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Interview: WriteNow! Podcast
Why Every Aspiring Author Should Start with Fan Fiction “A story comes to life not in the writing, but in the editing…” Join Kauffman as he sits down with Author JM Frey as they explore how fan fiction can help writers at every stage of the writing process. Writing fan fiction can help new writers
WORDS FOR WRITERS: Historical Fiction and Accuracy
Schrodinger’s Queer: Learning Through Imagination I saw a quote going around the internet recently that I think is extremely powerful and extremely apt in the current political climate: [Image ID: Tweet by Jennifer Powell username Ace_Librarian7. I have made it my mission to unteach children that “fiction is fake”. Here are my new definitions I
INTERVIEW: Worldbuilding and AMI Audio
The Culture of Story: Author J.M. Frey on Worldbuilding That Lasts Impressive worlds like Westeros or the USS Enterprise didn’t just spring from a map—they were shaped by values, power structures, and human history. Author and voice actor J.M. Frey explains why great worldbuilding goes far beyond geography. Frey dives into how she builds worlds
INTERVIEW: Book Shop Chats
LISTEN HERE From the Episode Description: Friends this episode is full of wisdom! Grab an iced coffee and get your steps in. J.M Frey shares the extraordinary journey of her latest novel “Time and Tide,” a sapphic Regency romance that made the New York Times Best Romance Books of the Year list after a 16-year
REVIEW: The Seaboard Review covers “Time and Tide”
TIME AND TIDE review by Selena Mercuri for The Seaboard Review J.M. Frey’s Time and Tide is a playful and poignant exploration of time travel, historical fiction, and queer romance, anchored by sharp wit and an emotionally resonant core. In this novel, Sam Franklin—a bisexual woman from the twenty-first century—survives a plane crash only to find herself
INTERVIEW: Brewing Fiction Podcast
BREWING FICTION: PODCAST EPISODE 38 – J.M. Frey I spoke with fellow Canadian author Keith M. Leonard about my journey from writing fan fiction to becoming a published author, the importance of character in writing, my experiences writing under a pseudonym, and details about and an excerpt from Time and Tide, chosen by the New
INTERVIEW: Write in the Head’s Jon Spurling and I Talk Screenwriting and Fanfiction
I had a marvelous time flexing my acafan muscles and chatting with screenwriting teacher Jon Paul Spurling about how reading and writing fanfiction can give his students a leg up in the industry, while also making them better creators.
INTERVIEW: Little Stack
I had the great pleasure of doing the 10 Question Mini-Interview over at Little Stack. You can read it below, or check out their comprehensive website with author biographies and bibliographies, and the ability to follow your faves and log your past reads. Interview: For those unfamiliar with your style & genre, how would you
APPEARANCE: Toronto Indie Author’s Confrence
Are you an independent author navigating the complexities of the publishing business? Do you dream of transforming your passion for writing into a thriving author business? Don’t miss this opportunity to immerse yourself in the world of Canadian indie publishing’s first author business conference. Register To Attend I’ll be presenting my fan-favourite workshop WORLDBUILDING THROUGH
TIME AND TIDE: “14 Canadian romance books to swoon over this Valentine’s Day”
Well now, if this isn’t just the sweetest Valentine to find in my mailbox this morning! Even better, I’m on this list with my fabulous friend Rose Sutherland, and two authors I interviewed at the Toronto International Festival of Authors: Jackie Lau and Lily Chu. Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone—from my heart to yours! (And don’t
APPEARANCE: Signing at Hopeless Romantic Books
After you’ve spent Valentine’s Day with your loved ones, come spend the next day with me (and Sam and Daisy!💜) I will be at Hopeless Romantic Bookshop (In the Stackt Market, Toronto) from 2-4pm on February 15th 2025, to sign TIME AND TIDE.
