Joining me today is author Jaycee Jarvis. She’s been an avid romance reader since devouring all the Sweet Dreams books her middle school library had to offer. Also a fantasy fan from an early age, she often wished those wondrous stories had just a bit more kissing. Now she writes stories with a romantic heart set against a magical backdrop, creating the kind of book she most likes to read. When not lost in worlds of her own creation, she resides in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, three children and a menagerie of pets. Jaycee is a Golden Heart® finalist and author of the award-winning Hands of Destin series. The first book in that series, Taxing Courtship, released in June 2018 and was followed in June 2019 with the second in the series, Dangerous Courtship.
SS: Welcome, Jaycee. Have you always been driven to write? Or did you begin writing in response to a particular stimulus?
JJ: I’ve always been driven to tell stories, though I didn’t really start seriously writing until college. I fully realized the power of getting words down when a school friend encouraged me to record my stories. At that point, I took every creative writing class I could squeeze into my schedule.
SS: If you have children, does being a parent influence your writing? To what extent?
JJ: Parenting influences my writing time and schedule to a huge extent. I’ve learned a great deal about how to work in odd circumstances.
SS: Could you say something about your relationship to your fictional characters? How autobiographical do you think your fiction is?
JJ: My fiction is not very autobiographical, as I deeply enjoy exploring people and cultures very different from myself and the real world. That exploration is part of the appeal of fantasy for me. However I really value authentic emotion in fiction, so I do pull my own experiences into my books in a more abstract way.
SS: What was your first recognition/success as an author?
JJ: I was a finalist for the Golden Heart® in 2016 with Taxing Courtship. The Golden Heart® is the most prestigious award for unpublished authors in Romance Writers of America. I seriously believe that award changed the course of my career—Taxing Courtshipwent on to be my debut novel in 2018.
SS: What are you working on at the moment?
JJ: Book 3 in the Hands of Destin series, Secret Courtship.
SS: Are you looking to entertain or illuminate?
JJ: To entertain, first and foremost! Of course, the best entertainment also reveals important truths.
SS: Do you believe you write the kind of book you’d want to read?
JJ: Absolutely! I struggled to find books with just the right balance of world building and emotional depth, so I started writing them myself.
SS: Can you analyze your romance in terms of the Sternberg model: 1) What was the degree of intimacy (disclosure, sharing, caring)? 2) What was the degree of passion(romance, infatuation, sexuality)? 3) What was the degree of commitment (long-term, monogamy, other?)?
JJ: This is a very interesting way to look at romance! I tend to write high-intimacy stories with a moderate-to-high degree of passion. The story arc is often about increasing the degree of commitment. For example, Deadly Courtship is a second chance at love story between two people who parted as friends. They have intimacy in spades from the very beginning as they already trust and understand each other very well, and a certain degree of passion as well from their shared history and attraction. But they don’t have the same relationship goals, or desire to be together, and so the romantic story arc is mostly about them coming to acknowledge their love and committing to a future together. A satisfying romance needs all three of the elements of the Sternberg model.
SS: What role does consent and the #MeToo movement play in your writing?
JJ: Romance has always been on the cutting edge of centering women’s stories, women’s pleasure and women’s agency, so questions of consent are a natural part of writing romance and have been for a long time. That said, the #MeToo movement has informed my tastes as a reader—I have a stronger distaste for anything that smacks of harassment or abuse. This heightened awareness also informs my own writing.
SS: What is your favorite trope? Why?
Opposites attract is a huge favorite of mine. I love characters who can see past their differences and indeed are stronger together because of the way they compliment each other. It gives me hope in a divided world, and romance is all about hope.
SS: Can a beta male be a great hero?
JJ: Absolutely—I have always been a huge fan of beta heroes, and can go on at length extoling the virtues of a hero that puts the heroine first and allows her to take center stage. I think the world needs more examples of successful, admirable men who are also emotionally intelligent and supportive partners. Oathbreakersby Mercedes Lackey was a transformative book for me as a teen, as it was a swashbuckling fantasy novel, very much in the sword and sorcery tradition, with a strong romantic subplot involving an older scholarly man, whose main appeal was his intelligence and his kindness. J was the kind of man I could imagine admiring in real life, and my love of beta heroes was born.
One of the reasons I’m so passionate about my own writing is that I feel like there aren’t enough strong beta heroes out in the world, and I want to write more of them. Jasper, the hero from Deadly Courtship, is a sweet and sensitive empath, and that very emotional understanding is his core strength, allowing him to be a perfect foil for rough-around-the-edges Madi.
My favorite romances are stories where both the people in the relationship become their best selves, and I think beta heroes are a natural fit in those stories.
SS: Do you believe in real-life happily-ever-afters?
JJ: Absolutely! I just celebrated 20 years together with the love of my life, so I know what happily-ever-after looks like. While my own relationship has less drama than most romance novels, I do think my core understanding of love and what it means shines through in my books. Plus I love real life stories of couples who overcome obstacles to be together, or who had the perfect romantic cute meet. I think the best of fiction has a kernel of truth—I’d have a hard time writing about love and hope if I didn’t believe they really exist.
SS: What’s the first book you read that made you think, “I’ve got to write something like this someday!”
