From 50 Agent Rejections to an Award-Winning Debut | Jessica Everly on Books, Banter, & Beyond

Host Donna R. Madden sits down with contemporary romance author Jessica Everly for a warm, tip-packed conversation about writing closed-door love stories, surviving the query trenches, and finding a home in the indie author community.

Jessica is a former speech-language pathologist and stay-at-home mom of three (with a fourth on the way) who put "write a book" on her bucket list for years before her husband told her to take it seriously for one year and see what happened. Four years later, she has two published books and an award to show for it.

In this episode, Jessica talks about her debut, Roses in Rome — a dual-timeline story that moves between Chicago and Rome as her heroine Sienna recovers from a painful past and uncovers a family secret — which took second place in the book category at the Catholic Media Awards. She also shares the story behind Lyrics and Love Letters, a second-chance, fake-dating romance about an up-and-coming country songwriter named Boone and the aspiring romance writer who helps him find better words. It's the first book in her new Pearl Lake series, set on a fictional lake in Tennessee — which Donna is quick to point out means it's destined for greatness.

Donna and Jessica also dig into the difference between "closed door" and "clean" romance, why predictability is the point in a good love story, and the long, honest road from querying agents to hitting publish herself.

What we cover:

• Trading a speech pathology career for a writing career

• Roses in Rome, the dual-timeline structure, and how two names from a church inspired the whole book

• Winning second place at the Catholic Media Awards with a debut novel

• Lyrics and Love Letters, Boone the country songwriter, and the Instagram post that sparked the story

• Closed door vs. clean vs. Christian romance — what the labels actually mean

• Querying 13 agents, then 50 more: rejection, a developmental editor, and the advice that changed everything

• Why Jessica chose indie publishing and how the indie community lifted her up along the way

• Pantser or plotter? Why a self-described Type A organizer writes by the seat of her pants

• Her daily word count goal, and why Stephen King’s On Writing is her top recommendation for beginners

• The editing trick that catches what your eyes can’t: read it out loud twice

• Donna’s hard-won series tips — track your characters’ eye colors, name your files carefully, and beware of babies in epilogues

• Getting e-books into libraries, IngramSpark, and expanding beyond Amazon

• Jessica’s book club strategy: 12 book clubs in 12 months, complete with signed copies, swag, and author Q&As

• Book recommendations: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier and Every Summer After by Carley Fortune

Whether you're drafting your first manuscript, sitting in the rejection pile, or just looking for your next closed-door romance, this one's for you.

FIND JESSICA EVERLY 🌐 Website: jessicaeverlybooks.com 📸 Instagram: @jessicaeverlybooks 📚 Books available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited 📬 Newsletter sign-up available on her website

FIND DONNA R. MADDEN 🌐 Website: donnarmadden.com 🎙️ Books, Banter, & Beyond — available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere you listen

Books, Banter, & Beyond spotlights indie authors, indie bookstores, and everyone doing bookish things. If you enjoyed this conversation, please like, subscribe, and share it with a reader friend.

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