WORDS FOR WRITERS: Narrative Voice – Vocabulary and Tone (Part Two)
Originally Published on Storybilder August 24, 2021 This is the second part of our discussion on narrative vocabulary and tone. Part One focuses on vocabulary choice and ways to shed light on your characters’ inner thoughts and world view through the language they use. What is “Tone”? Compared to vocabulary choice, tone is harder to pin
WORDS FOR WRITERS: Narrative Voice – Vocabulary and Tone (Part One)
Originally Posted on Storybilder August 10, 2021 If your characters are the lens through which the reader experiences your story, and you the writer are the glassmaker, then vocabulary makes up the grains of sand which create the glass. Likewise, tone is the mold into which you pour your hot glass to set the lens.
WORDS FOR WRITERS: Narrative Voice – Point of View and Tenses
Originally Published on Storybilder July 28, 2021 Now that you’ve decided who is going to be telling your reader your story, let’s take a closer look at the technical aspects of how that story is going to be conveyed, and what the impacts of these technical choices may be on a reader’s experience. Point of View (who is telling your
WORDS FOR WRITERS: Creating An Unreliable Narrator
Originally Published on Storybilder February 4, 2021 Which of your characters is going to lie to your audience, and why? Firstly, it’s always important to remember that no baddie ever actually thinks they’re the baddie. They are always hero of their own tales, so create them to believe that. Take Loki, from the Marvel Cinematic Universe films. His
WORDS FOR WRITERS: Narrative Voice – Unreliable Narrators
First published on Storybildr January 22, 2021 Now that we’ve established what a point-of-view (POV) and a Narrative Voice are, let’s talk about Unreliable Narrators. These are narrators who, either because of the way they interpret the world, omissions in their story, or outright falsehoods and manipulation, lie to the reader. In the first part of this series, I talked about the narrator as the
WORDS FOR WRITERS: Narrative Voice – Creating a Narrative Voice
Originally Published on Storybildr January 15, 2021 Once you’ve chosen your narrator, your next job is to figure out how they speak. Have a good long think about how their upbringing, social class, race, gender, sexuality, education, job, family home life, nation, etc. interconnect and serve to shape their morals, choices, preferences, and understanding of the world. And once
WORDS FOR WRITERS: More Than One Narrator
Originally posted on Storybildr January 8, 2021 Depending on how your plot is structured and the way your scenes are woven together, both your narrative and your readers may benefit from being able to experience your story through multiple different narrators. The Easy Stuff This storytelling choice allows the readers to experience different moments and episodes within
WORDS FOR WRITERS: Narrative Voice – Who is Telling Your Story?
Originally Published on Storybildr on December 25, 2020 Welcome to the first of five articles about creating a narrative voice. Deciding who your narrator is going to be is not only vital for you as a creator —because without someone to tell the story on your behalf, you can’t tell it at all—but it will
WORDS FOR WRITERS: How Do Writers Get Paid?
While we all became story tellers because we had something in our hearts we want to share, there are a lot of us writers who also want to turn this into a career. There are likely lots of you dreaming of massive advances and comfortable (if not James Patterson-levels) of wealth, so let’s break down
INTERVIEW: Wrote Podcast
Episode Description: J.M. Frey helps us ring in the New Year by sharing her recent novel: Time and Tide. We discuss time travel and time slip stories, the Regency/Georgian era, and lesbian/bi romances, all while keeping an eye on causality of changing the first lesbian kiss in literature. You can listen to the whole interview here.
WORDS FOR WRITERS: Sensitivity Readers
Originally published on Storybildr May 21, 2021 One of the marvelous things about being a writer is the ability to tell any story, set anywhere. However, when you create characters and writing settings that don’t approximate your lived experience, there is potential danger that you may appropriate or misrepresent someone else’s culture and life. Whether
WORDS FOR WRITERS: Tips for Critiquing
Originally published on Storybilder on October 8, 2021 Working as a sensitivity reader or a beta reader for a writer friend is one of the greatest joys of being part of the writing community. You get to read a new story before anyone else and you have the privilege of helping your writer friend turn
WORDS FOR WRITERS: Integrating Subplots Into Your Narrative Structure
Originally Posted to Storybildr on January 30, 2022 Now that you’ve figured out what kind of subplot you’ll be writing, and who will be the star and/or narrator of it, let’s look at the technical aspects of how to integrate your subplot(s) into the structure of your main plot. The methods I’m going to highlight here are by
WORDS FOR WRITERS: Secondary Characters and Subplots
Originally Posted to Storybildr on January 18, 2022 This post is the fourth in a series on subplots. As you’re developing your secondary plot, you’ll need to start thinking about who is going to carry it. Some subplots continue to feature, or may be told from, the point of view of your main character. Other subplots may focus instead
WORDS FOR WRITERS: Creating Subplots
Originally Published on Storybilder December 31, 2021 Now that you know what a subplot is, and you’ve decided what kind you’re going to write, it’s time to figure out what shape that subplot is going to take. What Do You Need To Accomplish? The first step is to think about what you need this secondary plot to
WORDS FOR WRITERS: Types of Subplots
Originally published on Storyblder November 29, 2021 Now that we know what a subplot is, let’s take a look at different types of subplots and see how they work. Romantic Subplots Unless the novel is a full-blown romance (where the plot of the book is firmly centred on the meeting and eventual happily ever after of
WORDS FOR WRITERS: What is a Subplot?
