📖 Author Info

Name: Jenn Lessmann
 Book Title(s): Unmagical, Unforgivable, Unbelievable
 Genre(s): contemporary fantasy (urban cozy/witchy mystery)
 Where readers can find me (website/socials): www.JennLessmann.com

About my books: I write snarky (not spicy) paranormal fantasy that explores family, finding yourself, and making magic in the real world.

In my books, magic users can become stronger through natural-born talent or honing their skills… because the Craft is something you practice.

@JennLessmannAuthor (FB, IG, BlueSky, TikTok)

🖋 Writing & Craft

  1. What inspired you to start writing? 

I wrote Unmagical for two reasons. It was a gift for my students, and it was therapy for me. I had taught high school English and Drama for over a decade and noticed some of my students who loved reading struggled to find books to read. There seemed to be a gap in the market between YA adventures and adult drama, particularly if the student wanted a story that didn’t focus on romance. So, I wrote a book about self-discovery and community that recognized that the challenges of coming-of-age don’t always end at high school graduation. 

When I started writing it, the pandemic had just started, we were in lockdown, and no one was really sure what was happening in the world outside our bubbles. I had also recently moved home after losing my father. Writing the book helped me to process ideas around freedom and responsibility–how much should we each be willing to give up for the safety of our community? And to work through the grief of missing someone I had always expected to be there for me.

  1. How did the idea for your latest book/series come to you?

Most of the first chapter of Unmagical existed in the first draft. In fact, I think the first line was in place from the beginning. (“You don’t have to kill him. Even though you would be completely justified.”) The idea of starting with something so dark and then pulling back the camera to show significantly lower stakes was immediately funny to me. I love stories and characters that subvert readers’ expectations. 

And this one came naturally to me as I sat in my dad’s old arm chair in front of the tv, trying to figure out how to connect virtually with students who had no interest in my subject, and for whom school had become one of the least important chores in their lives, while my family all tried to find ways to entertain themselves without leaving the house during lockdown.

Living in close quarters with family members I’d gotten used to seeing only on holidays was both a blessing and a curse. I will be eternally grateful to have had their support when I moved across the country, but finding a new balance was definitely a challenge. Relationships change over time, especially when a child becomes an adult, or gains a wider experience from living independently in a different environment. So, Cate immediately had conflict with her brother, despite their family having no traditional dysfunction. She struggled to decide how much her past should define her present and future. 

Her missing Gift became a way for me to explore what it meant to be “gifted and talented” now that I had grown up and supposedly “reached my potential”. How much did those childhood labels define my identity outside of the school setting? What was the difference between gifts or talents and the skills people achieved through practice? Was one inherently better than the other? And if not, why had there been so much emphasis on our “gifts” when we were younger? It seemed like just another form of privilege that lost its value in the real world.

  1. Do you outline everything or just write as it flows?

I started Unmagical in just a flow, but once I decided that the story was actually going to be a book, I went in and imposed structure on it. I used the beats from the Hero’s Journey to try and sort out pacing, making sure to hit significant moments for character growth. I also used tarot cards to guide the action, drawing cards to determine which characters I needed, or to help define motivation, or to determine what actions the characters should take next.

I use a shorter beat list now, based on a combination of things, like Save the Cat and the Snowflake Method. I like to have a few pit stops planned on the road ahead, and then figure out how to get from one to the next as I go.

📚 Reading Life

  1. Which authors or books inspire you most?

Margaret Atwood, Maggie Stiefvater, Seanan McGuire

  1. Do you read in the same genre you write, or something totally different?

It depends on my mood. I prefer contemporary fantasy. So, I’m always looking for magic in the real world, whether it’s literary fiction, urban fantasy, fairy tale retellings, speculative fiction, or magical realism. But I also read the occasional high fantasy, historical fiction, or family dramas without magic.

💡 Behind the Scenes

  1. What was the hardest (or most fun) scene to write in your latest book?

All of them are hard to start. I have terrible trouble with a blank page. Sometimes I give up and just write pages and pages of nonsense, in the hopes that something will come out that I can build an actual scene around. Then I go back and delete all of the mess around it. (And by “delete” I mean, cut and paste it into a separate file in case I need to get any of it back later. I’m a hoarder when it comes to words.)

Nearly everything I write gets longer in revision. That first draft is me pulling out the words, kicking and screaming to just get something on the page. Then, I go back and flesh out descriptions, add actions, build in identifiers, and so on, until it makes sense to anyone outside my head.

  1. Did real life sneak into your story anywhere?

Yes, but I won’t elaborate 😉

🎤 Fun Stuff

  1. If your main character had a theme song, what would it be?

Getting Older by Billie Eilish and Waiting on a Miracle from Encanto

  1. Coffee, tea, or something stronger while writing?

Coffee from 6am-2pm, Tea after 2pm

  1. What’s a guilty-pleasure book, movie, or show you love?

I don’t feel guilty about any of these, but I love: Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls, Buffy, and Charmed.