I was fortunate enough to virtually meet up with some fandom friends to celebrate the release of ‘A FINE LINE’. My dear friend, Kate, prepared some questions, everyone got to hear what an amazing moderator/presenter voice she has, I provided plenty of millennial ‘pause and smile’ moments for the viewers, and we didn’t get through nearly all of the questions she prepared or readers submitted. Oh, and my CraigBot declined to record. So I promised for those that missed out to include those answers (plus any we didn’t get to) in a newsletter. 

Enjoy!

Kate: First of all, Pen, let me start with congratulations. ‘A Fine Line’ has been out for almost two weeks now. Tell us: how are you feeling?

Pen: I feel great. I’m really proud and relieved and excited for what’s next.

Why did you choose to write/release this book as your first book?

With a background as a singer, I understand the rigors of auditioning and having to constantly put yourself out there in the hope of one ‘yes’, so I wasn’t fully discouraged from publishing when I didn’t find an agent with ‘A Fine Line’. Don’t get me wrong, I was disappointed. But overall, I saw it as a positive experience. I never knew how a romance with a political subplot in this climate was going to be received anyhow. I received good feedback, some full requests, and even interest from agents to let them know what I was writing next. For me, the decision to bring ‘A Fine Line’ out into the world instead of shelving it came when I realized I wanted to self-publish my next project if it also didn’t query well. It made me reconsider the same for ‘A Fine Line’. Why would I shelve a book I was really proud of and wanted to share with people? There’s no single path to traditional publishing anymore, so I decided that there was no reason that my debut couldn’t be self-published. And if it was to be my only path to publishing my work, then why not start now?

Reader submission follow-up: was there a particular scene you thought of first or was this a general story concept for you?

I had it in my head (sweet summer child that I was) that I would rework an old fic. I could slap on 40K words, edit it, and…. [laughs] yeah, that was not going to work. The reality was that I had written a lot of words and stories, but nothing ever had the shape of a novel. I really wanted to write something from scratch—Okay, I didn’t. I loved the idea of having a jumpstart, but I knew it was necessary, so I dropped the idea of reworking a fic, but I kept the concept of two rivals with benefits. I lost the concept of them being on opposing political sides and brought it to a small town instead of a national stage.

The Prologue was the first thing I wrote and something I held onto throughout the process as my opening. I loved the flash forward to the heat of their affair and the conflict between them that really changes for the audience with more context.

‘A Fine Line’ is a romance between Calliope and Emerson, but it’s also a love letter to small towns and how the choices we make can effect change. What inspired that for you?

When I first got married I lived in a small college town, and my husband and I attended a town hall. It was my first experience at one of these things, and they held it at an ice cream parlor. I think they assumed they’d have a few people show up for free ice cream, answer a few softball questions, and call it a day, but we ended up having to exit the store and stand on the sidewalk to be able to meet with him. The representative was clearly not prepared for the interest or the questions. I was drawn to the people who showed up to ask questions. It was inspiring and humbling to see their effort of holding him accountable. I just think it’s easy to feel powerless until we consider something like that: invested citizens demanding action and seeking answers.

Reader submission follow-up: did you conduct research for the politics and/or the small town community? 

I did do research, but I’m very fortunate to have a partner that knows a great deal about politics in general (part of his degree and interests), so I’d ask him questions and pose certain scenarios to him to see if he found it believable. My book is a work of fiction and the romance is key, so much of it is about balancing the realistic with things you can bend for narrative purposes. Calliope is a great way to do that since she’s someone that is relatively new to all of this. She doesn’t have to be perfect in her role as long as she’s whip smart and resourceful in other ways. Even as experienced as Emerson is, he’s a bit of a fish out of water after running larger political campaigns with more gears turning in the form of employees, so you get to kind of play with how that looks in comparison. Any campaign may handle their resources one way, but how would a college graduate with one measly internship and a lot of energy handle it? That’s a more important question for the story.

My biggest sources, other than my husband, were looking into how local politics worked and also how someone who’s never been in politics might enter a political race. There are so many resources for people who are new to it all, so in some ways, I went in as if I was the one seeking advice.

Reader submission follow-up: did you go into the writing process for this book with a particular viewpoint on how you wanted to depict the South and/or small towns?

Yes. I wanted to see a south with people that I recognized (liberal, diverse, community-invested), and a small town that had its charm but its rough patches as well. My collective memories of small towns are ones that have the clean streets and the green manicured grass and historic buildings, but also have abandoned businesses and forgotten neighborhoods that are often there due to neglect and morally bankrupt policies.

One of the most impactful threads running throughout ‘A Fine Line’ for me personally was Calliope and Emerson’s tested and/or fractured relationships with their families, particularly her mother and his father. That last conversation between Emerson and his father had me in tears! Why was it important to you to have that be a part of their story?

