Jen Comfort

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Jen Comfort grew up in Portland, Oregon and now writes "charmingly bonkers" rom-coms about hot, neurodiverse nerds. Her books have been recommended by the Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly, and the New York Times. In her free time, she posts too many pictures of her pets and thinks a lot about holding a raccoon's little hand even just for, like, 30 seconds.

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with Jen Comfort

“My official tagline is something like, "writing romcoms about hot nerds with cool jobs."”

Bibliography

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Standalone Fiction

The Astronaut and the Star

2022

Midnight Duet

2023

What Is Love?

2024

with Jen Comfort

For those unfamiliar with your style & genre, how would you describe your writing?

I once received a trade review that called my writing "charmingly bonkers" and I think that's an apt description. But my official tagline is something like, "writing romcoms about hot nerds with cool jobs."

Where did you grow up and did this location influence your writing in any way?

I'm from the Pacific Northwest, and I suppose it's influenced me in that I spent a lot of time indoors as a teenager due to the never-ending rain and was a depressed, angsty teen due to the lack of vitamin D. The perfect formula for becoming a writer!

What kind of reader were you as a child?

I don't want to flex, but I cleaned up in the library summer reading challenge for like three years straight.

If you could write like any other author, who would it be and why?

Well, I think that would be weird. Because an author's writing style isn't just the way they form sentences; their authorial voice is a reflection of their personality and the stories they tell are shaped by their experiences. I guess ghostwriters do it! But I like the way I write. It's not perfect, but it's mine, so you know--home team pride!

Who are your top 5 favorite authors?

I could never pick only five! My love for other authors is infinite. All my favorites are #1. But I can give thanks to some of the authors whose books made me want to be a writer during my teens and 20s and have heavily influenced me: Kresley Cole, Gena Showalter, LJ Smith, Victoria Dahl, Dara Joy, Sherry Thomas, Brenda Joyce, Jacqueline Carey, Brandon Sanderson.

What is one book you repeatedly gift?

If I ever see a Kresley Cole book at a thrift store, I buy it, so I have doubles of nearly all her books and I loan them to friends to get them hooked.

Of all the characters you've penned, who has been most influenced by your personal story?

Maxine from What Is Love? is far more confident and brilliant and risk-embracing than I am, but the depiction of her ADHD (which is important to the story) is heavily influenced by my own experience and my philosophy on learning.

What is your favorite book that you've written?

What is Love?, about rival trivia game show champions who must join forces to defeat a common enemy in a tournament, is my magnum opus. It's my favorite trope (rivals-to-lovers), with my favorite kinds of characters (a chaotic, confident FMC + a nerdy professor MMC), talking about some of my favorite special interests (Jeopardy!, ADHD, taking risks, and different ways of learning). I had fun writing this book the entire time!

Describe your writing space.

I migrate, but often I'm on my couch under a heat blanket, or writing on my porch in the summer. As long as it's warm, quiet, and I have a minimum of three separate beverages--I'm in my comfort zone!