Author Interview: NYT bestseller Jodi Meadows

Kingdoms will fall, gods will die, and hearts will be broken in this epic fantasy

Welcome another Jodi(e)! It’s Jodi Meadows of Jodi Spins Stories. She’s a New York Times bestselling fantasy author whose books have received numerous honours and awards, including ALA Best Book of the Year. One of her books is even being made into an Amazon Prime TV show. Plus she has two beautiful cats, Hush & Hildy, who grace her Substack. Gorgeous!

I love to support writers by buying one of their books for a giveaway and today you can win a copy of Jodi’s book, Nightrender. Here’s the blurb:

Kingdoms will fall, gods will die, and hearts will be broken in this sprawling new fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Jodi Meadows. Amazing!

Plus as an added bonus, the sequel, Dawnbreaker will be out in November so you don’t have to wait long to read the dazzling conclusion. Scroll down to comment and win!

As a young writer, what was the biggest challenge you faced?

Rejection. 

That's nothing special. We all get rejected somewhere down the line. But as hard as it would have been to admit then -- I'm glad I got rejected so much. I wasn't ready to be a professional author when I started writing. Not mentally. Not emotionally. Definitely not craft-wise. I thought I was! But looking back at my early work, I can see why it was rejected, in spite of the potential and clear enthusiasm. It just . . . wasn't ready. And that's okay.

Eventually, my rejections evolved from forms into more personalized notes. I knew I was improving and that was a huge motivator! And one of the things I decided before I got published was that I didn't want my first published book to ever embarrass me. I wanted to be proud of it for my whole career. 

And I am still proud of my first book! There are things I'd go back and change, if I were given the opportunity. Of course there are. I'm a different writer than I was then. I'm a better writer, I hope! But I'm still proud of it. 

So in a way, all those rejections were a gift. 

Was there a particular influence, person or situation who helped you to believe in yourself as a writer?

Honestly, I was really lucky. I had so many people around me -- even as a kid -- who were supportive. From an English teacher who encouraged my very first writing, to middle school librarians who fed my love of reading, to parents who never censored my reading and were happy to talk about my stories with me. And when I was older and got married, my husband was supportive from the start. I immediately found a writing group. And -- as I mentioned before -- I had professionals truly try to help me even when they were saying no, not this book. 

There were, of course, some folks who dismissed my dream or tried to tear it down, but I had so many people who believed in me, even when I was collecting rejections and wondering if I would ever succeed.

It's much easier to believe in yourself when other people are right there with you, also believing.

What do you love most about writing?

The thing I love most is also -- increasingly -- the most rare. I blame needing to pay bills and the stress that comes along with monetizing your creative passion. But basically, it's the flow state. The writing bliss. 

It's the part of writing a story where you wake up thinking about your characters, and every non-writing part of the day is spent eager to get back to the story. And the writing? Effortless. It feels good. Energizing. Like you're channeling something straight onto the page. And you could keep going, but you have to go to bed like a responsible adult, and then your final thoughts of the night are about your story. 

Repeat.

I love that feeling, the all-consuming drive to write something. It's not always there, and I think deadlines and the need to write on a schedule make it much harder to come by, at least for me, but it's so special when it does happen. 

Where do you write? What’s your writing space like?

Typically, I write in my office at home. This space didn't always look like an office -- it's been through a lot of evolution since we moved into this house -- but recently we did a ton of renovation on our house and my office finally has a proper desk, matching bookcases(!!!!), and of course all my fiber tools. Because even though it's an office it's my office. 

So there are also two spinning wheels, a rigid-heddle loom, and a cabinet full of yarn and spinning fiber. 

This should not surprise anyone.

If you weren’t a writer, what would you want to be?

An astronaut, but like on Star Trek: TNG. Please understand that I am in no way qualified for this position. I don't even know what kind of role I'd be put in. Again, not qualified. But that was what I wanted to do before I decided I should be an author. 

More plausibly, I'd do something with fiber arts, though I have no idea what I could do that would pay my bills. Selling handknit fingerless mitts is not the path to financial stability, unfortunately. And then I'd have to find another hobby to actually be my hobby. 

I guess it's a good thing I can reliably write books. 

Win one of Jodi’s books!

To win a copy of Nightrender, let me know, if you could have a magic power, what would it be?

Comment below or email me at jodiebenveniste@substack.com by 27 October 2023 to be in the running.