We chat with author Josie Juniper about Double Apex, which follows a brilliant engineer and a cocky racecar driver pair enter a forbidden arrangement in this spicy enemies-to-lovers romance.
Hi, Josie! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m a Pacific Northwest native, a reader, writer, math nerd, and crafter. I started out in journalism in my 20s, working for local magazines and newspapers for 7 years as a staff writer and editor. Then I made a dramatic pivot in my 30s and went back to school to study math, and ended up in that field for about 16 years. When the pandemic happened, my quarantine project – overhauling an old unpublished novel manuscript on a vintage 1980s word processor – set me on the road to self-published romances, then querying, an agent, and a three-book deal with Forever.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I was an only child and we moved around a lot, so I was always “writing a book” – it was a thing that gave me a consistent friend group I could carry with me, and a sense of control over my surroundings. Also I’ve always had an analytic, mathy brain, so I was a big observer of people, especially since I was shy. I loved collecting tiny details about people and using them to inject realism into what I wrote. Also I was always a huge reader (and still am)!
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: I have very early memories of reading The Wind in the Willows, Watership Down, and The Hobbit with my dad. We were a big reading family.
- The one that made you want to become an author: Almost everything I read as a child made me want to write books! In my late teens and early twenties was when I started to take that dream seriously, having fallen in love with the writing of Julian Barnes, Vladimir Nabokov, Ellen Gilchrist, Graham Greene, Joan Didion, Margaret Atwood, Flannery O’Connor, and so many others.
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Two of my favorite “unforgettable” books are The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov (I even have a tattoo of the cover on my forearm!) and John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany.
Your debut novel, Double Apex, is out October 8th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Sassy, spicy, angsty, redemptive, and honest.
What can readers expect?
A story about two characters who do not show up to the book well equipped for love – they’re people with flaws, emotional scars, and a lot of baggage. Phaedra and Cosmin start out the book as their own worst enemies, and must confront their mistakes and hypocracies, then acknowledge the roles they’ve had in their own miseries before they can be good for each other or for themselves. Their journey is sometimes hilarious, sometimes agonizing, sometimes challenging to expectations. But it’s always honest, and… yeah, spicy as hell. Also I’ve been an F1 fan for 30 years and I’m a STEM nerd, so the technical accuracy is top-notch.
Where did the inspiration for Double Apex come from?
The world of F1 is such a great canvas upon which to paint a romance. It’s glamor, speed, risk, world travel, and full of diverse characters, most of whom are experts in their field and larger than life. I was drawn to the sport due to its combination of fierce competition, dramatic characters, engineering, and strategy. I love games with strategy and abstract reasoning. Writing this book has brought all those passions together for me.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I loved writing each character for her or his own unique qualities and history, but I have to say I really had a ton of fun writing Emerald Team Principal Klaus, and the reserve driver Sage Sikora from a rival team – the sole woman on the grid during the season in which the book is set. Readers can look forward to more from them both in upcoming books…
This is your debut published novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
It has happened both “so quickly” and over the course of decades! I’ve been a writer since childhood, but then spent many years in mathematics, a time during which I only thought of writing as a relaxing hobby. But after my “pandemic project” turned into a traditional publishing deal, it has all flown by, in a way that is both exhilarating and sometimes intimidating. I’m just excited and honored to have the chance to write stories people enjoy.
What led you to romance?
I think we need romance right now. It’s a safe way to experience problems and heartbreaks that you know will have a happy resolution. In a world of uncertainty and big challenges, that is such a comfort. And so often these stories reveal to us things we didn’t know about ourselves – both good and bad – and give us a chance to examine them through the lens of fiction.
What’s next for you?
As for writing, Frontrunners Book 2 is currently in edits, and I’m working on the first draft of Book 3. I also have other book projects in progress, such as a second-and-third-chance romance with “acts” set in 1986, 1999, and 2012.
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed so far this year and are there any that you can’t wait to get your hands on?
My top books of this year have been Whalefall by Daniel Kraus, Husbands by Holly Gramazio, Kala by Colin Walsh, and North Woods by Daniel Mason. As for my TBR, it’s massive! There are so many books I’m looking forward to reading that it would be hard to single any one out.
