Q&A with J.M. Frey – Author Interview

We’re thrilled to bring you an exclusive Q&A with the endlessly creative J.M. Frey, a genre-blending powerhouse known for her sharp wit, inventive world-building, and fearless storytelling. Whether she’s diving into speculative fiction, exploring fandom, or reimagining familiar tales with fresh twists, J.M. Frey consistently challenges the boundaries of genre and expectation. In this interview, she shares insights into her creative process, the themes that drive her work, and the joy and chaos of crafting stories that resonate across time and space.

From her early love of sci-fi and fantasy to her experiences as both writer and academic, J.M. Frey offers an honest and often humorous look at what it means to build stories that matter. She talks representation, character development, and the importance of fan culture with passion and clarity. If you’re a lover of smart, subversive fiction or curious about what goes on behind the scenes of your favourite books, this conversation is one you won’t want to miss.

About The Author

Tell us more about you.

I have visited or lived on every continent except Australia-Oceana, Antarctica, and South America.

What are the three items you’d take on a deserted island?

A magic bottle of wine that never runs out, the complete works of William Shakespeare (I feel like that would keep me busy for a very long time), and a never-ending supply of sunscreen!

Who is your biggest role model?

My grandmother. She was bookish, no-nonsense, and had the hugest heart. She loved her community and served it with grace and warmth until her dying day, and I strive to do the same for mine.

What is your favourite book and who is your favourite author?

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynn Jones and Naomi Novik, hands down!

Do you prefer e-books, physical books or audiobook?

Physical books for the bathtub or beach, e-books for my commute, and audiobooks when the actor is very, very good (I’m a voice actor myself, so I am picky, picky, picky.)

Is writing your full-time profession or a hobby?

It’s one of three jobs! I’d like it to be my full-time career, and I am working toward it. I’m also an actor, and I have a day job as a receptionist.

What social media platform do you like and use the most?

I’m on everything! (TikTok, Threads, Instagram, BlueSky) Threads is my current favourite, there’s just such a great indie writer community there.

Your Writing Process

How do you go about starting a new novel?

I generally jump right in! I’m a discovery writer, so if I plan too much, I’ve spoiled all the fun and surprises for myself, so I get bored of the story and wander away to the next thing. Once I’ve got a good chunk of the tale on the page, only then to I take a step back and try to figure out what the themes are, who the characters are, and what the best ending for everyone would be.

Where do you like to write?

Anywhere I get a spare minute! At my day job on my lunch breaks, on set between scenes, on my phone on my commute, at a bar waiting for a friend to arrive, and on weekends when I have no where to be, in my PJs in my home office, with the proper ergonomic set up to make up for all the hunching and scribbling I’ve been doing elsewhere all week.

What do you like most about writing?

Editing! My favourite part of storytelling is when it’s done and you can get a good look at the whole thing and massage it until it’s in just the exact right shape.

What do you find stops you from writing more?

Burnout! Three jobs is exhausting. But I love telling stories, which is why I write and act even still.

What genres do you like to write and why?

I’d call it domestic speculative fiction. All of my works, though they span the range from sci-fi to epic fantasy and everything in between, are character studies about people in fantastical situations, and how they are still, at heart, fundamentally just like us.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give to aspiring writers?

Figure out what it takes for you to finish. Everyone says they want to write a book, and some even start it, but vanishingly few finish them. Figure out what motivates you to not only continue daydreaming about your characters and far-off places, but what will get your butt in that seat and your fingers on the keys until you hit “The End”. That’s the hardest part.

Showcase Your Book!

How many books have you written and if more than one, what’s your favourite?

Twelve novels and One Non Fiction Textbook. A parent isn’t supposed to have a favourite, but if I had to pick, it would be a short story from “Hero Is a Four Letter Word” called The Maddening Science.

How long did Nine-Tenths take you to write?

I began it in September of 2019, when I was laid off from my copy-writing job. Just when I was gaining steam on it, I had to set it aside for a major death in the family. I didn’t pick it back up again until the first lockdown in 2020, when I realised that life could be so fleeting, and the family member who’d passed would have been disappointed in me if I never finished this book. I finished the first draft by fall of 2020, and spent 2021 revising and polishing it. I queried it for a while, but the feedback—though kind!—made it clear that this wasn’t a take for mainstream publishing. I made the decision to publish it independently last fall, and here we are, just a few weeks away from release day!

Lastly, what is your favourite thing about being an author?

I just really, really, really like telling stories. I love making up worlds, and figuring out how society and people function within them. Even if it’s a world that just ever-so-slightly different from the one we occupy, the butterfly-wing ripple effect of change absolutely fascinates me. It’s why I travel all over giving workshops on Worldbuilding, and it’s why I wrote a whole textbook about it for my fellow storytellers.

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