Today I am going to do an interview of a mentor of mine. Our author, Janeen Ippolito, writes urban fantasy with a cast of incredibly creative characters. I’ve had the privilege of working with Janeen who’s been my editor and writing coach. Her help has led me to think outside of the box leading my novel, The Girl With Stars In Her Eyes, to be picked up by Scrivenings Press It is slated to be released in April of 2022. I dare say without Janeen’s help, I would not have my book contract.
Her book, Wishing Against the House, is the third in her Steel City Genie series, the first being If Wishes Were Curses, and her second, Wish You Weren’t Here. Janeen also has a short novella titled, Gone Wishing. Don’t you just love those titles?
Janeen, tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a book fan, a word nerd, a marketing geek, and an all-around info-junkie with a mind that keeps going…and going…and going…
Also, I love animals, but I don’t own any, so I tend to put a lot of them in stories. One reason I enjoy writing shifter characters is because I get to research animals.
Oh, I also do a lot of official stuff like write bestselling books (working on 18 and 19 concurrently right now), help ambitious authors level up their book businesses without burnout and lead Uncommon Universes Press.
Yes, I do in fact sleep. 😉
What inspired you to write about a match-maker, cursed genie?
Allis’s origin story is a bit complicated—and I am SO READY to dive into it.
At first, I actually work stories from Jack’s POV and Theiya’s POV. We’re talking about whole books. But I never managed to get anything to take off. I like offering fresh takes on tropes, and Jack (monster hunter) and Theiya (Fae cop) were just too on-genre for me.
Allis popped up as a supporting character pretty early on, because I liked the idea of a genie “image consultant” who could help rehabilitated Fae and monsters get a fresh start.
Then I put the books aside for a bit, because I couldn’t figure out what to do with it. I decided to try and do something lighter in the universe. Writer & friend Heidi Lyn Burke tossed one of her ideas at me for a Fae matchmaker—a story idea she wasn’t really interested in writing. So I decided I would try it out with Allis as a matchmaker, the oldest in a family of matchmaking sisters, and even outlined a few books.
Of course, when I try to write something fluffy, someone always ends up cursed, haha. I had to figure out why a likable, fashion-oriented genie would be living in the slums of Pittsburgh. Why she would go for a vampire when she could go for any kind of guy. That’s where the curse came in.
And I also realized that with her sisters, plus Jack and Theiya, made for a LOT of characters and a lot of women. So I decided to vary things up a bit. I went through a lot of partial drafts and abandoned sections, testing things out while I was working on The Ironfire Legacy series.
Ultimately, The Steel City Genie series morphed into its own unique universe and story world, apart from the initial traditional urban fantasy stories and apart from the matchmaking idea.
Welcome to the life of a discovery writer!
I love your strong female main character, Allis Evanenko, our darling genie. I also adore her brother, an otter shifter. How do you come up with such unique characters?
A part of it is that discovery process that I go through for each project. A part of it is my enjoyment of studying and understanding people. There’s such an endless variety of individuals on this world. The only way to really learn about a personality and a background is to write it, at least for me. Studying and writing about characters and their struggles is my way of figuring out humanity, which is ironic because most of them aren’t human!
Your characters believe in God, though they use magic.
It was a fun challenge to figure out how faith and magic could coexist, and I ended up making magic a naturally occurring energy force, like electricity or gravity. Something that was a created thing, could be governed by rules, and used for various purposes by various races. Something that ultimately bowed to the will of the Creator.
Of course, not everyone believes the same thing about him. Allis and Gideon have thrown themselves on the will of Destiny, and believe in God with real results, but others interpret things differently. I wanted to show that reality of our daily lives in the stories as well.
What is the message you ultimately want to bring to your readers through your stories?
Hope and victory in the darkness. That your brokenness doesn’t define who you are. That despite what you’ve done, or what you were born into, there’s always hope for redemption. That your scars can be overcome and can be a way to encourage others. That the best way to do this is in community.
Oh, and also, laughter. I hope people come away from my stories with laughter.
I know I found loads of fun and laughter in the pages of your book! Last question, if you were to ask Allis for one wish, what would it be?
Nope. Absolutely nothing. I have no interest asking for wishes—and she has no interest in granting them, so we’re good.
Hahaha! I do believe you’re correct. Allis would NOT advise you to ask for a wish. No spoilers here dear reader, you have to read the books to find out why!
Janeen, thank you for sharing so much of yourself and your story today.
Find Janeen here:
Website: https://janeenippolito.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janeenippolitounique/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JaneenIppolito
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janeen_ippolito/
Wishing Against the House blurb:
My city is under attack by shadowfiends.
Apparently, this is my fault, thanks to the family I’ve never met.
At least the attack interrupted my first couples therapy session with Cendric. Small blessings, right?
Then my long-lost dad—yeah, the one that’s supposed to be dead—shows up to tell me that the shadowfiends are controlled by Raith, an old family member who’s here to recharge his magical batteries by any means necessary, including destroying Pittsburgh and me. Oh, and centuries ago, Raith picked a fight with the local dragons, so they’re after me as well.
Now I have to learn my family’s magic, stop Raith, and make nice with the dragons. Speaking of which, did I mention my oh-so-quiet secretary has eloped with one of the dragons’ worse enemies?
Personally, all I want for Christmas is to survive until New Year’s.
And maybe, a vacation.
Ho, ho, ho! And don’t forget to have a merry, magical Christmas!
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