JP Rindfleisch IX
Cozy, Strange & Queer
Where whimsy meets the weird — indie author · IPPY Silver · Represented by The Knight Agency
JP Rindfleisch IX (he/they) writes stories where whimsy meets the weird — cozy queer fantasy about grief, transformation, and queer joy wrapped in found families, botanical magic, and the occasional raccoon familiar. Best known for Mosswood Apothecary and Mandrake Manor. Represented by Elaine Spencer of The Knight Agency.
Short Bio
JP Rindfleisch IX (he/they) is an award-winning indie author from Rockford, Illinois — writing stories where whimsy meets the weird. Cozy queer fantasy about grief, transformation, and queer joy, wrapped in botanical magic, found families, and a whole lot of heart. Best known for Mosswood Apothecary and Mandrake Manor. Represented by Elaine Spencer of The Knight Agency.
Full Bio
JP Rindfleisch IX (he/they) writes stories where whimsy meets the weird — cozy queer fantasy and strange fiction about grief, transformation, and unapologetic queer joy. Their first solo novel, Mandrake Manor, won the 2025 IPPY Silver Medal in LGBTQ+ Fiction, the 2024 Reader Ready Award TOP PICK, and a 2023 American Writing Awards Finalist nod. Since then, the catalog has kept growing: Mosswood Apothecary (Tales of Valdaes), a complete six-book dark paranormal academy series co-written with A.B. Cohen, the paranormal comedy NRDS: National Recently Deceased Services with Jeff Elkins, and more still coming.
Away from fiction, JP is a Three Story Method Certified Editor and Dialogue Doctor, the author of the craft guide Story Hypothesis: The Missing Piece of Your Fiction Puzzle, and current co-host of Write Wrong Repeat. They also founded Rockford Area Writers — because someone told them writing was a solitary practice, and they disagreed. The community is now 80+ members strong.
JP lives in Rockford, Illinois, with a very chatty African grey parrot and a husky with strong feelings about the walk schedule. When they're not writing, you'll find them cooking something vegan or somewhere on a trail. Represented by Elaine Spencer of The Knight Agency, who has placed five audiobook deals with Tantor Media and Simon Maverick.
Credentials at a Glance
- Three Story Method Certified Editor · Dialogue Doctor
- Co-host — Write Wrong Repeat (current)
- Occasional co-host — Writer's Ink
- Past co-host — The Writer's & Reader's Serial Fiction Show w/ Christine Daigle (Three Story Method Podcast Network)
- Past co-host — Write Away
- Founder — Rockford Area Writers (80+ members, Rockford, IL)
- Speaker — Rockford Area Arts Council: Business of Art
Awards & Honors
2025
IPPY Silver Medal — LGBTQ+ Fiction
Independent Publisher Book Awards
Mandrake Manor
2024
Reader Ready Award — Top Pick
Reader Ready Awards
Mandrake Manor
2023
American Writing Awards — Finalist
American Writing Awards
Mandrake Manor
Readers' Favorite Award — Finalist
Readers' Favorite
Mandrake Manor
The Books
Tales of Valdaes · Book One · Featured Release
Mosswood Apothecary
A struggling alchemist. A small town with ancient secrets. And… a mysterious shadow ferret.
Botanical alchemist Rowan Mosswood didn't expect much when he finally graduated, so a remote research assignment in Frostfern Valley seemed fitting. With his reputation in tatters after a public alchemical mishap, and his discipline of magic considered antiquated, Rowan agrees to the university's terms: fix up an old greenhouse, study the mysterious loss of magic, and send regular reports. If he can manage all that, his student debts will disappear.
The assignment sounded mundane enough — until Rowan discovers the greenhouse is falling apart, the crops refuse to grow, and a wily shadow creature has taken up residence in his new home. As if that weren't complicated enough, there's Jimson: a too-handsome-for-his-own-good carpenter who seems determined to help… and fluster Rowan.
For fans of: Legends & Lattes · The House in the Cerulean Sea · Studio Ghibli
What runs underneath it: Finding the community you actually belong to. Queerness without apology. And what it means to let someone help you — even when you're convinced you don't need it.
