Jen Comfort Author

I was looking for scratch paper and found this old notebook filled with revision brainstorming notes for Midnight Duet, based on feedback from my crit partners. I had no memory of these notes even though they're from 2022... not even that long ago!

I think sometimes we authors mentally gloss over how hard a book was to write once the finished product is in our hands. I remember this book was a nightmare because I was going through a really challenging personal period (divorce, death of loved ones, my RA diagnosis, going back to work in a restaurant during a pandemic). But it was also a hard BOOK to write. My first draft was a hot mess. I had four wildly different versions of the first three chapters. I ended up revising about 80% of this book in the final five weeks before deadline and by the time I turned it in I felt like my brain was melting out of my eye sockets. I had no idea whether it was any good, whether anyone would "get" it, whether it was too much, whether everyone would hate Erika, whether I'd ever get another book contract.

But people DID like Midnight Duet; it's still my book with the highest ratings, and the finished product is so fun and campy and extra, and in the space between then and now I kind of forgot about how hard this book was to execute, what a ridiculously ambitious idea this was for my second published book, how I had to throw away and rework entire characters and plotlines, all done on very little sleep or emotional stability.

Midnight Duet was my fever dream, and I'm so grateful to everyone who helped make this book what it is. Each book was hard in its own way, but especially this one. As they say, though: "If no one can tell... does it matter?"

FAN SERVICE by is out today and I insist you immediately get this book because it is EVERYTHING.

It's my favorite book she's written yet and what I love about Rosie is she grows as a writer with every book (not saying that in like a backhand compliment way; if you've read her newsletters--and you should!--it's something she talks about!)

THIS book though? This book is the catnip to my soul. It's the teen dream; the echelon of every lil goth fan girl weirdo like me who used to spend all my free time writing the most egregious La Femme Nikita and Vampire Diaries (the books!!! I am OLD millennial) fanfic which transitioned into having my own Anita Blake fanpage on geocities where I designed JPGs of all the vampire boys' "popsicles" (its a euphemism duh but they were actually popsicle shaped... it made sense if you were also weird), which you could download and share on your own fanpage as a trophy.

But enough about my fangirl credentials! This is my (full) official blurb for FAN SERVICE, which you can also see part of on the back cover!! :

"Rosie wrote this book specifically for me and my interests and I am obsessed! Goth heroine? Check. Tortured himbo hero? Check. Bonkers premise? Double check. H***y suffering? There's no check mark big enough. Absolutely flawless rom-com by every definition of the genre--an absolute must-read! If this book is not an instant bestseller I will stage a dramatically emotional and very confused protest the likes of which my cat has never seen." - Jen Comfort, author of What is Love?

Anyway go read this book now because I'm serious when I say it's so good!!!

I'm so excited to celebrate 's latest release, WHAT HAPPENS IN AMSTERDAM, with on May 11th! Mark your calendars!!

I stg if I can't rent that tulip dress from nuuly for this event bc everyone else rented it first I will lose my f*cking mind. Y'all been warned. This isn't even a stupid influencer post to get a $10 credit, I'm just threatening

Anyway see y'all there! Or else! Or else nothing but why would you miss it??

Whenever I told people I was going to as ' assistant, I'd say something like, "I'm flying across the country to hang out with my book friends for three days" like it was some silly, frivolous little spendthrift treat for myself and not a truly essential part of why I write in the first place.

I always forget how necessary and important it is to seek and foster community in this industry until I'm there, surrounded by these beautiful, brilliant, absolutely batsh*t humans who do SO MUCH more than what we could get away with. We work so hard and push through so much BS and fight tooth and nail for enough brain chemicals and time and energy to write and read and celebrate these books because we simply love... love.

