Interview with Jamie Pacton, author of The Absinthe Underground

 

I am so excited to be sharing my interview with Jamie Pacton today!! We are primarily talking about her recently released book The Absinthe Underground. I've been hooked on the idea of this book for a while and I am so happy to bring more attention to this book.      

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When this book is published in February it will be your 4th published book, correct?

That is correct! (Though I did write an additional IP book under a pen name that came out in 2019, but The Absinthe Underground is the 4th book under my name). :-)

Ooh, nice!! Congrats on the books!! It's awesome that you've got 4, 5 including your IP book, out!
What does your writing process look like? Is it the same for every book or are there differences?

Every book is a little different when it comes to the day-to-day process- sometimes I write in the morning, sometimes late at night, sometimes with music, sometimes with silence, etc.- but there are a few things I now do for every book once I have an idea.

• Figure out comps and the one-line quick pitch for the story. This helps me stay focused and on track.
• Write a 4-act outline that maps out the book. In this, I also try to think about how my characters are going to grow and change through the book.
• Write the jacket copy, which is the quick summary of the book that introduces the world and characters, the conflict, and hints at the resolution.
• Write a full synopsis that hits all the plot points, character arcs, and shows emotional development.
• From there, I use the synopsis to create a chapter outline.
• Then, finally, I start drafting. I usually quickly write the first draft and then spend lots of time in revisions making the sentences pretty and really digging into character growth and world descriptions.

Oh, nice!! Thank you so much for the detailed list. I personally love learning about the writing process of authors. I can geek out about it! This looks like a really solid way of planning the book out and definitely seems to be working for you!
How did you get the idea for this book?

The seeds of this idea have lived in my head for a very long time. I first got a glimpse of this book back in 2012, when I went to a "Posters of Paris" exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Museum. At that exhibit, I saw a little card that talked about how posters thieves made quite a living stealing the art posters that would go up all over Paris in the 1890s. I had this vision of two poster thieves, both girls, surviving on the edges of society in Paris, with only each other to rely on. It took me many years to find the heart of this story, however, and it all came together for me when I was looking at Henri Toulouse-Lautrec's "At the Moulin Rouge". In this painting, there's a green-faced woman in the bottom right corner. One day, I was looking at her, and had the thought, "What if the artist had accidentally caught a glimpse of the true nature of a green fairy, living in the glittering nightclubs of our world..?"

I combined that idea with my poster thieves book idea, and The Absinthe Underground was born.

There’s a bit more about this inspiration here: https://www.tiktok.com/@jamiepacton/video/7297043337196981547

Ooh fascinating!!! That's definitely an interesting and fun way to get inspiration for a book!
I really love the names of these characters. How did you decide on the names?

I also really love these names- Sybil, Esme, and Maeve- too! They've been in my head for a long time- I remember having a friend with a car named Esme; and Maeve was a name I encountered in college, while reading Irish writers. I just love how elegant these names sound, and also how they fit the world. With that said, at first, Sybil was named Semele, but I landed on Sybil after the first round of edits for the book.

Elegant is the perfect way to describe those names! They give off such a beautiful vibe. They definitely seem to fit in very well with the world!
The cover of this book is absolutely gorgeous! What was the process the cover went through to get to where it's at now?

I love to tell this story! Since this book was inspired by vintage posters, I wanted a cover that felt like one of those. Specifically, I wanted one that felt like a Mucha poster, and I sent my editor many examples and a terribly rough sketch. She found an amazing artist, who took my vision and awful sketches and made this gorgeous cover. I did a TikTok about the process here: https://www.tiktok.com/@jamiepacton/video/7298518466397490474

I had never heard of a Mucha poster before, but after a quick Google search I can definitely see it! I'm so glad that the artist was able to work with that idea and come up with such an astounding cover!
I saw on social media that this book has cats. I honestly just want to know all the information you're willing to give about these cats. Why did you decide to include cats? Do they play an important role in the book? What are their names?

There are so many cats in this book! Their names are Oliver, Jolie, Pierre, Jean-Francois, Ash, Mercy, and Estelle. They're all parts of the story, but little Oliver, a mischievous kitten, is absolutely essential to the plot.

In my first draft, there was just one cat living with our main characters, Esme and Sybil, but then I realized that Esme, who is driven by fixing things, helping people, and taking in strays, would absolutely pick up every cat she encounters in the city. And so, the little clocktower apartment is now absolutely stuffed with cats. This addition of cats was also helped along by my child, who loves cats. She drew me the cutest sketch of all seven of the cats, which hangs above my desk. Also, I can share that on one of the special editions of the book, we get a sprayed edge with all the cats on it.

I am obsessed with these cats! They are amazing!! I remember seeing the sketch, it was so cute and sweet!! I definitely want to get my hands on that special edition (probably secondhand now lol) because that just sounds amazing and like it needs to be on my shelf.
Do you do anything to celebrate the release of your books?

I try to treat book releases like a party! There's so much in publishing outside an author's control, but I think it's so important to celebrate all the little accomplishments. For my earlier books, I did have parties at home with cake and such, and for The Absinthe Underground, we'll have a fun event with my local indie bookstore. I have heard there will even be some green fairy cosplays in attendance, which is amazing.

Yesss!!! I'm so glad to hear that!! Celebrate the little things!
What's something that you like to have near you when writing? A specific treat or drink or good luck charm, anything like that.

I always write with a cup of tea and usually two or three other beverages on hand. Other than that, there's nothing really that I'd consider a good luck charm. I just sit down somewhere and do the work.

Haha fair! I always need a lot of drinks near me when I do...anything.
Do you have anything else that you're working on currently?

Absolutely. After The Absinthe Underground publishes in February 2024, I have another book, Furious, a sapphic YA contemporary that's co-written with Becca Podos, that comes out in June 2024. I'm also working on revising an adult book that Becca and I co-wrote. It's not been announced yet, but I'm very excited to share more about that one with the world. Beyond all that, I have a few projects that I'm in the early stages of, which I'm enjoying so much.

I am so excited about Furious!!! It looks so amazing! I'm glad that you're enjoying the books you're working on! That's so important.
Recently I've found myself really curious as to what books other people are reading. What are some books you read and enjoyed recently?

I've read so many great books this year! Some of the ones I blurbed that I really enjoyed are: By Any Other Name by Erin Cotter; The No-Girlfriend Rule by Christen Randall; and The Final Curse of Ophelia Cray by Christine Calella.

I also really loved Starling House by Alix E. Harrow and on the non-fiction side, I really enjoyed Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer and Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert.

I loved The No-Girlfriend Rule!!! Such an amazing book! Starling House and By Any Other Name are both on my TBR list too!!
I hope you all enjoyed this interview! I really loved getting to talk with Jamie Pacton about her book and writing process. Especially what her writing process looks like! For an aspiring writer, seeing other authors' writing processes interests me!
As always, links to follow Jamie Pacton on social media as well as where to buy a copy of The Absinthe Underground can be found below. Have a great day and happy pride month!

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You can find Jamie Pacton on their website, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter.

You can buy Jamie Pacton's books from Room Of One's Own.

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!