Formats: Paperback · Hardcover · Special Collector's Edition · Ebook
🎧 Audiobook — Simon Maverick · July 2026Collector's Edition funded via Kickstarter · 4.26 ★ (116+ ratings on Goodreads)
Henbane Hollow Series
Book One
Mandrake Manor
A Cozy Suburban Fantasy Romance
When Mathias Mandrake unexpectedly inherits his great aunt's manor in the magical suburb of Henbane Hollow, he moves in with his two best friends — only to discover the inheritance comes with a catch: they're the neighborhood's new coven. Between a demanding HOA with very specific ideas about who belongs, lurking supernatural threats, and the magic their family left behind, Mat, Frankie, and August have to navigate whether a neighborhood built on conformity can make room for the people they actually are.
3.96 ★ (920 ratings) · Print · Ebook
🎧 Audiobook — Tantor Media
Short Story Prequel
The Owlet Café
A Henbane Hollow prequel
A cozy-dark short story set in Henbane Hollow before the Mandrake coven was reformed. Clawed out from her grave, Ragana must navigate a changed Henbane Hollow — and a cousin who might be at the root of it all. The perfect entry point for readers new to the universe.
5.0 ★ · Print · Ebook
Book TwoComing Soon
Belladonna Bed & Breakfast
A Cozy Suburban Fantasy
August's dreamwalking powers were supposed to be a gift. Now they can't sleep through the night without finding something waiting on the other side. While Mat navigates his new role on Henbane Hollow's HOA board and the manor adjusts to Frankie's absence, August must figure out whether the masked figure haunting their dreams is a warning...or looking for a way in.
Preorder available · Print · Ebook · Audiobook (Tantor Media, TBA)
Tales of Valdaes Series
Prequel NovellaComing Soon
The Alchemist Baker of Rosen
A prequel novella set in the world of Tales of Valdaes. A baker who practices botanical alchemy navigates a society that fears people like him — where hiding what he is isn't paranoia, it's survival. Set before the events of Mosswood Apothecary, it's a story about what demonization costs the people on the receiving end, and what it means to belong somewhere that doesn't want you to exist.
Print · Ebook · Audiobook (Simon Maverick, TBA)
Tamarack Coven Series
Book OneComing Soon
Bone and Ward
Dusty didn't plan to spend his summer at a fire watch tower in Colorado, let alone wake up naked in northern Wisconsin after accidentally shapeshifting for the first time. Now he's trying to figure out who — or what — he is, while being folded into an eclectic found-family coven renovating a farmhouse in rural Wisconsin. The magic is new. The feelings are inconvenient. The coven, it turns out, is exactly what he didn't know he needed.
Print · Ebook
Co-Authored Works
Leah Ackerman Dark Paranormal Academy · Complete Series · Co-written with A.B. Cohen
The Leah Ackerman Series
A dark, high-stakes paranormal academy series following Leah Ackerman through a world of Kabbalah-based magic, demon hunters, and supernatural conspiracy. The complete arc runs six novels, from Dark Pawn to Divine King. Perfect for readers who want to sink into a fully resolved story with a rich magic system, complex characters, and genuine stakes.
Dark Pawn · Demon Knight · Deceived Bishop · Dormant Rook · Dire Queen · Divine King
Individual volumes and box set available · Print · Ebook
NRDS · Season One · Co-written with Jeff Elkins
NRDS: National Recently Deceased Services
A Dark Comedy & Light MM Paranormal Romance
There's an underfunded government agency dedicated to helping the recently deceased transition to the afterlife. When Ethan, a well-meaning but clueless new recruit, joins the rural NRDS office, he expects ordinary casework. What he gets instead: a ghostly tractor standoff, small-town supernatural politics, an eclectic team that includes a ghost named BOB, and a creeping suspicion that he might actually like it here.
4.30 ★ (63 ratings) · Print · Ebook
Serial & Non-Fiction
Tapas · Complete Serial
The Greatest Storm Mage Needs a Break
A Cozy Portal Fantasy
A storm mage who spent years as a weapon in someone else's war finally runs out of things to keep moving for — and stumbles, accidentally, into the most unlikely found family. A complete serial exploring PTSD, what comes after being used, and the strange tenderness of people who won't let you disappear. Available on Tapas.
