Jamie Pacton is an award-nominated young adult and middle grade author, who writes swoony, funny, magical books across genres. When she’s not writing, she’s teaching college English, obsessively reading obscure history, hiking, baking, or playing video games. Her books include The Vermilion Emporium,  Lucky Girl, and The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly.

I had the opportunity to interview Jamie, which you can read below.

First of all, welcome back to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?

Thanks so much and I’m delighted to be here!

A bit about me: I’m a bestselling, award-winning author who writes magical, swoony, funny, cozy books for kids and adults across genres. For my day job, I teach English at the college level, and I used to write for local and national magazines. I’m the oldest of ten kids, and I grew up in East Tennessee, just down the road from the National Storytelling Center. I’ve always loved telling stories, and I am still a bit surprised to have four books in the world with more on the way.

What can you tell us about your latest book, The Absinthe Underground? What was the inspiration for this project?

The Absinthe Underground was pitched as if Moulin Rouge met Holly Black’s Fae world fantasy books. It’s a sapphic romantasy set in a Belle Epoque world about two bffs (roommates who are secretly in love with each other) who are hired by a real green fairy to do a heist in Fae. It’s a cozy, fast-paced romp of a book that’s got a decadent nightclub, seven cats, a portal into the Fae world, and two friends who will truly to anything to protect each other (though they will not kiss, nope, can’t do it, because they don’t want to ruin their friendship.)

The seeds of this idea have lived in my head for a very long time. I first got a glimpse of this book back in 2012, when I went to a “Posters of Paris” exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Museum. At that exhibit, I saw a little card that talked about how posters thieves made quite a living stealing the art posters that would go up all over Paris in the 1890s. I had this vision of two poster thieves, both girls, surviving on the edges of society in Paris, with only each other to rely on. It took me many years to find the heart of this story, however, and it all came together for me when I was looking at Henri Toulouse-Lautrec’s “At the Moulin Rouge”. In this painting, there’s a green-faced woman in the bottom right corner. One day, I was looking at her, and had the thought, “What if the artist had accidentally caught a glimpse of the true nature of a green fairy, living in the glittering nightclubs of our world….?”

I combined that idea with my poster thieves book idea, and The Absinthe Underground was born.

There’s a bit more about this inspiration here: https://www.tiktok.com/@jamiepacton/video/7297043337196981547

As a writer, what drew you to the art of storytelling in general, specifically speculative fiction?

I love storytelling—I’ve always been a voracious reader and some of my earliest memories are of telling my younger siblings stories and writing plays for us to perform. My grandmother was a librarian and fierce storyteller as well, and I think with growing up near the National Storytelling Center, I’ve long been charmed by the power, presence, and general magic of stories.

Although I’ve published two YA contemporary books (with a third coming out in June 2024), I’m drawn to fantasy and speculative fiction because I love the possibility and escape it offers. I’ll happily spend weeks dreaming up a magic system or thinking about intrigue in Fae courts, and I love reading these sorts of books too.

How would you describe your writing process?

Very organized with some chaos sprinkled in along the way!

For every book I do these things:

• Write a quick one sentence pitch with comps;
• Then, I write jacket copy;
• then, I do a complete 4-act outline;
• from that, I write a longer, more detailed synopsis with character and emotional arcs and all the plot points of the story.
• That synopsis then becomes a chapter outline, and only after all that is done do I start drafting.
• I always write the first draft quickly, and then spend lots of time in revisions.

This made sound like a really rigid process, but there’s truly so much room for discovery, play, and surprises, even within having a clear plan. (And the planning helps me juggle multiple deadlines and projects).

Growing up, were there any stories in which you felt touched by/ or reflected in? Are there any like that now?

I read everything as a kid and teen—truly, I used to spend hours reading the encyclopedia!—and I especially loved big series (I read hundreds of Nancy Drew books, for example), all the make-you-cry middle grade books I could find, adult romance books that I’d sneak chapters of at the library, and lots and lots of serious classic books like Anna Karenina or Madame Bovary.

My favorite book as a teen was By the Sword by Mercedes Lackey, which I read at least twenty times and which I think you can see some of the influences of in my own fantasy books. (Give me a bold woman wielding a sword any day. I’m in.)

As a writer, who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration in general? 