I think we’re often a product of our upbringing: whether that’s school, location, religion, friendships, or family. I consider that all part of our “upbringing”. We tend to navigate our world in the ways that we’ve been raised by those experiences. So for me, a story about two people—one in their hometown and one from a similar small town—it makes sense for me that so much of how they shape their own narratives comes down to how their upbringing shaped them. It was important for them to both confront that before they could truly come together.

What do you hope readers take away from this book? 

Hope. 

Are there any lines or scenes that didn’t make the cut for this book that you’re particularly fond of?

‘A Fine Line’ was originally a single POV (Calliope) novel, but I got to the midpoint of drafting and realized that something wasn’t quite right. I wrestled with it, because going back felt like starting over, but in hindsight, it actually made everything else move much faster. I wrote Emerson’s first chapter in a few hours, and it became so obvious that his POV was what was missing. Even chapters originally from Calliope’s POV were able to be flipped and made more sense from his POV. It was much sharper and the tension really sparked. But sadly, I ended up cutting a scene between Calliope and Anita where Anita discusses her frustration at how she’s perceived as a woman of color—a very eye-opening moment for Calliope who is white and never considered this. It’s one that I held onto for a while, but when it came down to it, it felt as if it was stalling the story each time. I hated to lose it, but it still exists in my old drafts.

Reader submission follow-up: were there any scenes that felt particularly difficult or emotional to write?

Two in particular and they’re both scenes with Emerson and his dad. The first was when Emerson and Calliope visit (no spoilers) his dad. I really hesitated about whether I would actually have him and Calliope go to his hometown for this particular reason. I struggled with whether it was too bleak or too devastating for a small town romance with all of this heat and bite. But I don’t like to shy away from the raw aspects, and inevitably, I knew it needed to happen. It made writing Emerson’s last POV chapter that much more cathartic, but man, did I cry a lot drafting it! Drawing from both my experience as a parent and child made those conversations difficult at times to write.

Is there a character you most strongly relate to and if so, who and why?

I think it’s fair to say that each character has bits of me or at least, bits of things that I aspire to be. But I would probably say if I add them all up, Calliope. I really get her justice sensitivity and that feeling of possessing all drive and no vision. Feeling like I’m finally at a point where I have a better handle on that feels like a gift, and I want to tell her so badly (right along with Emerson) that it’s gonna be okay, girl.

Reader submission follow-up: do you have a favorite side character?

Nate the Great! I wanna be his bestie. I could easily write a few chapters from his POV.

Reader submission follow-up: you mentioned on Discord that Dickie and his wife are the only characters with a Clyde-esque accent [Clyde Logan from the movie, Logan Lucky]. Was that intentional or did they just turn out that way?

There are SO many types of southern accents, especially in the part of Georgia where I envision Ragansville. The metro Atlanta area is such a melting pot, so people tend to lose their accents the longer they live there (my husband says I have), but when you get further out (or deeper south), the accents get a little thicker and heavier. You lose some final consonants, and the vowels get longer (double and triple). Since I see Dickie and his wife as having transferred from further south, I hear them with thicker accents.

‘A Fine Line’ is a rivals to romance story. Apart from Calliope and Emerson, who are some of your favorite rivals to romance couples?

Anne and Gilbert are a favorite and definitely an inspiration for Calliope and Emerson. I love an MMC that knows the value of a smart, beautiful, competent woman and absolutely pines for her!

Reader submission follow-up: what is your favorite trait of your two leads? (They are particularly fond of her determination and his playfulness.)

I love how honest he is with her, even to his peril, LOL, and that he loves working with and for bold, intelligent, assertive women. I love that even when she’s discouraged there’s still a small fire inside her somewhere that knows she has the power to make change.

Reader submission follow-up: these two work HARD. If you could send them anywhere in the world on a vacation, where would you send them, and what would they do?

Hmm. Somewhere remote where they don’t have access to the news or their emails. Maybe a mountain retreat where they can eat food, drink wine, and have lots of sex.

It’s 10 years on from the end of this book. Are they still in politics? Are either of them running for office?

Oh man. Good question. I definitely think they’re in politics. I see Calliope continuing the work in grassroots efforts and voter education, since her awakening was a little inspired by my own admiration of Stacy Abrams’ grassroots voting registration efforts in GA. I definitely think Emerson could run for office someday.

In a similar vein, what are some of your favorite tropes to read? To write?

Oh, any kind of arrangement or forced proximity. I love to read it and write it. It feeds my soul so well, because nothing is more human and exciting than seeing what people do with themselves when they have no other choice. Arranged marriage, fake dating, fake marriage. Omegaverse/paranormal! It’s so fun, and there are so many possibilities. Also, give me an unhinged premise and let me turn it into something dramatic and emotional!! Please! I love it!

