I always know which pair of co-star characters will have their own romance. It's so nice to pair people up.

Love that! I love that you already know who you're going to give a book too!
Is there a main message that you wanted to be present throughout all the books in the Rosebrook series?

Yes, I think two messages. One is about acceptance. Accepting people for who they are and treating them with kindness, and two how important it is to work together as a community to look after the environment around us.

Those are both amazing messages! I definitely see those conveyed in these books!
How did you come up with the titles for these books?

Sometimes they come quite naturally. You think of the core theme of the book and something emerges from that, and sometimes it'll be in collaboration with the publisher if I'm having trouble.

Solid! I'm impressed that some of these titles just come naturally to you! Like I get the logic but titles just get me sometimes lol
I adore all of the books I've read of yours but one of my favorite series is the Axedale Village Romance series. Any chance you want to talk a bit about those books and how those characters and romances came to be?

Axedale is very special to me. It makes me smile to think of the village. The idea came to me that I'd like to write a book about a sleepy English village, the big house in the village, all that kind of thing. I'd just done my Royal Romance series and wanted to write more about the world of the aristocracy. I wanted to write about a reluctant Countess who doesn't want anything to do with her title, the estate, or the village. Harry Knight needs to fall in love with Axedale again, and that's where Annie, her new housekeeper, comes in.

Yes!!! The series always brings a smile to my face too! It's high on my list of fictional places I would love to live. I love that that's how you got the idea for it! A sleepy village and a reluctant Countess. Perfect!
What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I'm a huge football fan. Up until I injured my back I went to watch my favourite team every week, but now I have to settle with watching on TV. My partner Lou also loves football so our weekends revolve around that. I love reading of course and watching TV. I'm currently making my way through the Mandalorian and Loki.

Ooh, I still need to watch Loki!
What are some of your favorite books?

I'm a big reader of history books. I've recently finished a mammoth book tracing the Kings and Queens of Britain from 1066 to the present day, and I loved it. I'm now on a biography of Henry VII's mother, Margaret Beaufort. In between that kind of reading I love my romance novels. My favourites are the Cain Casey series by Ali Vali, and Radclyffe's Provincetown series.

I'm curious now if you being a big history reader is one of the reasons you have a handful of books dealing with the aristocracy. That's anazing though, I can't often get into nonfiction books. I need to read the Cain Casey series though!!!
Thank you so much for doing this interview with me! I greatly appreciate you spending your time doing this! I wish you an amazing week and a great rest of the year.
If Jenny Frame's books sound like they're up your alley, make sure to check out the link included below to follow her or purchase her books. If you like what I do, consider giving me a follow on social media or donating to my Ko-fi.

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You can find Jenny Frame on their website, Instagram, and Twitter.

You can buy Jenny Frame's books from Bold Strokes Books.

If you can't buy her books but you still want to read them, consider requesting them to your local library or suggesting them on Overdrive!