Available on Tapas
Writing Craft · Non-Fiction
Story Hypothesis
The Missing Piece of Your Fiction Puzzle
Most writing guides treat theme as an afterthought. Story Hypothesis builds it into the foundation. JP developed a method for creating narrative resonance using Chilean economist Manfred Max-Neef's framework of fundamental human needs — an alternative to Maslow's hierarchy that's more flexible and less prescriptive for storytelling purposes. The core idea: map the distance between what a character wants on the surface and what they actually need underneath. That's where theme lives.
4.60 ★ · Print · Ebook
Available at: Amazon · Audible · Barnes & Noble · Books-A-Million · Better World Books · Bookshop.org · Author Shop
Press & Appearances
"Warm, cozy, a little bit sassy, and the bonds of found family and magic give a nice touch to developing both the plot and the characters."
The Novel Approach Reviews · Mandrake Manor · 4 Stars · March 2025"Bursting with magic and mayhem… soulful and quirky characters… a whimsical and delightful read. I recommend it to anyone who appreciates a magical LGBTQ+ book."
Shrabastee Chakraborty · Readers' FavoriteBook Discussions & Features
| The Author Next Door | Ep. 41 — Writing Cozy Queer Fantasy with JP Rindfleisch IX |
| Once Upon A Tangent | Ep. 4 — Book Club: Mandrake Manor |
| Books Cubed | Ep. 147 — Cozy Queer Fantasy with JP Rindfleisch IX |
| AwesomeGang | Author interview & Q&A |
| The Novel Approach Reviews | Full review · Mandrake Manor · 4 Stars · March 2025 |
Craft & Story Hypothesis
| You Are a Storyteller | Ep. 64 — Theme and Story Hypothesis |
| The Indy Author Podcast | Ep. 223 — The Tolling Bell & The Story Hypothesis |
| The Rebel Author (Sacha Black) | Ep. 222 — Story Hypothesis with JP Rindfleisch IX |
Serialization, Publishing & Collaboration
| The Indy Author Podcast | Ep. 306 — Finding Readers Through Serialization |
| Writing Pursuits | The Art of Collaboration with JP Rindfleisch IX |
| The Indie Shelf | Ep. 9 — Co-Authoring, The 5 Whys & Audacity To Take Space (w/ A.B. Cohen) |
| The Pint and Portal Author Podcast | From Laid Off to Full-Time Writer: This Author Proves It's Possible |
| Writer at Work | S3 Ep. 2 — Serial Fiction with Christine Daigle and JP Rindfleisch IX |
Speaking & Events
| Rockford Area Arts Council | Business of Art — Publishing and Online Distribution of Creative Works |
Story Angles
These aren't talking points — they're threads. Pull on any of them and the conversation goes somewhere real.
01
The Advocacy Beneath the Books
Cozy fantasy with something to say. Every book JP writes has a conversation running underneath it: Mandrake Manor is about what communities lose when they're forced into conformity. Mosswood Apothecary is about capitalism and extractive industry gutting local resources. The Alchemist Baker of Rosen is about how societies demonize immigrants and make them hide who they are. Bone and Ward is about breaking free from what we've been told relationships are supposed to look like.
02
Community is Key for Writers
JP will tell you that writing is not a solitary practice — and they have 80+ members to back that up. Rockford Area Writers started because someone told them otherwise. Now it's a space where local authors meet, argue craft, share work, and show up for each other's launches. JP has been part of writing communities online and off for years, and keeps making the same case: you don't have to do this alone.
03
How a Podcast Accidentally Built a Career
When Kindle Vella launched, Christine Daigle asked JP to co-host a podcast about serial fiction writers. JP said yes. When they reached out to Jeff Elkins as a potential guest, he replied: "Want to write one with me?" That conversation became NRDS: National Recently Deceased Services. The real discovery wasn't the book — it was what serialization did to the work. It kept moving, and JP kept up with it.
