Jaye Robin Brown, or JRo to her friends, has been many things in her life--jeweler, mediator, high school art teacher--but now lives the full-time writer life where she crafts heartfelt young adult and adult romance novels with a decidedly sapphic bent. She lives with her wife, dogs, cats, and horses in a sweet house in the NC woods where she aspires to live happily ever after.
Her debut young adult novel, NO PLACE TO FALL, is a love song to small town girls and mountain music. A companion novella, WILL'S STORY is available from Epic Reads Impulse, a digital only imprint. GEORGIA PEACHES AND OTHER FORBIDDEN FRUIT is the story of Jo Gordon, the out lesbian daughter of a moderate evangelical minister. It's a love story and a look at the sometimes conundrum of having faith and being queer. It was named to the ALA Rainbow List for 2017 as well as being a Kirkus Best Teen Book of 2017. THE MEANING OF BIRDS is a story about loss, love, and the healing power of art. It was named a 2020 Lambda Literary Award Finalist in the Children's/Young Adult Category. THE KEY TO YOU AND ME is a dual POV romance between one girl chasing her dream while escaping a broken heart, and another girl trying to figure out her heart's desire.
Her first adult romance, FIVE MONTHS OR FOREVER, debuts in 2022. It's a heartwarming story about two women tangled in an attraction and timing conundrum. Set on the South Carolina coast, it's sure to appeal to anyone who has ever chosen to start over.
Her debut young adult novel, NO PLACE TO FALL, is a love song to small town girls and mountain music. A companion novella, WILL'S STORY is available from Epic Reads Impulse, a digital only imprint. GEORGIA PEACHES AND OTHER FORBIDDEN FRUIT is the story of Jo Gordon, the out lesbian daughter of a moderate evangelical minister. It's a love story and a look at the sometimes conundrum of having faith and being queer. It was named to the ALA Rainbow List for 2017 as well as being a Kirkus Best Teen Book of 2017. THE MEANING OF BIRDS is a story about loss, love, and the healing power of art. It was named a 2020 Lambda Literary Award Finalist in the Children's/Young Adult Category. THE KEY TO YOU AND ME is a dual POV romance between one girl chasing her dream while escaping a broken heart, and another girl trying to figure out her heart's desire.
Her first adult romance, FIVE MONTHS OR FOREVER, debuts in 2022. It's a heartwarming story about two women tangled in an attraction and timing conundrum. Set on the South Carolina coast, it's sure to appeal to anyone who has ever chosen to start over.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Have you always been a writer?
Yes! But I didn't realize I wanted to be serious about publication until 2009. I sent a postcard to a friend declaring my intention to own my writer identity and two years later, I had a contract. But lest you think it super easy, the book that landed me an agent was my 6th manuscript.
Why do you write?
I love stories. I was an avid reader as a child and this love spilled over into scribbles on the page. Once I managed to complete my first novel-length manuscript, I was hooked. Characters and ideas pop into my head and some don't let me go until I get them on the page. It's escapism, therapy, and problem-solving at its finest. It's an excuse to research, use the names you've always loved, and to travel to new places. It's also incredibly satisfying when you're able to see your book in print and hear from readers who connect with what came out of all the tiny crevices in your mind.
What's the best writing advice you can give to an aspiring writer?
Build a relationship with other writers. For as solitary as our work is, you need readers, critique partners, and other writers as sounding boards. Your work needs other eyes and revision works best with feedback from beta readers and CP's. Other than that, read, read, read, and get out in the world. Live some life so you have experiences to bring back to your writing.
Where'd you grow up?
I grew up on the Gulf Coast of Alabama in a tiny town called Belle Fontaine. It's not far from where Forrest and his friend, Bubba, started the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. I went to high school in the nearby city of Mobile. Since then I've lived in Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, and Massachusetts, a couple of these states more than once. I've found things to like in all the places I've lived and believe in the mantra that it's up to us to bloom where we're planted. I also believe that if it's not working, change it.
What do you do for fun?
My other great passion is dressage. I ride my horses several times a week and try to stay fit in between horse shows. My wife and I love hanging out with friends or having quiet time on the screened porch watching the leaves rustle and the dogs' noses decipher all of those smells. I've reached a quieter time of life where the concerts, nights out, and parties of old hold a little less interest to me, but I can still be persuaded for the right occasion.
