About Me — Julie Kenner
Fiction author bouncing through life with a coffee at my desk and my fingers on a keyboard…
These days, I’m a full-time writer (books and screenplays) with things like New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author peppering my official bio.
But the me of me is all about the journey.
Come on in. Walk down memory lane with me!
(Pats cushion beside me and offers coffee….)
In the beginning…
When I was knee-high to a grasshopper (an expression I have never, ever used in real life), I informed my parents that I was going to be a novelist, and proceeded to write Kitty Claws, a bestselling book about a cat as Santa.
(The book sold out its entire print-run of one, so let’s not split hairs about that “bestselling” thing, okay?)
After that stellar start, I continued to dabble in the literary arts, writing short stories on yellow pads that I forced my mother to type, scribbling poems on ruled notebook paper that I forced her mother to type, making up skits and songs that I forced my mother to watch and listen to, and diving head-first into high school journalism, at which point, mom finally got a break.
The call of journalism…
In college, I continued with the journalism thing, picking that as my major and working at The Daily Texan, the student newspaper for the University of Texas at Austin.
The idea that I could actually write novels and, oh, buy food too, completely eluded me.
After all, there was no major directed at writing novels. At least not genre novels, and I was never about writing literary fiction (though I love reading it; well, I love reading pretty much anything).
The siren’s call of Hollywood…
The journalism thing cranked along nicely for about one semester. Then I got a job as a production assistant on a movie originally called Splatter, but which was released as Future Kill with really great Giger poster art.
I worked my tail off, appeared as an extra, had a great time, and promptly switched my major to film, thinking I’d write screenplays or something. (The plan was vague, but I loved movies as much as books, so why not?)
But I was just so young…
The problem was that I graduated high school early and then blew through college. So I was only 19 when I graduated with my degree in TV/Film.
I wanted to move to Los Angeles, but I was scared. And my mother, although an awesome woman in her own right, was a divorced single mom who hadn’t gone to college, and she was scared for me.
So I stayed put.
And that film degree…?
Yeah, well, that film degree was put to (not so good) use at the media department of a local community college where I got a job.
The call of the law…
Never having really learned to manage money, I soon racked up quite a few credit card bills. Before, I’d lived on scholarship money, and frankly, as I stared at a job that paid next to nothing and that I hated, more scholarships (and more education) sounded like a great idea.
So I took the LSAT on a whim, and between that score and my grades, I was admitted to Baylor Law on a full scholarship.
The weird thing…?
Law school was fabulous. I had zero expectations going in, I truly loved it, and I did great. So much so that I actually filled in for professors in my second and third years, and also worked as an adjunct professor of Torts for a few years.
But the coolest thing? (Well, not THE coolest thing, but A cool thing) was that my dad had decided to go back to school, and he was in his third year at Baylor Law when I started. (That was a first for the school, and gave me some nice bonding moments with a dad I didn’t really see during my teenage years).
Diving into real-life…
After graduation, I went to work as a law clerk on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, where I had a fabulous time drafting legal opinions, preparing the judge for court, and taking regular trips to New Orleans on a government per diem.
During my two year stint as a clerk, the writing bug bit again (it had never actually gone away, but law school is, as advertised, a very busy time), and I wrote a stage play that will never, ever see the light of day. Really.
Go west, young lawyer…
After my two-year clerkship, I took a job with Skadden, Arps in Los Angeles, thinking that my film background would mesh well with entertainment law.
There, I worked on a variety of cases with some very smart lawyers.
After a year, I moved on to smaller and smaller firms (and had a short stint as a production exec at a small film company).
I continued to work with very smart lawyers, all the while thinking about various thriller or SFF novels I could work on. And then one day, a fellow attorney introduced me to romance author Julie Garwood (her books, not the woman herself), and something just clicked.
Though I’d been dabbling with writing in my VERY limited spare time, I’d lacked focus. Now, I’d found it, and I was determined to write a historical romance. You may, after reviewing my book list, note that there are no historical romances on there.
