Welcome to Jessica Kara, LOVELY CHEERLEADERS the author of A Fur Faux Paw, who won the 2022 Ursa Major Award for Best Novel. She is also known as Jessica Kara, the publisher of noblebright dream and enthusiastic fashionable young adult literature. Here's a publisher fair interviewing about how her function gets round, one you may discover immediately at Anthrocon 2024. She even made fun of her pencil label, which she claimed was very powerful in separating from her best-known fantasy series starring gryphon characters, The Summer King Chronicles. In the face of conventional opposition to publications, it stood out even more as a shaggy teenager account. A Shaggy Faux Paw was seen on a conventional network, before it was evident that she was a shaggy outsider- that's well-rounded publicity! It excelled at reaching a normal inside knowledge fiction/fantasy viewers and had the potential to appeal as a setting for character development. The author's narrative follows a young woman designer who lives with a collector mother and is forced to deal with loneliness and relatives problems with the promise of a forbidden trip to a furry con.

( Dogpatch Press: ) Let's start with your background in writing and genre. Do you want to claim that you started out as a fur author or only a poet?

I believe there was a shaggy aura before it was willful because in my mIRC days, I was" Lyoness" in my youth skype team without realizing there was already a total subculture happening. So I'm definitely in the fur group even if I don't have an established gryfon-sona personality or a umpire strip or something. I believe that the majority of people who know me believe that I belong to the fandom's birb/avian subset.

When I first started writing my fantasy series, The Summer King Chronicles, I was more aware of the furry community as a whole, so I was writing more in the mainstream'animal fiction ' style of Watership Down, The Lion King, and Meredith Ann Pierce's Firebringer trilogy ( even though we can just call those furry, too! ) Tomato, to-mah-to, and all that ). But, a friend in 2014 alerted me to the Ursa Majors, so I threw my scarf in the necklace with Skyfire, the next publication in the Summer King Tales, as my ready text. In addition to that, I've written brief reports for a few cult compilations. I won the Ursa for best fiction that season, which caught the attention of various authors in the fans, and I have been immersed in the community always since.

So, to respond to your question, "yes!" My books have crossover appeal for mainstream YA readers and furry readers because I'm just a writer and a furry writer at the same time.

While you're earning awards and appeal, how are things going as a career?

If someone asks me if I can quit my day job right away, I can't say no. However, I consider it to be my true job, which many writers do. If money eventually comes along, that would be nice. ( Just kidding ). I have a ton of stories to tell, and I just want to get the most out before I leave this mortal coil. I can't be contained, so please stop me! Some stories will continue to appeal to furry readers, while others will be mainstream. I'm happy with the books I'm putting out, I'm thrilled to have gotten a traditional book deal for my contemporary novels, and I'm in it for the long haul.

I run a Patreon, I'm working on a graphic novel about Song of the Summer King with an artist, and I'm working on several writing projects, as well as marketing and promoting other creative ideas, so I'm trying to keep all the pots stirred. I hope to reach a point where I can make more money than I can spend, or at least enough to fund all of my ideas someday.

Can you talk about your recent work, and the process of crossing outside of fandom with YA writing?

Let's talk about AFFP, a book about furries, for furries, picked up by a mainstream traditional publisher, since the most recent book I've published is Don't Ask If I'm Okay, a contemporary YA with no furry ties.

How did I transition from writing contemporary to fantasy? a furry. a person who is not considered to be "furry fiction." The story was a teen in the furry fandom because I write primarily for kids and teenagers. Once I was immersed in the fandom I fell in love with the creative community and I started getting this idea to write a novel about. Although I'm a die-hard fan of fantasy, the people I met and the various stories I saw made for a more realistic teen tale about overcoming realistic teen challenges.

The friction and plot started when I realized her mother was a hoarder, and the fandom and Maeve's artwork were one way she distanced herself from her mother's struggles and found her identity, and solace. I knew Maeve/Mauve would be a teen artist in the fandom, but it couldn't just be about that. So the idea developed that she's going to attempt to break away from her mother, runs away to her first furcon, and her coming-of-age and my love letter to the fandom ensues! I had a blast writing that book for my first foray into traditional publishing because both my agent and Page Street YA editor loved it.

