Meet Jessica Cage, the USA Today Bestselling Author with over 3 dozen books to her name. Cage talks about her Chicago upbringing, the influence of family and friends on her work, and how she finds her inspiration. Cage’s newest release “I Accidentally Summoned a Demon Boyfriend” releases May 24, and is now available for preorder on her website. You can also find more from Cage on her Instagram @Jcageauthor or on her TikTok.
How long have you been writing?
Since I was about nine, I started because of my grandmother, she was a book nerd, she had so many books, and I just wanted to be part of that world, I would write down stories and she would read them.
Is there any one piece of advice you wish somebody had given you when you first started writing?
Slow down, I think, especially now learning later I have ADHD and time blindness, I rushed the release of my first title, and there were a lot of issues that I eventually had to fix, but if I could have anybody go back and hug me and say slow down it’s okay, take your time. I used to find it very difficult to ask for help, a lot of times the little things that go wrong could have been fixed or avoided altogether if I just asked my peers.
Who has been the biggest supporter of your writing?
My family, I’m very blessed to say that, like I said my grandmother from when I was a very little kid, being a single mother my family has stepped in a lot throughout the years, my son has had an intricate part of my writing process since he was little, he even goes to school and he’ll tell his teachers about my books. Honestly, the biggest support system I have is my family. Of course, as my career grows, my readers have become such a strong support system for me as well, especially the fans that are on Discord and all my social media.
Do use use social media a lot as a writer to advertise your work?
Yeah absolutely it’s been the biggest tool I have used especially since COVID-19, I love it because I can bring out more of my personality, I think for me when it came to social media marketing I was missing that component of myself.
I read that your new novel is coming out in just a few weeks, how long has it been in the works?
About a year, I took some time to develop it because it’s a different tone than what I usually write, I typically write darker more layered stories and this is just fun and sexy and it brings in a new side of my personality into writing I love comedy and I love romcoms and I’ve always wanted to play with that in my writing so it took about 3 months of me watching a bunch of rom coms and listening to lectures on how to write romance before I began to lay the groundwork.
How would you describe your most recent novel, “I Accidentally Summoned a Demon Boyfriend”, in one sentence?
It is a rom-com fantasy that is a commentary on modern dating life and culture, Rayna is a mid-thirties single woman who has everything going for herself but love, and one day she decides to pick up a book and read a spell from it and she ends up with Metice this yummy demon man.
What makes up the characteristics of a demon boyfriend?
Metice is strong and reserved and respectful and very caring not what you would expect from a demon I didn’t want him to be beating down walls or whatever but when it comes to Rayna, of course, he is like don’t touch her, but he is the dream man he is building bookshelves and he is detangling her hair, I wanted that for Rayna because I feel like she starts to lose hope that kind f love is out there for her, and it didn’t come in package she expected but she still gets that with him.
How do you get inspired to write?
It is one of these things where my brain is always telling stories, everything has a plot for me I will see two birds flying and my brain will make up a some great love story but as far as actually sitting down and writing, right now my brain loves a good morning write, I get my coffee and my little snack, I have different scents for whatever I’m writing for my diffuser, I feel like all the senses need to be engaged, I have a coffee I have my incense I have started listening to lo-fi but typically I listen to stand up comedy, it makes my brain very happy.
Do you ever find yourself taking inspiration from your real life?
Oh absolutely I feel like most writers write from experience and tap into the people in our lives, a lot of the mother figures are molded after my grandmother and my mother, my best friend is pretty much every best friend character I write, and even from people I don’t know like my book I’m releasing now, “I Accidently Summoned a Demon Boyfriend” is inspired by TikTok
What’s the most challenging aspect of being a writer?
For me it’s the inner voice I can be kind of hard on myself, I think it is something all of us struggle with, you get imposter syndrome. For me, it’s the inner voice, but for newer published authors it’s everyone else’s opinion on your work, I tell people the only people whose reviews I read are the people who read the beta, the people who read it before it released, once it’s out there I don’t read reviews, its none of my business, one thing my grandmother told me is not everyone is gonna love everything you do but that does not dull your shine
Have you ever thought about adapting one of your books to a movie- which book?
So there are two that I would love to see on screen, my Siren Series because that’s the book I felt like when I wrote it I finally found my voice as a writer, but also my Djinn Rebellion series which is a futuristic story about a genie searching for the love of his life
What is your target audience for your novels?
I feel like the book I am writing is for that woman who is in a pretty similar place in life as I am, early to mid-thirties, career is going well they are exploring other interests, and also someone who wants to experience an escape from reality
What does True Urban Culture mean to you?
For me, it means connectivity coming from Chicago, which has so many different cultures and people represented there and for me, that’s what it meant and for me, I grew up on the south side in a predominantly black area and my mother made sure to take me and my brother into other areas of the city and really explore all the other cultures and energy and for me, its always been community and connectivity and understanding.
Is there anything else you want to add that I haven’t mentioned?
I just really want people to have fun with this one I’ve put my readers through a lot of heavy emotional beat downs and I want my readers to have fun and do not try the spell I had a few people who have already been like I tried this spell and it didn’t work, I didn’t put a real spell in this book
