Jen Desmarais shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Jen, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. Would YOU hire you? Why or why not?
I would hire myself, actually. Especially if it meant that there were two of me. I would love to be able to have another me to do promo work all day while the real me got to write. As much as I enjoy doing the promo myself, it takes a lot of time away from writing. I have to schedule my day very carefully so that I don’t lose myself in graphic design (or writing!).
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hello! I’m Jen Desmarais, and if you’re older than 18, I’m also Desiree DuBois. Under my own name, I write YA and adult urban fantasy romance set in the Aetherverse, a world that my husband and I write in, both together and separately. Under my pen name, I currently have a contemporary spicy romance duology.
I have so many ideas for the future, including branching out into Middle Grade fantasy and science fiction romance.
I’m currently writing the last book in my YA romance trilogy, and I’m really excited about it!
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
My husband is my biggest supporter and cheerleader. He knew I was capable of writing a book before I did. He also knew I was in the middle of writing one before I did.
My first (solo) book was unexpected. I thought I was writing a short story, realized it was a little longer than that, and pinned it down as a novella. When I eventually did a word count, I was shocked to discover it was a full length novel. I hadn’t made a plot outline, or even chapters! It required a lot of work to get it into book shape, and I’ve never done anything without a proper outline again!
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
You have AuDHD! Stop burning yourself out! Here’s some tricks for your brain to keep you on track so that you’re not doing everything last minute.
But I also wouldn’t want to talk to my younger self, because anything I say might change my timeline, and I have kids. I don’t want to change them. (Think the movie About Time.)
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
It didn’t used to be, but I’ve been unmasking (not literally) a lot since my AuDHD diagnosis, and I think I’m getting better at being genuinely myself.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. When do you feel most at peace?
My kids have started requesting bedtime snuggles. Cuddling up to them for 5-10 minutes and letting them playing with my fingers while they tell me about their day is the most at peace I feel all day. Even if I have a whole list of things to do after they’re in bed, those stolen minutes help me reset.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jeneric-designs.ca
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jendesmaraisauthor
- Other: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/edhelwen1
Image Credits
Art on the book covers by @pinkpiggy93 on Instagram
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