For my contemporary work, my agent coined the phrase" tragi-cozy." I definitely go for a Studio Ghibli vibe where even when difficult things are happening, there are beautiful things, friendship, and a life worth living. The book itself is cozy, mostly heartwarming, and a nice little break from the daily grind, so Maeve has a hard row hoe.

What reactions has A Furry Faux Paw received both outside the fandom and in general?

Positive reactions in general! Maeve's struggle with her mother receives a pretty universally emotional, empathetic response from the curious normies who have picked it up. Even though Maeve's adventure doesn't involve any issues specific to fandom and conventions (once again, the fandom is not the actual focus of the story, but a loving backdrop ), the majority of furries seem to view it as a fun frolic through an expertly painted furcon. I've gotten reviews and letters from furries expressing their joy at my depiction of the fandom, and seeing themselves reflected in the pages, which was my whole goal.

I only received one negative email, which suggests that I glossed over the darker threads of the fandom and that the book should be taken off the shelves because it depicts too sunny of a picture. Expecting a single book to cover every aspect is a difficult task. The novel is also from the point of view of a girl whose experience has been mostly positive, so it would be hard to address' everything' without it becoming a very different book. ( I found that to be surprisingly shocking and have not responded to them. ) I understand that this isn't someone from "outside," but rather someone who had a terrible experience within a fandom, regardless of whether it was a fandom, church, or school, which unfortunately does happen.

The book is not an exposé on the fandom, nor is it intended to explain everything about it or point a light into dark corners. I think we all agree that the furry community has already experienced some negative press, so I flipped the narrative. Although it may be a Hallmark adaptation of the fandom, I personally had a positive experience overall, and I think it's appropriate to do so. Anyone interested in researching the community further has plenty of resources at their disposal. It is the fictional experience of one fictional character.

This book might serve as a lighthearted introduction to friends and family's positive aspects and could facilitate discussions about how to conduct yourself and feel safe in a larger community, in my opinion.

What's it like to work with an agent, and how has the book sold?

Like having a writing companion, cheerleader, and professional advocate all in one! Unfortunately, my fantastic agent left the publishing industry for personal reasons, but she managed to get me my first traditional book deal and guide me through the legal issues involving author rights, marketing, and other issues. It's like having a go-to publishing reference because they only succeed when you succeed, so your best interests are also theirs. Because she knew the market very well and because it was my first time writing contemporary fiction, I valued her perspective and market knowledge. Depending on their writing style and their work, it may vary. My agent was "editorial" in that she liked to read and make comments and suggestions on my manuscripts before sending them on submission, not every agent does that.

Regarding the sales figures for AFFP, I will say that they are about" as expected" for a YA contemporary without becoming a bestseller or allowing me to leave my day job. My hope is that it's still largely unheard of and will continue to gain popularity both inside and outside the fandom. Page Street is a smaller press, so while they're distributed by Macmillan and have vastly more reach than I would on my own, AFFP is still a niche book so it hasn't surprised anyone with sales numbers either good or bad. I will be working on an audio version of the book, which I'm very excited about, and a few of my subrights have returned to me, so I'm continuing to push the book on my own!

How can people find you and your work if you have some entertaining news about Anthrocon?

Sure! I'll ultimately make it to Anthrocon this time! This will be my first time visiting the east coast, despite having previously attended Midwest Furfest and Texas Furry Fiesta and a few smaller ( sadly, now closed ) cons. There will be many people it, I hope. I'll remain bringing a lot of editions of Shadow Sun, my Dragon Star Saga, and my gryfon novels, as well as OPEFULLY the much-anticipated next publication.

People can find my publications fairly significantly anywhere they are sold, or they can ask them at their native librarian if they want to jump-start their perusing. My story collection can be found at http. website .jessowen.com and my contemporary works here: authorjessicakara.com

I like the post. These necessitate diligent effort. Want to participate? Or post around as a host. For the best of the area, check out these posts: r/furrydiscuss for reports or r/waginheaven for the best. ( Content Policy. ) Follow on Twitter for more gratis fur media, or donate to Dogpatch Press, a non-profit organization.