We are delighted to chat with New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Lynn Barnes again, but this time about her latest release, The Brothers Hawthorne, which sees her return to the world of her #1 bestselling Inheritance Games trilogy.
Hi, Jennifer! Welcome back! How has the past two years been since we last spoke?
The past two years have been a whirlwind! I ended up leaving my (much-loved!) day job as a psychology and writing professor to focus on writing full-time, and that’s really allowed me to push myself creatively. Over this same period, it has also been incredible to get to get back out there and see readers in person. I am pretty continually awed and humbled by the passion and creativity that YA readers bring to the books that they love.
The Brothers Hawthorne sees you return to the world of your bestselling Inheritance Games trilogy and it’s out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Puzzles. Mystery. Luxury. THAT ENDING.
What can readers expect from this new standalone?
The Brothers Hawthorne is the most complex book I’ve ever written. It follows two of the major characters from the Inheritance Games series, brothers Jameson and Grayson Hawthorne, through sprawling, puzzle-filled mysteries on opposite sides of the globe. Jameson’s half of the story involves an elite, aristocratic, and highly secret gambling club that has been operating in London since the Regency period, while Grayson’s involves his paternal half-sisters and some of the major secrets from the original Inheritance Games trilogy. There’s also a third part of the story that takes place in the past, where readers will get to see billionaire Tobias Hawthorne alive on the page first time, as we see the old man formed his grandsons into the men they are today.
Was there anything in particular that ‘sparked’ you to further delve into the Hawthornes?
After I finished writing The Final Gambit (book three in the Inheritance Games series), I very much felt like the protagonist—heiress Avery Grambs—had gotten a full and complete character arc. The trilogy was her origin story, and it ends with her taking the reins as one of the youngest and most powerful billionaires in the world. But when it came to the two brothers involved in a love triangle with Avery, I felt very much like they were still mid-arc. Avery is the person who set them off on those arcs, but it’s up to those boys themselves to finish them, facing down the ghosts of their past and exploring the true legacy their billionaire grandfather left them. So a huge part of the impetus for writing these books was to allow Jameson and Grayson the space to do that.
At the same time, one of the things that always fascinated me the most about the four Hawthorne brothers is that they all have different fathers. Grayson’s father played a big role in book two of the trilogy, The Hawthorne Legacy, but I felt like there was a lot of story left to tell there, and Jameson was the one brother whose father we never actually got to meet during the course of the trilogy. When I got the idea to continue the story by exploring the paternal halves of their family trees, it just felt right!
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
There are four new characters in this book that I absolutely loved writing. Two of them are Grayson’s half-sisters: one is a hilarious, irrepressible ray of human sunshine (which makes her pretty much the anti-Grayson) and the other one is pretty much the female Grayson, which let me explore the ways that many of his traits—things like power and dominance and confidence and control—are treated totally differently when a woman displays those traits than when a man does. Then on Jameson’s side of the story, there are quite a few new characters, but two in particular who are favorites of mine. I can’t say much about either of them without including spoilers, but I will say that one of them is a teenager who is just as magnetic, mysterious, brilliant, and dangerous as the Hawthorne brothers were to Avery back in the very first book.
You said in our first interview that Xander was your favourite… Is he still?
Of the old characters, definitely! I had a lot of fun with the Xander moments in this book. I also really, really loved writing Gigi (one of Grayson’s half-siblings), who—not surprisingly—gets along really well with Xander, as they are kind of kindred spirits.
Naturally one always hopes their books will be successful, but did you ever expect this huge fanbase to be supporting the series? What’s it been like?
When The Inheritance Games came out, I was twenty-one books into a career that started when I was nineteen years old. At that point, my goal was really just to be able to keep publishing books, and I was always kind of at the point where I never knew if I would be able to keep doing that. I never dared to dream that I would spend even a single week on a bestseller list. It’s just really rare for an author whose been on the midlist for her entire career to suddenly break out. So the fact that the series has found such a huge audience absolutely blows my mind! Every week, I get at least one email from my editor that makes me reply with some version of “I never even dreamed…”
The most incredible thing for me is the fact that there is a fandom for this book. The creativity and passion of the fans is just remarkable. From fan-art and videos to the fan crafts people make and the way that groups of friends will read the books together… I am just in awe! It never stops being incredible. As a scientist whose specialty was the psychology of fandom, I’ve always believed that books are a collaboration between the author and the reader’s imagination and creativity. So seeing this happen in such a big way with my own books makes me all teary-eyed and joyful.
What’s next for you?
Right now, I am working on The Grandest Game, which is the next book set in the world of The Inheritance Games. Although it’s book five in what we are calling The Inheritance Games Saga, it’s also book one of new series within that sage and can be read alone if you haven’t read the other books. If you’ve read The Final Gambit, you can probably guess what The Grandest Game series is about, but you’ll have an even better idea of what is to come once you read The Brothers Hawthorne. For now, I will tease that there is a brand new Hawthorne-centric mystery, plus my all-time favorite “game” (full of some of my trickiest puzzles and riddles!). And the book also features some of the biggest romantic moments I’ve written, in any book, EVER.
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
Like many readers, I’ve been obsessed with Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros lately, but I’m also equally obsessed with a YA series that similarly takes place at a dragon-riding war academy, which is the Aurelian Cycle by Rosaria Munda. The first book is called Fireborne, and I was so obsessed that I bought copies for my brother as well. For people who prefer their books without magic, I also really enjoyed Dava Shastri’s Last Day by Kirthana Ramisetti, which (like the Inheritance Games) is also about a scheming billionaire at the end of their life, and Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn, about a group of retired female assassins.
Thanks for sharing! This is a great interview. I love The Inheritance Games books!!