Originally published on Storybuildr November 17, 2021 Welcome to a new article series! This time, we’ll be talking about about the structural and narrative importance of SUBPLOTS. But before we dive in, let’s figure out what a subplot actually is. According to Dictionary.com, a subplot is: “A secondary or subordinate plot, as in a play, novel, or other
WORDS FOR WRITERS: Types of Editing
Originally Published on Storybuildr April 6, 2022 There are many ways to approach manuscript editing, each with its own particular process, and nearly every editor and writing advice site has their or its own method. This post will describe the most common types, explain what they’re for, and provide questions you can ask yourself to ensure
WORDS FOR WRITERS: The Stages of Editing
The Stages of Editing First Published on Storybuildr on April 24, 2022 Draft one of a manuscript is for you. In this draft, you get to tell your story to yourself. You can write as much as you want, go off on tangents or side quests, or infodump and worldbuild to your heart’s content. Draft
WORDS FOR WRITERS: How to Write a Book Pitch
A Book Pitch is basically a two-to-three paragraph description of your novel, which explains who the main character is, what the world is like, and generally what is going to happen in the novel. The point of the pitch is to entice the person reading it into then reading your book as a whole. Be
WORDS FOR WRITERS: Finalizing Your Novel for Query
Originally Published on Storybilder June 24, 2022 If you’re writing and editing your novel and plan to submit it to an agent or a publisher, there are a few more small things you can do to make sure your manuscript is polished and as professional as possible. Before you begin, note that most publishers only
WORDS FOR WRITERS: Working With Outside Eyes
Originally Posted on Storybilder June 11, 2022 No writer can ever produce a flawless manuscript alone. Writers are simply too close to the story to know if everything has been successfully translated onto the page. That’s why writers work with reader groups, critique partners, writer’s circles, or professional editors. Other Writing Partners But before we
WORDS FOR WRITERS: Beginnings
Originally Published on StoryBuilder December 2, 2020 All good story beginnings should accomplish four things: Introduce the Character, Introduce the World, Introduce the Themes, and Introduce the Conflict. Introduce the Character This is the first time we meet your protagonist. You’re going to want to offer the reader an introduction to their mood, their general
WORDS FOR WRITERS: What Are Beta Readers?
(Originally Published June 2021) Once all the hard work of writing the very first draft of your novel is complete (yay!), and you’ve had the time to give it a look-over and fix all the spelling errors, typos, and other general first-draft inconsistencies and issues, the next thing you’ll likely want to do before you send the
TIME AND TIDE: New York Times Best Romances of 2024 List
TIME AND TIDE has been named one of The New York Times’ Best Romance Books of 2024. I am still breathless with shock and delight. 💜 From the article by Olivia Waite: “A critic’s best-of list is on some level a confession: You can deduce a lot about my year from the stories I found solace
TIME AND TIDE – Happy Release Day!
