Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Irwin.
Hi Jennifer, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
After raising three sons, I turned to writing to help myself heal from a toxic marriage and childhood trauma. My debut novel, A Dress the Color of the Sky was published in 2018. The story ends when the protagonist, Prudence Aldrich, checks out of rehab for s*x addiction. The book resonated so much with readers that they begged me to write a sequel. Everyone wanted to know how Prue fared in the world after checking out of Serenity Hills. The stand-alone sequel, A Dress the Color of the Moon was published in October 2021. My debut novel was optioned for a feature film prior to its release, so I pushed the book to market and published small press. I have just finished my third manuscript, The Ad Agency which I will be pitching to agents in early November at the Kauai Writers Conference.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road has been far from smooth. As an indie-published author, all the marketing falls on my shoulders. It’s very difficult to penetrate the reader market without a large publishing house pushing your book to market. Since releasing my first book, I have learned a lot about marketing and become comfortable with shameless self-promotion. I do have an agent, but it is nearly impossible to get the sequel to an indie-published book picked up by a big publisher, so I just went ahead and released the sequel through the same hybrid publisher. The original cover of A Dress the Color of the Sky was designed by the producer who optioned the film rights and Amazon banned me from running ads due to it being too salacious. As a result, I have recovered the book, but prior to the new cover, I wasn’t able to run any ads on Amazon which is the primary source of sales for indie authors.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I write character-driven stories and am fascinated by the resilience of the human spirit. My stories have relatable characters who are highly flawed. Because I don’t earn a living as a writer, I work a sales job starting at six in the morning and write in the afternoons when my brain is more creative. When my debut novel won three awards in three different categories, I felt extremely elated because it meant that my writing was standing out amongst other writers in my genre. The stand-alone sequel has won two book awards so far and I’m hoping there’s more to come. The greatest joy for me is when I receive a direct message from a reader about how my books have changed them or helped them in some way. I also love reading the incredible reviews that have been posted on Amazon and Goodreads.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
My neighborhood had a huge sense of community where families would gather out in front of their homes, and we got to know neighbors we had never spoken to before. I also learned that people could have extreme beliefs and listen to all opinions without judgment even if they didn’t align with mine. The time in isolation gave me a lot of opportunities to write which was a silver lining.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jenniferirwinauthor.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenirwinauthor/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jenniferirwinauthor/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jenirwinauthor
