Author interview: Jessica King

Jessica King is a US based writer of contemporary romance, and I was privileged enough to receive an ARC of her debut novel, The Best Friends’ Playlist, which is released August 14th. More about that later! But first, let’s find out a bit more about Jessica.

Jessica, welcome! This is an absolutely stunning debut. How long have you been writing? What led you to this point where you’re about to release your book baby into the world?

Thank you so much Sophie for being an ARC reader for The Best Friends’ Playlist! I am so glad you enjoyed it and am so excited to be doing this interview with you! I’ve been writing (or really attempting to write) a book since I was seventeen, but didn’t really start writing seriously until 2020 when I started writing a YA fantasy book. I’ve always loved clean romance books, and around 2021, I started reading books from some newer contemporary romance authors (Kortney Keisel, Savannah Scott, Kasey Stockton, etc.) This was a new-ish writing style to me, and it absolutely pulled me in. I loved the witty banter and fun meet-cutes. In the spring of 2023, I had just finished a draft of the YA fantasy novel I was working on and thought, what’s next? The next thing I knew, I was sitting in a gas station filling up my car when this idea for a romcom came to me. Nothing says romance like the gas station, right? Haha. I started the book soon after and finished it about four months later. I seriously had SO much fun writing this book. I laughed and cried while writing and just felt all my emotions spill into these characters. I can’t wait to let this little book baby fly into the world! 

I saw from your website that you’re a mum of three! What’s your favourite time of day to write and how do you squish it in?

Trying to write during the day with three little kids is a one-way ticket to crazy town! So I opt to keep my sanity and write at night time. This book was mostly written on Tuesday and Thursday nights and a bit on the weekend. It was the perfect schedule, allowing me to still be present with my family and husband while not getting too stressed out. Well, most of the time at least. My writing schedule is definitely slower than most authors, but I’m learning that all authors have different looking lives and schedules and that it’s important to stick to what works best for me. But it’s easier said than done. 🙂

Now tell us about your wonderful book, The Best Friends’ Playlist. What was the main inspiration for the story? What was your favourite part of it to write?

I absolutely LOVE the best-friends-to-lovers trope. It’s probably my favourite trope out there. Something about two people that know each other so deeply discovering their love for each other just hits right every time! So I knew that if I wrote a romcom series, I would be starting with a pair of best friends. I think my favorite part was writing Paige and Jordan’s personalities. At my core, I’m just a quirky person, and I felt like Paige’s quirks and humor were so easy and fun to write because her internal thoughts are very much in line with my own. I don’t always say what’s on my mind because I’m human and have a very prominent filter that tells me when to say quirky things out loud and when to keep them to myself. But with Paige, I just let all the thoughts fly! And it was so much fun! She’s a bit of a quirk and I love her. As for Jordan… Well, I love reading a character that knows how to tease, and tease he does! I really wanted a playful and fun MMC to match the light best friend vibe and to balance out the more serious content in the book, and so Jordan’s playful personality was an absolute joy to write. Paige and Jordan’s teasing relationship is probably my favourite thing! 

I loved that Paige and Jordan’s journey was not simple. How important is realism to you in a romance story?

Personally, I think some of the most beautiful happily ever afters are the ones that start from turbulent beginnings. Maybe it’s the fact that it gives the reader more hope knowing that the couple they are reading about truly will make things work long after the initial spark, knowing that they’ve been through hardship before and made it through together even stronger. That being said, I love a good fluffy read! I always love adding those fun, light elements, but having a more realistic emotional base to a story really helps make the characters come alive in my mind. I always find that my connection with a character is deeper if based in realism because I can relate with them more. 

I laughed out loud throughout the book! I think you have a great sense of humour. What are your favourite comedy movies?

First off, thank you for laughing. I did a post a while back on Instagram where I was like, I have no idea if my humour will land in this book, but I’m moving forward, hoping someone will laugh along with me. So to hear you say that just makes me so happy. 

Oh boy, this is a super hard question. I am a huge movie fan. I’m sure I will think of a million other favorite comedy movies after this interview, but for now I will say, While You Were Sleeping and You’ve Got Mail.

What are you working on next?

After The Best Friends’ Playlist is officially published on August 14th, I’ll be starting the next book in the Pine Lakes Lovers series which is a romcom all about Missy and Colton, our resident enemies to lovers. I can’t even express how excited I am for this one. Let’s just say it our pageant queen and senator’s son are going to go on a journey they won’t soon forget! 

You can follow Jessica on Instagram @authorjessicaking.

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