JJ: Oathbreakers by Mercedes Lackey really opened my eyes to all the possibilities in the fantasy genre.
SS: In your view, who are the best fantasy authors?
JJ: There are so many wonderful authors, it is hard to choose! I have a real love of Mercedes Lackey and Anne Macaffery from my youth. Lois McMaster Bujold is a writer without equal, especially when she gives the romance in her stories space. I’m also a huge fan of Elizabeth Vaughan and Jeffe Kennedy, both writers whose creative world building have swept me away.
SS: How do you see the relationship between fantasy and culture? How about the boundaries between fantasy and reality?
JJ: There is a freedom to explore and create when writing fantasy that is unique to the genre. More than any other genre, fantasy allows the author to explore themes and ideas from a new direction. Fantasy worlds can be whatever you make them to be. Even without trying, I think fantasy reflects the culture and values of the author, both by what is included and what is left out. There is also a place in fantasy to comment on current culture, though exactly how the author approaches this varies.
SS: If you could harness and ride a fantastic beast or other charmed mode of transport, what would it be and where would you go?
JJ: I have a weakness for dragons—if given the chance, I would love to ride one!
LIGHTNING ROUND:
SS: Describe your books in 3 words: Magical, heartwarming, sexy
SS: Favorite thing about your genre? I love the endless possibilities of fantasy worlds combined with the hope and emotional resonance of romance. Sometimes deeper truths can best be explored in alternate, over-the-top circumstances.
SS: When writing, are you a night owl or morning person? I like to fast draft in the morning and prefer to edit later in the day.
SS: Book you’re currently reading:The Orchid Throne by Jeffe Kennedy. I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this September release. Rich and evocative, this start to an entirely new series has me spellbound.
SS: Your favorite guilty pleasure: Decadent desserts—especially anything involving chocolate
SS: Your favorite genre of romance: Fantasy Romance is my first love—which I why I write it
SS: What’s your favorite RomCom or your favorite romance? RomCom movies seem to be making a resurgence lately and I’m totally here for it. I have a number of classic favorites like Pretty Woman and While You Were Sleeping, but I really am very excited for the new entries in the field. Crazy Rich Asians was wonderful—I highly recommend it!
SS: What’s your favorite fantasy movie? The Princess Bride—hands down my favorite movie ever.
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Deadly Courtship is available through:
Taxing Courtship is also available through:
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Excerpt from Deadly Courtship:
A young man shoved past the women to enter the tavern. Something in the way he moved set Madi’s instincts on edge. He wore the simple chiton and colorful sash of a Circ, yet the nomadic vagabonds usually went out of their way to avoid altercations with ladies in saris. A Circ would always be on the losing end of such conflicts.
Verona nudged Madi once before following the man through the bead curtain.
“Stay here,” Madi told Ophelia and Em as she passed them on her way into the tavern.
As the beads clicked behind her, Madi paused for a moment to let herself adjust to the dim, cool interior. Buckets of ice scattered between tables and sitting mats helped keep the temperature down even during the midday crush. A cacophony of voices and laughter echoed off the clay walls and assaulted Madi’s ears, only muffled slightly by worn rugs in earthen colors hanging at intervals along the walls.
Not far from the entrance, the Circ grabbed the arm of a ten-year-old girl.
Low to the ground and as agile as a snake, Verona headed straight for the pair while Madi followed as best she could. Her gauzy yellow sarong swirled around her knees, making her wish for her guardsmen uniform with its stiff leather jerkin and air of authority.
“You will tell me,” the Circ said, his voice carrying even in the crowd.
“Rotting hell I will.” The girl, a servant holding a washrag, tried without success to pull her arm from his grasp.
Reed mats rustled on the dirt packed floor, as a few patrons at the nearest table rose to their feet. A snarl rumbled deep in Verona’s throat as she passed the table. The sailors froze, half off their sitting mats. They were the kind of bruisers who would not mind washing their fish soup down with a rousing fight, but only a fool would tangle with a waccat.
Silence fanned outward like waves from a stone dropped in a pond as people noticed the prowling cat and turned to stare.
As she trailed after her waccat, Madi grabbed the shoulder of one of the would-be rescuers. She pushed her back into her seat and gestured for her friends to sit as well. They complied, keeping a wary eye on Verona and the Circ.
Verona stopped behind the Circ and hunched low, tail lashing. Her lips pulled back to reveal gleaming teeth longer than a man’s thumb. Her snarl echoed through the sudden stillness.
The Circ glanced over his shoulder and dropped the girl’s arm.
Trusting Verona to keep the peace, Madi scrutinized the Circ. She moved her gaze from his youthful face down to his ragged chiton, colorful sash, and worn leather sandals. Madi’s earth talent followed the path of her eyes, rifling with mental fingers through his clothes in search of any hard objects. She noticed and dismissed the stone clasp on his belt, a silver bangle, and a few cocoa beans in a pouch. His only weapon was a slender bronze knife strapped to his thigh and hidden by his hem.
“What’s the trouble here?” Madi asked as she stopped next to Verona.
“No trouble, Hand,” the Circ said, almost spitting the last word.
“I’m glad to hear it.” Madi fingered the hilt of her dirk, wishing for a staff or a sword. “I hate trouble.”
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