Q & A with Jen Devon
Last week, I talked about my LOVE for BEND TOWARD THE SUN (which comes out tomorrow!), and now I’m so excited to have a little q&a with Jen Devon!
Here is a little about the book:
Two imperfect people. One year under the sun. A love story you won’t ever forget.
Rowan McKinnon doesn’t believe in love. With a botany PhD, two best friends who embrace her social quirkiness, and some occasional no-strings sex, she has everything she needs. But she hides deep wounds from the past—from an emotionally negligent mother, and a fiancé who treated her like a pawn in a game. When an academic setback leads Rowan to take on the restoration of a winery’s abandoned vineyard, she relishes the opportunity to restore the grapes to their former glory.
She does not expect to meet a man like Harrison Brady.
An obstetrician profoundly struggling after losing a patient, Harry no longer believes he is capable of keeping people safe. Reeling, Harry leaves Los Angeles to emotionally recover at his parents’ new vineyard in Pennsylvania.
He does not expect to meet a woman like Rowan McKinnon.
As their combative banter gives way to a simmering tension, sunlight begins to crack through the darkness smothering Harry’s soul. He’s compelled to explore the undeniable pull between them. And after a lifetime of protecting herself from feeling anything, for anyone, Rowan tries to keep things casual.
But even she can’t ignore their explosive connection.
1. How did you come up with the idea for Bend Toward the Sun?
I wish I had a coherent, linear answer for this! The truth is, it started out as a single scene between two characters who would later become Rowan and Harry, and at the time I had no idea I’d started writing a book! It was 2014, on a plane on the way home from a work trip. I’d finished reading the book I’d brought with me, so I opened Evernote on my phone and wrote a scene about two people who were really into each other, but they had very oppositional views on love. It was hushed and intense and sexy and antagonistic–and the longing was palpable. So much fun to write. The whole story evolved from that little seed of tension between them.
2. Tell us a little bit about Rowan and Harry.
Rowan is a PhD botanist, and Harry is a physician, so they’re both very smart and highly educated–but they’re both still trying really hard to figure out life. Rowan is hyperfocused on academia because it’s her safe space, but Harry is the opposite–he’s in a crisis of confidence about his own career after losing a patient.
When they meet, they’re drawn to each other in an elemental way, even though a romance is the last thing that either of them should pursue in that moment of their lives. And there’s added tension because of how differently they view love: Harry’s a vulnerable, hopeful romantic, and Rowan is pragmatic and insistently solitary. They’re both imperfect but perfect for each other.
3. I love the big, wonderful Brady family. What made you want to write a big family and did you have any trouble with so many characters? (I for one would have issues keeping them all straight while writing )
Every one of them came into my mind almost fully formed. I know how trite that sounds, but it’s true! The only thing that really changed from their original inception was that Nate and Mercy were originally married to each other. But after some subplot changes, I needed Temperance’s connection to the Bradys to be via her sister Maren. So, Nate’s twin Patrick was created, and Mercy married him so Nate could already be married to Maren.
Each member of the family had a role to play in the progression of Rowan and Harry’s relationship, and I also knew that I wanted part of Rowan’s arc to be finding her place among them. Also–from a self-indulgent, self-serving perspective, I have more stories I want to write in this world, and my favorite kinds of books to read are series that follow a family.
4. Was there a scene that was your favorite to write?
I’m afraid my answer is going to change every time I get this question! I really do love them all. I had so much fun writing every single scene in this book, and each of them are memorable for some reason or another. Right now, my favorite is probably Rowan and Harry’s first real kiss, and the shenanigans that lead up to it. It was so much fun to subvert the “perfect first kiss” scene. I recently listened to the audiobook, and hearing that scene narrated was such a rush.
5. What are some of your favorite tropes?
I love a slow burn, and opposites attract. Second chance, found family, and grumpy-sunshine are faves. Mini-tropes (microtropes?) are super fun too–like the ones that play around with nicknames as a love language, or when the love interest has something in their hair or on their face, and the MC tidies them up. Happy sigh.
6. Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I am 100% a plotter, and a committed one at that. I create detailed outlines, and I fill out beat spreadsheets. I also write all my scene titles on sticky notes that I can move around on a dry erase board if I need to shake up sequences or timing.
I also have to write linearly, which isn’t the most efficient process. I am endlessly impressed by pantsers and authors who can write out-of-order.
7. Can you tell us a little about your writing process?
Like I mentioned above, I outline a book to death before I start writing. For early stages, I keep notes in Google Keep to record lovely or funny or angsty turns of phrase that pop into my head, as well as snippets of dialogue, or scene ideas and plot points. I also almost never solve a plot or characterization problem when I actually sit down to write–it’s always when I’m in the shower or grocery shopping or working in my yard, or wherever–so I jot those down in Google Keep as they come up, too.
Periodically, I migrate those tidbits out of the notes app and into the correct Scrivener doc for whichever WIP they will belong to. When it’s time to outline, then I shuffle everything to the doc for the chapter I think they belong in. So, the short version is: I’m almost always building outlines by aggregating these tiny, minor building blocks in the form of those tidbits.
8. Why do you love romance?
Oh gosh, I just love the build-up to the first kiss, the other intimacies, the first “I love you”. The HEA. We know those beats are coming–regardless of whether it’s an open or closed-door romance– because romance is consistent. There’s comfort in that consistency. I feel psychologically safe when I read romance.
I love the terrifying-exhilarating moment where a main character realizes–oh shit, I’m in love with this person, I’m in trouble.
I love character arcs with dramatic change from the beginning of the book to the end, and for love to be the thing that transformed them. Even better when the character is outright unlikeable at the start.
I love how damned smart and defiant and joyful romance writers are in the face of the misogyny and bigotry and derision that’s been leveled at the genre for decades. It’s another way that love wins.
Thanks so much to Jen for answering my questions!
Make sure to get BEND TOWARD THE SUN, which comes out tomorrow! And follow Jen on all of her social media:
EMAIL: hello @ jendevon.com
INSTAGRAM: @kisscrafter
TWITTER: @kisscrafter
TIKTOK: @kisscrafter
FACEBOOK: @jendevonbooks