In the kidlit space, I love Kate Di Camillo’s creative spirit and the joy and gentleness she puts into her books; I also adore Kelly Barnhill’s subtle ferocity and dazzling brilliance. I really love Nikita Gill’s and Mary Oliver’s poems as well, and I also pull a lot of inspiration from history. Almost all of my books—especially the fantasy ones—have started with some historical nugget that I’ve then built a story around.

What are some of your favorite elements of writing? What do you consider some of the most frustrating and/or difficult? 

Chasing a story is my favorite thing about writing. I absolutely love the thrill of discovery, the patience it takes to lure a story out of hiding, and the way things start to click together in the most unlikely ways that somehow all make sense all at once. I also really like revising—as I mentioned above, I’m a fast drafter and it’s not until the revision process that I really let myself dig into sensory details and add lushness to a book, which is an absolute treat.

Some of the most frustrating/difficult parts of writing are simply mustering the discipline required to sit down at my desk and get started. It’s easy to get distracted or to push writing aside as my day job and my personal commitments need attention, but I once I’m actually embarked, the joy of the writing takes over and- for better or worse- I lose track of time and other things.

Aside from your work, what are some things you would want readers to know about you?

That I’m something of a forest witch, really. I love cozy video games, baking, walking in the woods, big water and dense trees, my dog, going antiquing, reading obscure history and poems, and spending time with my family.

What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but that you wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?

The question: What scares you the most about writing?

And my answer: not getting it right.

Which is silly, I know. I teach my students that writing is a recursive process. I fully believe in shitty first drafts, and I’m not afraid of failure as an author. (In fact, I’ve already reached so many of my author bucket list milestones while also getting so many rejections along the way, that I’m not sure I even believe in “failure” as such any more. It’s more like different stages of a long journey, but that’s a whole different question.).

But, with all that said, sometimes, when I have a story in my head and it feels truly enormous, I’m paralyzed by fear before I start writing because I desperately want to get it right and do the story, the characters, and my vision of it justice.

When that fear threatens to stop me in my tracks, I always remember V.E. Schwab’s advice (which I’ll paraphrase) to: just write one word at a time, which then becomes a sentence, and then several sentences, and then a paragraph, and then a page, and then a chapter, and then, eventually, a book. Which makes it less scary because I can write a word, and then another one. And then a few more. J

I also think it’s good to sit with this fear, face it, and then move through it. As the main characters in The Absinthe Underground realize, on the other side of fear is freedom.

What advice might you have to give for any aspiring writers?

Read Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert: Seriously. I wish I’d done this years ago. This is a brilliant book that’s a bit craft advice, a bit humaning advice, and overall just chock full of smart insights about living a creative life. I really loved it.

Also, don’t be afraid to plan your projects. I promise it won’t take away from the creativity, and when you’re stuck, you’ll have a road map for where you want to go.

Also, only engage with things like social media as you enjoy them. Yes, they can sell books or help you find an agent, but the most important thing to do is write the best book you possibly can. Focus on that first and everything else will follow in time.

Lastly, don’t give up. Writing/publishing is a weird, unknowable journey. Have fun along the way, write some things that scare you, and keep going.

Are there any other projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?

I have a co-written YA contemporary novel, Furious, publishing on June 11, 2024. (It’s written with my dear friend, Becca Podos, who’s an agent and award-winning author). Furious is our sapphic love letter to The Fast and Furious, car girls and bike girls, the family you’re born to and queer found family, southern small towns, summer romance, ridiculous heists, and falling fast for someone who’s not right for you, though you make perfect sense together.

Finally, what LGBTQ+ books/authors would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT? 

This is such a wonderful time for queer books and authors! I always recommend a few of my queer author friends when I get this question:  Becca Podos (check out their solo books-they’re amazing!); M.K. England; Rosiee Thor; Tehlor Mejia; Tess Sharpe; and Jen Ferguson.

Some 2024 queer YA books that I’m looking forward to that I think Geeks OUT readers will love are:

So Let them Burn, by Kamilah Cole

The No Girlfriend Rule, by Christen Randall.

Gentlest of Wild Things, by Sara Underwood

Infinity Alchemist, by Kacen Callender

And, in the adult space, I’m really looking forward to:

Faebound, by Saraa El-Arafi

Lady MacBeth, by Ava Reid

A Dark and Drowning Tide, by Allison Saft

The Voyage of the Damned by Frances White

And really, that’s just the tip of my TBR iceberg, but there are so many amazing LGBTQ+ books out this year!

Thanks again for the great questions!