Why do you write the genre that you write?
While I write across genres, I always come back to crime fiction because I love how very readable it is. It delivers important truths about justice, inequality, humanity, and it does it all with a tight plot.

What’s the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has?
I am THRILLED to report that Thomas & Mercer, the superstar publisher of my recent thrillers, has bought the twelve Murder-by-Month backlist, which means they’re getting new editing, new covers, and hopefully, a new audience. That means I get to talk about Mira, Mrs. Berns, and the whole Battle Lake crew again! Mira’s quirk is that she loves to eat Nut Goodies when she’s stressed. Well, she doesn’t love it so much as she’s compelled to do it.

Tell us how you got into writing?
I received four hundred and twenty three rejections before I signed my first book contract. Not very good odds, but I’m running with them. It started when I was six. I wrote this Minnesota haiku for my awesome grandpa:

Grandpas are full of love
Grandpas are full of tickles
But grandpas are especially full of pickles.

People loved it. Aunts hugged me, cousins were jealous, uncles asked me to immortalize them next. My poetry skills have not evolved since that day, but the enchantment with words and their power grew inside me like a watermelon seed.

I wrote my first novel when I was 26. It featured three women traveling across the United States, three women suspiciously like myself and the two best friends I had taken a road trip with a couple years earlier. Like most first novels, it was embarrassingly self-involved, full of overwritten description and twenty-pound dialogue tags:

“Why doesn’t my alcoholic father accept me for who I am?” Hannah asked pityingly, rubbing the burning, salty tears from her chocolate brown eyes.

Amazingly, no publisher would take a look at the first three chapters. (The fact that I was submitting directly to publishers shows just how green I was.) I tried some light revising, working under the misconception that my work was great and the world just wasn’t ready for it yet. When the adding of more adjectives didn’t net me a three-book deal, I took a sabbatical from writing the Great American Novel and got a real job. (By the way, I’m forever thankful it wasn’t so easy to self-publish back then, or that stinker would be out there, following me everywhere.) I ended up with two Master’s degrees, one in English and one in Sociology, and a teaching job at a rural technical college.

But, like most writers, I couldn’t stop thinking of book ideas, scribbling down sparks of description or snatches of conversation that I overheard and would love to work into a story, feeling lazy and envious when I read a fantastic novel. When a traumatic life event reminded me of the true power of writing, I started penning May Day, the first in my Murder-by-Month mysteries for adults. Complete story here: Rewrite Your Life TEDx Talk.

What jobs have you held before, during and/or after you became a writer?
Oof, so many. Babysitter, DQ cone jockey, maid (for one week), seller of car wash coupons door to door (for one day), writing tutor, waitress, bartender, import store clerk, and most recently, college professor, though I retired from that in August 2021—after 22 years—to write full time.

Where do you write?
Wherever I can, truly. I used to be fussy about it needing to be quiet and needing the chair to be comfortable, but I travel so much that I’ve learned to sink into the story wherever I find myself, though it has to be early in the day. I’m pretty creatively useless after 2pm.

What is your favorite deadline snack?
Gardetto’s rye crisps! I love food that sounds like you’re chewing gravel when you eat it.

Who is an author you admire?
Tana French. Her books blow me away, every time.

What’s your favorite genre to read?
It depends what I’m writing, but overall, crime fiction!

What are you reading now?
Kate Atkinson’s One Good Turn

What is your favorite beverage to end the day?
A bourbon on the rocks, one that’s had ten minutes to mellow so the ice can unlock its smoothness.

What is next for you?
The Taken Ones, the first in my Reed and Steinbeck thrillers, releases September 2023. The Murder-by-Month mysteries start re-releasing, one a month, in April 2024, beginning with May Day. 🙂 And in between those two releases, I have some big exciting news that I can’t share quite yet, so stay tuned!

Where can we find you?
Right now, I’m typing this from a midcentury modern hotel in Oklahoma on historic Route 66 as I research an upcoming project. But you can usually find me in Minneapolis, and all my upcoming events are listed here: jessicalourey.com/workshops.

Now to have some fun . . .

Chocolate or vanilla
Vanilla all the way!

Cake or ice cream
Yes, please.

Fruits or vegetables
Vegetables.

Breakfast, lunch, or dinner
Breakfast food for dinner.

Dining in or dining out
Delivery to my house. 🙂

City life or country living
City life.

Beach or mountain
Mountain.

Summer or winter
Summer.

Short story or full-length novel
Full-length novel.

Extrovert or introvert
Big ‘ol introvert.

Early bird or night owl
Used to be night owl, but now that I’m my 50s, early bird.

And even more fun . . .

What’s your favorite movie?
The very first Star Wars movie.

You are stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?
Water, books, and a blanket.

My bio:
Jess Lourey writes about secrets. She’s the Edgar-nominated, Amazon Charts bestselling, International Thriller Award, Anthony Award, and Minnesota Book Award-winning author of crime fiction, nonfiction, children’s books, YA adventure, and magical realism. She is a retired professor of creative writing and sociology, a recipient of The Loft’s Excellence in Teaching fellowship, a Psychology Today blogger, and a TEDx presenter (check out her TEDx Talk for the surprising inspiration behind her first published novel). When not leading women’s writing retreats, reading, traveling, or fostering kittens, you can find her drafting her next story. Visit the book butler to find out which of her books you should read next.