We chat with New York Times bestselling author J. Elle about House of Marionne, a modern-day YA romantic fantasy series opener about a glamorous magical world of social elites, forbidden love, and a dark magic that could destroy it all.
Hi, J. Elle! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m a full time author, mom of three, and apparent zookeeper because I can’t seem to not take in an animal I find. We have four pets. Before writing I used to work in politics as a legislative aide because education policy was something I wanted to revolutionize. But I eventually diverted from that and became a school administrator. Then I threw all those plans out the window and leaned into my creative impulses. I ran a wedding photography company in southern California for years until I sold my first book. After that, I closed my wedding business to focus on my author career. A jack of all trades and perhaps a master of none.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I’ve always loved stories. I grew up spending my weekday evenings at the public library. The security guard would come and find me and my mom and tell us we had to leave because they were closing. In middle school, you couldn’t keep me out of the library. I spent entire lunch periods in there. But despite my love of stories, I never saw myself as a storyteller. It wasn’t until I had my first idea come to me that I decided to try and sit down and write a story. That was September of 2018. And that book became my debut, the NYT bestselling duology, Wings of Ebony.
Quick lightning round! Tell us about the book that made you want to become an author!
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
I didn’t think I’d ever become a writer until I was well into adulthood. But Number The Stars is one of the earliest books I remember reading in school that deeply moved me as an eight year old. I was so emotionally affected by how powerful love and compassion can be and how instrumental a role fictional literature plays in student awareness. As a black person in America, I wasn’t exposed to a vast array of well-done antebellum literature until I sought it out myself because the books in the school where I grew up were not diverse. But I had an even deeper affection for the hearts of the heroes in those stories once I found them. Reading breeds empathy. And love really does change the world.
Your latest novel, House of Marionne, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Glamorous, Dark, Magical, Swoony, Shocking
What can readers expect?
Game of Thrones meets Succession with tiaras and ballgowns. Or, a favorite I saw on TikTok recently, Fourth Wing meets Bridgerton. The story follows 17 y/o Quell whose been on the run from a secret society because of a forbidden dark magic that she has. But when she’s almost caught by an assassin hunting her, she runs to one of the training schools for “proper” magic. She intends to master this proper form of magic in order to bury her dark magic forever. Only her dark magic is determined to not be snuffed out. And to make matters worse, she’s falling in love with an assassin-in-training from a rival House.
Where did the inspiration for House of Marionne come from?
It started with the idea of a tiara growing out of someone’s skull. I just couldn’t get the juxtaposition of beauty and darkness out of my head. From there I began to think about a central love story and just knew I wanted to do enemies to lovers. The third component that occurred to me very early in this story was complex, gray characters. There are no perfect choices and the characters that stick with me the longest are the ones who wrestle with this. Like Tyrion Lannister, Kendall and Roman Roy, the Salvatore brothers, and so many others. I wanted to really deep dive into what makes certain characters behave certain ways. And when we look at atrocities or less popular choices, who do we blame? Is the monster to blame? Or the person or system who created the monster? Not an easy question. And I love books that make us shift in our seat a bit. Beyond that, I just really wanted to write something with kissing. SO! Ha.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
The romance for sure! I had a guy who lives and breathes duty to a magical Order which, we’ll just say, has its issues. And I had a girl who is dying to be a part of this world, even at the risk of erasing herself. That just said OBVIOUS ROMANCE to me. I wanted them to have chemistry right off. That nostalgic feeling you get when you meet someone and you just really like them. Maybe its because they’re cute or you love the way they look at you or some unknown thing that just gives you butterflies every time you’re in their presence. And from that undeniable chemistry, I wanted to build a deeper connection that got to the core of who these characters are and how their views of the world and themselves could use some changing. What better vignette than a love story to do that.
This is your fifth published novel! What are some of the key lessons you have learned when it comes to writing and the publishing world?
This is my 5th book, but it was the first time that I decided to just write what I wanted to write. I didn’t think about any of the pressures that come along with publishing or even my brand or what I’d written before. I didn’t consider what my publisher probably wanted from me to further my social justice themed sort of brand. I was tired of talking about that after 2020. I just wanted to talk about broody love interests and kissing. So that’s the book I wrote. I stubbornly leaned into freeing myself of other’s expectations of me and I believe it led to House of Marionne being my best book yet.
Another lesson I’m still learning is that it is critically important to keep my focus on writing. And, for me, that is the hardest part of being an author. With the pressures of having a social media presence and marketing and promoting our own books, it can be very hard to find the quietness needed to really let a story grow legs and mature to its best shape. It’s a constant juggling act that I’m still trying to refine.
What’s next for you?
More books in the House of Marionne world! Working diligently on book two.
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
If you enjoy thrillers, I am utterly obsessed with The Legacies by Jessica Goodman. If you’re more of a romance gal, you must pick up Ali Hazelwood’s YA debut: Check & Mate and check out You Bet Your Heart by Danielle Parker. For my fellow fantasy lovers, grab a copy of Hearts Still Beating by Brooke Archer. Trust me.
