We chat with author Jade Presley about The Never List, which sees a woman’s search for her missing sister instead brings her four powerful princes of chaos in this steamy, why-choose romantasy.
Hi, Jade! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Thank you so much for having me! I’m a romantasy author with a particular love of the why choose subgenre. I’m a Marvel & boardgame lover. Happily married mom of two with an Irish Wolfhound to round out our family. If I’m not writing, reading, or baking something, I’m walking my wolf or going on epic quests on game night.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I found out when I was eight years old. My second-grade teacher came into the classroom with a stack of blank hardback books and told us we could write a story about whatever we wanted. We crafted rough drafts on notebook paper, going through several rounds of edits before transferring the story to the hardback book. We even had a little event where we read our stories to an audience of our parents. I was hooked from then. From that moment on, whenever anyone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always responded with author. I fell hard and fast for the art of storytelling and I’ve never looked back.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. It was a well-loved copy that belonged to my dad, dated back to the fifties. I still have it on my shelf.
- The one that made you want to become an author: The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by John Scieszka and Lane Smith. We read this just before my teacher gave us that story assignment. I remember being blown away by the retelling of a classic tale we all knew and loved. The fresh take on the well-known story only fueled my love of storytelling. I wrote several retellings of my own in my notebook afterward.
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: I just finished Quicksilver by Callie Hart and it’s still living rent free in my head right now!
Your latest novel, The Never List, is out April 8th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Spicy romantasy with royal intrigue.
What can readers expect?
A spicy why choose romantasy that takes you into the royal lives of four chaotic princes who are desperate for a mate in order to secure their throne. An empowered female lead who will do anything to save her sister and her people, including make each of those princes fall for her, despite having a secret that could ruin them all.
Where did the inspiration for The Never List come from?
The original idea for The Never List came to me when a new project was on the books. I knew I wanted to write a steamy romantasy with an empowered female lead. I played with several ideas but couldn’t stop thinking about a royal event where every woman on the continent wants a chance to be selected as the four princes’ mate…except my main character. She’s against the royal authority for so many valid reasons, but she ends up being selected and must navigate a dangerous set of circumstances to stay alive. The plot exploded from there and I dove headfirst into writing it.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I loved writing The Never List, Rylee’s POV (my main character) in particular. She walked onto the page with her story in hand, demanding it be told. She has a lot going on in her life—deep friendships, grief, battling against Lumathyst’s social norms—and then to be thrown into the royal class with no warning and having to learn to navigate it to survive, made for some exciting scenes I loved to write. Not to mention her interaction with the four princes, who she thought she’d hate, was too much fun.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
I think with every why choose romance I write has a great deal of challenges. Navigating relationships with multiple love interests is a delicate balance. The key I found in The Never List was to ensure that each love interest got the space and time to develop a true connection with Rylee that could stand on its own outside of the group setting. There’s something special about building a group relationship, and when the individual connections are solid, then the group connections will be even better. Those definitely take time and you have to dig deep into each character to construct it, but they’re well worth it. I believe it gave a stronger edge to the group dynamic in the end, and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.
What’s next for you?
I’m working on the sequel to The Never List now! I’m having way too much fun peeling back even more layers from our princes of Lumathyst and I can’t wait for readers to uncover more!
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?
So many! I can’t wait for The Things Gods Break by Abigail Owen and Brimstone by Callie Hart!