And when we're alone in our little gremlin caves, miserably drafting under deadline and weathering rejection and battling impostor syndrome while trying to hold down lives and day jobs, it's sometimes hard to remember that it's all worth it for these moments. For when readers tell you that your book made them feel seen and made them feel joy when the real world feels hopleless. For meeting new friends who share your sense of nerdy humor and relentless optimism , and reconnecting with old friends who you're so used to talking to online that you forgot you haven't hugged them in a full calendar year. For everyone in unison pulling out their notes app to write down a recommendation for a book called "spit or swallow" without a hint of irony or apology. For being in the room when someone on a panel gives advice that suddenly CLICKS in your brain even though you've heard it before a hundred ways but this time it sinks in.

I'm so LUCKY to be a part of this community! Thank you so much to everyone, all of whom (pictured and not) made this weekend worth the trip a hundred times over. 💜

Last night I had the joy of helping celebrate the incredibly talented and her debut romcom, UNROMANCE, with romance readers at in Portland!

If you haven't read this book yet, RUN do not walk, to these pages. It's truly a masterpiece that has everything you want from a rom-com: a relatable, black cat 🐈‍⬛ bisexual romance writer heroine who "doesn't believe in love" but does believe in "one time, just to get it out of our systems," and a golden retriever hero 🐶 who is HARD UP for the heroine and even hard-er up for the fantasy of an idealized storybook romance. It's sort of a modern friends-to-lovers, it's sort of opposites attract, and it's a love letter to romance tropes in a way that makes them feel fresh. Despite the premise, this isn't 15 tropes in a trenchcoat... It's a modern retelling of every 90s romcom movie you ever loved wrapped up into one book. It's Chappell Roan and Nora Ephron's millennial love child.

This book is going to be a bestseller (I have a 95% accuracy rating for these predictions; publishers should hire me fr tho)!!!

It's always an honor to be asked to be someone's conversation partner and it's especially awesome when I get to do it my friends! I used to* have terrible, cold-sweat, hand-trembling stage fright about doing public speaking events (*jk I totally still do), but I've gotten a lot of practice the last two years and also gotten to watch & learn from more experienced authors, and here is my top tier advice:
.. just adore the author and the book and then stare at them like 😍 the entire time they're talking. Easy!!!

Thank you so much to Annie Bloom's for having us! (They still have some signed copies of UNROMANCE left if you want one! L/nk in... you know ⬆️)

What better way to celebrate Nov. 1st than with a post about a (checks notes) summer baseball romance?!

So I'm a liiiitle behind on my personal tbr, but who isn't? Like I'm gonna complain when the reason is that I've gotten to blurb so many incredible books lately?? Teenage romance reader me would be BESIDE HERSELF at how lucky I am!

If you haven't read THE ART OF CATCHING FEELINGS by yet, you need to move this bad girl to the top of your list. Alicia writes books so well-paced with such exquisite tension that you DO need to commit to being up until 4am to finish once you start. This "you've got mail" style romance had me on EDGE, I tell you.

Is base player Chris gonna find out that SHE'S the infamous heckler who called him a Winnie the Pooh roast and made him cry during a ball game? Especially once she totally accidentally has a valid oopsy reason for keeping it a secret? Especially as they develop this anonymous texting friendship that maybe leads to mutual phone s*x but she can't make a sound bc he'll recognize her voice bc OOPSY DAISY she also took a job as a baseball reporter person (who knows nothing about bball but it makes sense with the plot, trust me) so she sees him IRL every day?

There's also a plot to this book that's like "will Daphne realize her career destiny" and "will Chris finally go to therapy instead of bottling his Sad inside and only letting it out whilst crying in baseball" and "will this team go to a sports playoff thing," but MOSTLY what drives this plot is "will Chris realize Daphne is his secret online girlfriend??"

Now, I'm not one who usually likes Big Secrets in romance because I get really stressed out, and that's why I have PTSD from Mrs. Doubtfire. But I know Alicia can be trusted to expertly stick the landing after stabbing us in right the damn soul. It's also like 🔥🔥🔥🔥, so that distracted me from my crushing anxiety. And, boy, does she pull off the reveal. It's absolutely a "screaming OH S**T aloud to an empty room" moment. 10/10, gentle angst, very spice, I still don't know anything about bball

Have you read this yet??