Let’s just say that I didn’t succeed at that task because lawyer + research time needed for historical fiction did not equal success. When, after all, did I have time to go to the library to research medieval swords?
(Since then, Google has arrived and I’ve actually done a few shorter historical stories. And, miracle of miracles, I find them fun and not head-explosion-inducing. So, yay Internet!)
Hallelujah! A Plan … and a book!
The in-progress historical was promptly shelved, and I turned my attention to fleshing out a contemporary romance (no pun intended). My first was completed with zero market research (underwater archeologist and documentary filmmaker was really NOT the vibe…), but still piqued an editor’s interest. She rejected it, but told me to try again with a “sexy premise.”
Always up for a challenge, I came up with the opening line, “You need a man,” which I thought had oodles of sexy premise potential.
I just had to find a story to go with the line.
Eventually, I did, and Nobody Does It Better, my first published novel, was born. And, ultimately, sold to that same editor.
It was published in 2000, and I soon turned to paranormal romance, as well, hitting the USA Today list for The Cat’s Fancy, a story in the tradition of The Little Mermaid about a cat in love with her master.
Babies and books!
A year after my first book came out, I also had my first daughter! Five years later, we adopted a second daughter from China.
(Both girls have provided inspiration in one way or another for the teenager and/or toddler in my Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom books mentioned below!)
I continued to write romance (and still do!) but also peppered that with women’s fiction, both contemporary and with a paranormal twist.
Demons and billionaires!
My most well-known series on the paranormal side of things is Carpe Demon, the first book in my Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom series.
My most well-known book on the romance side of things is Release Me, a billionaire romance and the first book in my multi-book Stark Saga, which spent multiple weeks on The New York Times and USA Today lists.
The second and third books in the original trilogy both hit the number two spot on the New York Times list, and introduced my work to a whole new group of readers.
In 2018, I left traditional publishing to write as an “indie” author, and it’s been a fun and fabulous ride.
In addition to romance and women’s fiction, I’ve written thrillers and horror and fantasy. Basically, if there’s a story, I want to tell it!
On the Hollywood side of things, I’ve had several of my series optioned for film and/or television over the years (and currently have some things in play for which I’m tightly crossing my fingers!)
I’ve also written original screenplays, and currently have a pilot in development with a producer, and I’m excited to start that journey!!
I love audiobooks and podcasts, and while I will never tire of the printed page, that’s how I consume most of other people’s work these days.
I used to SCUBA dive when we lived in California, and now I don’t go nearly enough. It’s wonderfully relaxing, even though the Pacific is freaking cold!
I would happily spend months traveling and, in fact, spent two months backpacking through Europe by myself (in my very early 20s) between leaving my clerkship and moving to Los Angeles.
I met my husband in LA, but he’s from Texas, too, and so we moved back to Central Texas, where we now live, in the mid-90’s.
I practiced law in Austin for a few more years, then quit to write full-time in 2004.
It’s been a wonderful rollercoaster, and I’m excited to still be on the ride!
I’m thrilled to have discovered Medium, and can’t wait to write and read more over here!
A few more random facts about me (some of which will likely spark Medium articles):
- I’ve written as Julie Kenner, J.K. Beck, and J. Kenner
- I used to be anorexic.
- At twenty-two, I discovered the hard way not to mix wine, Bailey’s Irish cream, and airplane turbulence.
- Given a choice between chips & salsa and ice cream, I will most likely go for the chips. (But never say never).
- I’ve almost died twice, both from weird medical conditions.
- I’ve climbed the Great Wall of China.
- My dad had a private pilot license, and my cat, Stubby, used to sit around my father’s neck during flights between Austin and Dallas.
- That same cat thought it was a dog; it would meet me at the bus stop during my 5th and 6th grade years.
- I almost always have a water or a coffee with me.
That’s it for me!
You can learn more about me on my website: www.juliekenner.com
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/juliekenner
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What’s a fun and random fact about you?