Happy release day to TIME AND TIDE! This little book has gone on quite the journey! I began writing it in 2010-2011, under the title “First Impressions”. It was intended to be the sophomore follow-up to my debut novel, but it didn’t land with my first, nor my second agent. After two more title changes
REVIEW: “Time and Tide” in Publishers Weekly
Well, if this isn’t the most flattering thing to wake up to on a Sunday morning! Thank you, Publishers Weekly!Time and Tide Frey (Nine-Tenths) kicks off this whimsical queer time-travel romance in 2024, when Sam Franklin’s girlfriend, Dahlia, ditches her at the Toronto Airport just before what was supposed to be the couple’s trip to
APPEARANCE: Toronto International Festival of Authors
I’ll be speaking at the Toronto International Festival of Authors! Hearts and Hauntings September 21 @ 1:30pm A rom-com about rom-coms and a ghost story about… ghosts? Markus Harwood-Jones‘s The Haunting of Adrian Yates and Lynn Painter‘s Better Than The Movies will make you laugh, make you think and maybe make you nostalgic about all the cringy things you did in
AUTHOR INTERVIEW: In Conversation with Kacey Sophia
View this post on Instagram A post shared by J.M. Frey (@j.m.frey) Kacey Sophia ((@authorkaceysophia) and I talk reviews, the inspiration behind “Time and Tide” and “Nine-Tenths”, trying to find an agent in the middle of the post-pandemic chaos that is publishing, figuring out your own marketing, and the benefits of publishing to Wattpad. CAPTIONS
PREORDER: Time & Tide for 20% off with Tertulia
My new novel TIME AND TIDE is now available for preorder through TERTULIA. Use the code “tide” to get a 20% discount, or sign up for a no-commitment 30 day trial and get 50% off the book + free shipping! Get yours here.
TIME AND TIDE: Preorders Now Available
Peror You can now pre-order TIME AND TIDE! If you buy the book now, it will arrive on your doorstep or pick-up bookstore on the day it drops! I am both very excited and very nervous. I hope you guys like it. Click here to buy it directly from my publisher, Penguin Random House Canada
ARCS Now Available
TIME AND TIDE Releases November 2024. Exciting news: the eGalley is up on NetGalley and Edelweiss! This means, with the promise of an honest review, you could potentially read the book right now. However, if you’re not interested in an ARC, you can preorder your Copy Here. * Historical fiction with a touch of time
COVER REVEAL – “Time and Tide”
Et Voila! Isn’t it gorgeous? I am absolutely overjoyed with the beautiful custom graphic the marketing team created for the novel! My novel TIME AND TIDE, formerly “A Woman of the Sea” and “The Woman Who Fell Through Time“, has an all new cover, an all new title, and a whole bunch of new scenes and changes.
SMASHWORDS – All eBooks Now Available
I know it’s been an age since I updated my Smashwords, but all of my selfpublished backlist titles are now available. You can purchase eBook versions of my novels through my Smashwords Store at this link.
NINE-TENTHS: Now Live on Wattpad
My new novel NINE-TENTHS, is now live! The first five chapters are currently available to read, and the rest of the book will be released over the coming weeks – chapters are posted every Wednesday and Saturday. If you enjoy the story, please remember to vote and comment on each chapter, and share it on
PODCAST INTERVIEW – Contents May Vary
Contents May Vary We talk writing tips and tricks, writers block and burnout, fanfiction and Mary Sues, screenwriting and acting exercises, and much, much more! Listen to the Interview Here Listen to other Podcast Interviews here.
Many Backlisted Books Now Free
Happy New Year!I have decided that 2024 is the year of spreading my work far and wide. As an indie author, I’ve decided to simply give away a whole bunch of my backlisted novels. They had wonderful launches and reviews when they first debuted, and now I just want people to read and enjoy them. So spread the
COVER REVEAL – Nine-Tenths
NINE-TENTHS by J.M. Frey About the Book Twenty-four is one year too young for a quarter-life crisis, but hey, Colin’s always been an overachiever. He’s got a degree in Sustainable Tourism, which his family says he’s wasting as a barista, an annoying anxiety disorder, and no freaking idea what to do with his life.
WORDS FOR WRITERS: Should You Publish on a Reading App?
Have a finished graphic novel, comic, or manuscript, and wondering if posting it to Wattpad, Radish, Webtoon, or one of the other of the dozens of Reading Apps available out there? That’s great! Hey, I’m on some of them and I find the apps, and the writers communities on them, quite nice. I would never