You chose to self-publish this novel. Can you talk us through what self-publishing entails for indie authors?

Hm. A LOT. LOL.

I will preface this by saying that I’m really fortunate to have a group of writer friends that I also trust as beta readers and friends that are artists, so that has helped me significantly. But self-publishing entails everything you would need in traditional publishing, but it’s all up to you: content, marketing, formatting, art, financial, etc.

Everyone does what is best for them, but you have to start with a budget and consider that first. If you don’t have beta readers or need a developmental editor (people to offer feedback on story pacing, character, etc), you’ll need to pay for one. How do you feel about formatting? There are programs and there are people that can do them for you, but this also costs money. You can plug in all of your info and your cover and content once it’s formatted and designed and allow a third party distribute it widely for you, but that also costs money.

Basically, how much time and money do you want to put into it? It’s a really good question to ask yourself before you begin. I needed to put in very little money, so my time was spent on learning to format, opening an LLC (to square away the business side of things), start marketing and learning how to market for a book specifically, find ARC readers, set up a Goodreads Author account, get a cover, get character art, writing copy, etc. I read a lot of resources and watched SO many videos. I got on TikTok (sounds of despair).

I had to pay less attention to what every influencer said I had to do and focused on what I knew I could do.

You have to figure out what’s going to benefit your book the most and that tends to be: the cover, the content, the marketing (character art, etc). From there, where do you want your book to be available and what are you willing/able to do to get it out to customers? Are you willing/able to be your own distributor (selling from your site, ordering copies from a printer and mailing them to readers)? Guess what else costs money? ISBN numbers. At least in the states. You have to buy one for each version you sell, unless you use a free one provided by the printer/distributor. It’s a great deal to consider, and for me, and this first book, I just knew that I would have the most success keeping it simple and eliminating as much overhead as possible. It meant more legwork, but it not only gave me a deep admiration for other indie authors but a greater appreciation for the work that goes into putting a book together. I have a great deal of pride when I flip through those pages and know I chose the font and decided on the little banner above each chapter. I know exactly what went into getting that book to come together on the page. What does it all entail for indie authors? So much work.

Pen, I want you to picture yourself a year or two from now. There’s a producer out there—who knows, maybe it’s Heated Rivalry’s Jacob Tierney—who’s just read your book and is at your doorstop betting to option it. What would be your non-negotiables in transitioning A Fine Line from print to screen? Is there a particular scene that would be a must-have, do not pass go, do not collect $200, this element must be preserved as is for a visual medium? And would you want to write the screenplay yourself or is that something you would feel comfortable handing over to another writer?

Jacob Tierney!! Ah… well, I’ll actually go ahead and manifest this now and say that I do have aspirations to write a screenplay one of these days, so I would do anything to at least be in the writer’s room. I think the prologue and the way the novel begins with that ticking, internal monologue in Calliope’s head as well as that opening scene. But also, the clipboard scene, the Act II trip to Emerson’s hometown.

Reader submission: you’ve historically written in the third person. You’ve talked before about trying out first person pov for ‘Happy Times are Here Again’ (fanfic)—can you talk us through your choice to use dual first person pov in ‘A Fine Line” and how you feel that affected your writing process or the story itself?

I know there’s often debate about third v. first and whether readers like it or not, but for me, what matters is how it affects the story. That’s what I’m thinking about the most. Not reader preference. And the fact is, I tried to write this one in third, but it didn’t quite get at the heart of these two characters in the same way. They’re both very in their head and hung up on doing the right thing constantly, and I just feel like it makes the most sense to really get at their core if we can be in their head with them.

The prologue is big in setting this up. I can’t imagine that internal struggle and debate Calliope has without it being first tense.

What are you working on next? What can you tell us about it?

I’m currently prepping a paranormal romance for querying and have a contemporary romance I’m editing. I also just sat down recently and wrote out several pitches to kind of gear up for what’s next. I’m excited. I have a lot planned, and I’m looking forward to sharing it.

Fic question (reader submitted): do you plan to continue writing fanfic? And are there any you’re considering converting into original novels?

I don’t think I’ll ever be done with writing fanfic. It’s always been a wonderful outlet for me, but I’m really happy focusing on original work right now. And yes, there are a few fics I would consider converting to original novels.

What are you doing to celebrate?

My friends and family have been amazing in helping me celebrate (yummy treats, flowers, and visits), and I’ve been told I’m due for a break, so I will be taking that over the next week or so before I get back at it again. I know it sounds lame, but other than enjoying some time off and being with my family, the next best way for me to celebrate is to daydream and plan what’s to come.

Thank you again to my friend Kate and readers who submitted questions! I’m so grateful for your support :)

My debut romance novel, A Fine Line, is available NOW! Visit penelopeguinn.com to find out where it’s available!