169: Jen Gilroy- Author of The Sweetheart Locket

This week’s podcast is with Jen Gilroy (The Sweetheart Locket, Orion Dash/Orion Books, March 2022). Unlike most of our guests, Jen has been publishing since 2017 but in the romance category, so we discuss what’s involved in switching to a new genre while still holding tight to your unique creative voice. As a writer who thinks strategically about her career, Jen shares insights into how British and American audiences differ, what she’s learned from working simultaneously in two genres with two different agents, and the authors who she looked to for inspiration while composing this dual-time-line story.   Jen Gilroy writes women’s fiction for Orion Dash and sweet western romance for Harlequin Heartwarming—uplifting stories about women finding home, family and new beginnings–and finding themselves too. She’s a Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® finalist and was shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists’ Association Joan Hessayon award. A dual British-Canadian citizen, Jen lived in England for many years and earned a doctorate in geography, focusing on British cultural studies and social history, from University College London. She worked in higher education and marketing before becoming a full-time writer. She now lives in small-town Ontario, Canada with her husband, teenage daughter and floppy-eared rescue hound. When not writing, she enjoys reading, ballet and paddling her purple kayak. To learn more about Jen, click here.