We recently had the chance to connect with Jennifer DeVries and have shared our conversation below.
Jennifer, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
Right now I’m in the beginning stages of a new book — researching, crafting the story, building settings and characters. It’s the necessary work that has to happen before a single word is written. I rise at 5am every morning, feed the cats, make myself a cup of coffee, and sit down at my computer. I’m most productive in the early morning, when my house is most peaceful — it’s quiet, my kids are still in bed, and I have some time before before I have to turn my focus to my grown-up job. That’s when the real magic happens with my books.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am a Minnesota-based indie author of six paranormal thriller novels: Charlie’s Mirror, Sister Lost, the Raegan O’Rourke Mysteries series (The Thirteenth Cabin, Angel Baby, & Fool’s Gold), and my newest release, Ripple Effect. In 2020, at the age of 44, I finally realized a lifelong dream when I published my first novel — and I’ve published a book every year since. I am living, breathing proof that it is never too late to chase your dreams.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I was a precocious child, reading billboards from the backseat of the car by age three, shocking my parents. I read “The Monster at the End of This Book” over and over until it fell apart in my hands at age six. I read every single Stephen King novel in my parents’ library by age twelve. I was constantly writing stories, and made my first attempt at writing a novel at age thirteen. Writing was my way of exploring and understanding the world around me. I always knew I wanted to be a novelist, to entertain and share my stories with the world.
But as I grew older, my confidence in my dream eroded. Even as I wowed my teachers and scored As in all my English and Creative Writing classes, I started to believe that writing for a living wasn’t a “practical” choice in careers. So when I started college I made what I thought was a reasonable compromise: get a degree that would allow me to write as part of a “practical” business career. Advertising was my original plan; I later landed in my first corporate marketing & communications role – and that’s where I spent the next 20+ years building a solid career.
But I never felt quite…complete. I had a good career, I could support myself and my family, and I had everything I needed. But I wasn’t doing the one thing my soul demanded of me: to write that novel. To tell my stories. To entertain and share them with the world.
Finally, in 2018, I made the conscious and deliberate choice to make room in my busy life for writing. Seven years later I have six novels published – with big plans for more down the road. And I feel fulfilled in the same way I did when I was winning story contests in elementary school.
Why am I sharing this? Because 70% of girls feel more confident about their futures after hearing from female role models. My advice is quite simple, really — and this applies to girls of all ages: no matter how big your dream is, believe in it. Believe in you. Don’t let the world tell you who you are or who you “should” be. Never, EVER give up. And it’s never too late to make it happen.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Nothing teaches a person more about their own strength than suffering through adversity. The hard times in life — a bad breakup, a divorce, job loss, the death of a friend or a family member — suck to navigate, no doubt. But I’ve learned so much about myself and what I’m capable of, and I always come out of those hard times stronger than ever. And, while success is great and feels good, it does not build strength and resilience. The lesson here: whatever you’re going through, just hang on. It gets better, I promise. You’ll be better, too.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
The publishing industry believes that self-published books can’t possibly be as good as (or as high-quality as) traditionally-published books. I’m here to challenge that belief.
Self-publishing wasn’t my original plan. As I put the finishing touches on Charlie’s Mirror, my debut novel, I knew I wanted to publish traditionally so I could focus on the writing and let someone else with publishing chops handle everything else. Sounds easy, right?
Yeah, not so much.
The querying process was brutal. I’ve sent my books to literally hundreds of literary agents and never got a single bite. I had one agent say “Nobody’s buying ghost stories,” and another say “I don’t know where I would place this book.” Which tells me the issue isn’t my writing, or my querying, but my genre. Okay, fine — the Big 4 publishing houses will publish Stephen King, Joe Hill, Ronald Malfi, Riley Sager, Jennifer McMahon, and Simone St James, but there’s no room in the market for me?
I call BS.
So I decided to stop torturing myself and publish independently. It’s a ton of work, but it turns out there is room in the market for me, evidenced by readers who say nice things like “I love your books!” “I couldn’t put it down!” “When is your next book coming out?” and “Do you have a new book yet?” I stand by the quality of my stories and my books, and someday I hope to make traditional agents and publishers regret that they didn’t pick me up when they had the chance.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What are you doing today that won’t pay off for 7–10 years?
Being an independent author is a long game. It takes years to write the books, find the readers, and build a following. I’ve been at this for five years, seeing slow but steady growth, but not in the black yet. Hopefully I will be sometime in the next five years.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://brendalyne.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/akabrendalyne/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/akabrendalyne
- Other: https://linktr.ee/akabrendalyne
