Book Clubs & Events
I am a writer of cozy queer fantasy from Illinois, and visiting book clubs is one of my favorite parts of this job. If your group is reading one of my books, I would love to join you, in person or on a screen.
I also give talks and workshops for libraries, conventions, and writing groups, and I table at markets and book fairs around the Midwest.
Book Club Visits
Virtual
I can join your group on Zoom, Google Meet, or whatever your club already uses, anywhere in the world. Visits usually run 30 to 60 minutes: a little about how the book came together, then your questions and the discussion.
In person
I visit book clubs in person around Illinois and the Midwest. If your group is farther away, I am happy to come as long as travel and lodging are covered.
Cost
Book club visits are free, virtual or in person. Talks and workshops for libraries, conventions, and festivals are paid; email me for details.
Book Club Picks
Mandrake Manor
Three friends inherit a Victorian manor and become the neighborhood witches, in a magical suburb with an HOA that is set on turning everything into a cookie-cutter nightmare. A good pick for groups who want something warm and funny with a lot to talk about underneath: what a community loses when everyone is pushed to look the same. Romance fades to black.
Mosswood Apothecary
A struggling alchemist takes a research post in a small valley town, fixes up a falling-apart greenhouse, and finds a shadow ferret living in his new home and a carpenter who keeps showing up to help. Good for groups who like slow, gentle books about community, and about letting people help you. Romance fades to black.
The Alchemist Baker of Rosen
Erik uses his grandmother's old recipes and a bit of forbidden magic to feed his neighbors in Rosen's harbor district, a community of immigrants left to fend for themselves by a city on the hunt for people doing magic. It is set two hundred years before Mosswood Apothecary and can be read on its own. Good for groups who want to talk about food, community, and who gets looked after. The romance is sweet and queer.
NRDS: National Recently Deceased Services
An underfunded government agency helps the recently deceased move on, and a well-meaning new recruit lands in its rural office. Ghostbusters meets The Office, but gay. A fun pick for groups who want to laugh. Jeff lives in Baltimore, so he can sometimes join a virtual visit for NRDS.
Short on time?
The Owlet Café is a short story set in Henbane Hollow before Mandrake Manor, and it reads in one sitting.
Signed Copies for Your Group
Every physical book from my shop is signed by me. If your group wants several copies, email me the book and how many you need, and I will help you sort out the order. Groups ordering 5 or more signed copies get 10% off.
Talks & Workshops
For libraries, conventions, writing groups, and festivals. Full descriptions are on my Press page.
- Story Hypothesis: Theme as Human Need. A craft workshop on using Manfred Max-Neef's fundamental human needs to map what a character wants against what they actually need.
- Queer Representation in Cozy Fantasy. How cozy fantasy makes room for deeper conversations about a character's place in a community or found family. I gave a version of my cozy fantasy talk at Escape the Plot in 2025.
- Serialization as a Publishing Strategy. Writing a book in installments in front of readers, and what to do when a platform shuts down.
- Building Author Community. How I built Rockford Area Writers to 80+ members, and what writers get from showing up for each other.
- Co-Writing Across Genres. What a co-writing partnership looks like, and how to keep your own voice.
Past Events
- Rockford IceHogs Book Club Night, BMO Center, October 2026 (signing table, one of 14 authors)
- Wolf Hollow Witches Market, Boone County Fairgrounds, October 2026 (vendor table, returning in 2027)
- Boozy Book Fair, Pig Minds Brewing, Machesney Park, May 2026
- Escape the Plot 2025 (talk on cozy fantasy)
- Rockford Area Arts Council, Business of Art: Publishing and Online Distribution of Creative Works (speaker)
- Fiction Makers Conference, Baltimore, August 2026 (talk: Story Hypothesis 2.0)
- Once Upon A Tangent book club chat on Mandrake Manor (Episode 4)
- Margin Mavens book club episode on Mandrake Manor
Podcast interviews are listed on my Press page.
Book a Visit
Email me at JP@9thBooks.com with:
- Your name and your group or event
- The book you are reading, or the talk you are interested in
- Virtual or in person, and where
- Two or three dates and times that work, with your time zone
- About how many people
I usually reply within a few days.