⚰️ 🕸️ 💅

we are camp, we are melodrama, we are in the cemetery paying our respects to mary shelley in pleather and heavy eyeliner. Thank you for attending this meeting.

I need you all to LOOK at this f*ing amazing Maxine and Erika fanart from that came as a surprise in the mail for me!!! I AM OBSESSED!!!

This is the coolest thing ever?! I'm sorry but just look at their outfits, the hair, Erika and Maxine making the "MAX HEART" hands together, a backdrop that I can only assume is the Opera House, I mean the DETAIL!!! it's stunning!!! I'm truly beside myself like I just love art so much and I'm so freaking blown away that Justine made this for me as a gift!

If you don't already follow her then you absolutely MUST! She accepts commissions and she is SO impeccable about communicating & timelines! I commissioned her to do the Erika art for Midnight Duet's bookplates and she absolutely crushed the assignment! Please support her and her work, because it's even harder for independent artists to make a living in the dark shadow of robot art. Justine is a true romance fan girl who will do your characters justice!! 💕

Romance Readers! Looking for something fun to do this weekend? Come check out all these ridiculously stacked panels featuring some amazing romance authors talking about their favorite topics at Vintage Books () in Vancouver and at Powell's Downtown & Cedar Hills ().

Over fifteen featured authors attending, including romance bestsellers Jasmine Guillory, Megan Bannen, Alicia Thompson, Jo Segura... and more!!! (Check out the tagged bookstore event pages for the full line-up and more details.)

It's rare we get big romance events here in the PDX area, so you don't want to miss this! 📚

BLURB TEXT: "With witty humor, fascinating factoids, and hold-onto-your-pearls heat, Jen Comfort delivered trivia romcom perfection. What Is Love? is one of my top books of the year, and it's not even out yet." - Jo Segura, author of Raiders of the Lost Heart ().

I have gotten some INCREDIBLE blurbs for What is Love? (4/1/24) that I can't wait to share, but I scheduled all these in advance because I have zero chill and otherwise I'd post them all at once.

This first blurb is from my one and only writing dom (aka my crit partner who lovingly yells at me when I'm doing stuff that's NOT WRITING), because this book would straight up not exist without her. Is she possibly biased?? YES. Does it matter? (Who cares?)

Jo personally told me that WHAT IS LOVE? is her favorite of all the books I've written. Do you think she'd lie about that? Never! (Thank you, Jo! Iooooovveee youuuuu!!!)

Anyway, if you haven't read her Lara Croft-banging-Indiana Jones debut, RAIDERS OF THE LOST HEART (Dec '23), you should go do that!!

XOXO
Jen

IN THE COMMENTS: What's your top book of the year that hasn't come out yet??

JANUARY SALE! Dear UK (0.99) and Australia (1.49) romance readers--now is the time to pick up these hot romcoms that important trade review magazines have called "charmingly bonkers" (complimentary).

MIDNIGHT DUET:
- A gender-flipped, modern Phantom of the Opera retelling
- Gothy & glam theater vibes masquerading as a plot
- Eurovision shenanigans
- L***y organ playing
- An entire chapter written in service of a Spinal Tap joke
- Cher is an immortal sorceress???
LINK: https://amzn.eu/d/49V8Ivw

THE ASTRONAUT & THE STAR
- Black cat/golden retriever vibes
- Neurodiversity rep
- Himbo action hero
- Goth, bisexual NASA astronaut babe with a PR problem (told a pap to "f*ck off" after he suggested Mars is fake)
- Must pay penance by training said himbo action hero for a movie role
LINK: https://amzn.eu/d/49V8Ivw

MY *WHAT IS LOVE?* BABY'S FIRST TRADE REVIEW!!!

I'm SO, so flattered that The Library Journal gave WHAT IS LOVE? a starred review. Do you know how hard it is to impress librarians??? Do you know how much I seek to be worthy of their wisdom and book recs? They literally all have master's degrees(+) and get paid an inflation-adjusted $5 a day; they are actual saints among us.

FULL REVIEW: https://www.libraryjournal.com/review/what-is-love-1803201

Find it on GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/177654236-what-is-love