04
Theme as Human Needs: The Story Hypothesis Method
Most writing guides treat theme like a coat of paint — something you layer on at the end. JP's craft book, Story Hypothesis, builds it in from the foundation. Theme isn't a message. It's your character's psychology: what they want on the surface, what they actually need underneath, and the distance between those two things. JP developed a method for mapping that distance using Chilean economist Manfred Max-Neef's framework of fundamental human needs — an alternative to Maslow's hierarchy that JP finds more useful for storytelling. It's a more practical tool than the description makes it sound.
05
What Happens After the Layoff
In April 2025, JP was laid off. They were already an established indie author — multiple published series, 80+ member writing community, Twitch audience. The layoff didn't derail them; it cleared the runway. Since then: a successful Kickstarter, a literary agent, five audiobook deals. They're the primary income source for their household. The business keeps growing.
Suggested Interview Questions
Starting points — JP is happy to go wherever the conversation leads.
- Your brand just shifted from "Dark, Strange & Queer" to "Cozy, Strange & Queer." What changed?
- Mosswood Apothecary was written as a live serial in front of readers. How did that shape the final book?
- You co-hosted The Writer's and Reader's Serial Fiction Show for a year. What's the single most important thing you learned about how readers engage with serialized work?
- The Mosswood Apothecary Kickstarter funded a special collector's edition. What was that experience actually like?
- You founded Rockford Area Writers — 80+ local authors. What made you start it?
- Story Hypothesis proposes a specific method for building theme from fundamental human needs. Where did that framework come from?
- Your books are consistently about grief, transformation, and queer joy. What makes you add that layer to your cozy fantasies?
- Mandrake Manor won the 2025 IPPY Silver Medal in LGBTQ+ Fiction. What does that kind of recognition mean for an indie author specifically?
- You write in multiple series simultaneously, across multiple co-authors (A.B. Cohen, Jeff Elkins). How do you manage that without losing your voice?
- As a Dialogue Doctor and Three Story Method Editor, you work with other writers' stories. Does editing change how you write your own work?
- What do you hope readers who've never picked up a queer book find in yours?
Speaking Topics
Story Hypothesis: Theme as Human Need
Most writers treat theme like decoration. JP doesn't. The Story Hypothesis method — built on Chilean economist Manfred Max-Neef's framework of fundamental human needs, and an alternative to the Maslow's hierarchy a lot of writers reach for — maps the gap between what a character wants and what they actually need. JP can go deep on this: the theory, how to apply it, where it changes the story.
Serialization as a Publishing Strategy
JP has been serializing fiction since Kindle Vella — built a readership on Tapas, turned a serial into a funded Kickstarter, and co-hosted a podcast about serialization for a year. Where to publish, how to structure installments that readers actually come back for, rights considerations, what to do when a platform shuts down (it always does eventually) — JP can cover all of it.
Building Author Community
Someone told JP that writing was a solitary practice. They disagreed and spent years proving it. Rockford Area Writers is now 80+ members — built in a mid-size Illinois city with no publishing hub and no playbook. JP can talk about what it actually took, what went sideways along the way, and why community might be the piece of the indie author career that gets underestimated most.
Writing Live: Accountability, Audience & the Craft of Streaming
What happens to your writing when people can watch. JP has been streaming live sessions on Twitch as CheshirePope for years — accountability sprints, first drafts in public, cozy chaos. JP can speak to what that does to the work, and to the writer.
Queer Representation in Cozy Fantasy
Not a how-to on writing queer characters — this goes deeper. What does it mean to write books where queerness is the texture of the world, not a special feature? What do those books give to readers who've never seen themselves in cozy fiction? JP writes from that question and has been thinking about it for years. It's a good conversation.
Indie Publishing and Crowdfunding for Authors
The whole indie publishing landscape, from someone who's been in it long enough to have made most of the mistakes. JP has launched multiple series, run a Kickstarter, sold direct, serialized, and signed with a traditional agent — while staying indie. This is a topic JP can go as deep as the room wants: what actually works, what sounds better in theory than it is, and how the math of indie actually adds up.
Co-Writing Across Genres
JP has co-written a six-book dark paranormal academy series with A.B. Cohen and a paranormal comedy series with Jeff Elkins — while maintaining his own solo catalog across multiple series. This is a topic JP can be genuinely frank about: what makes creative collaboration actually work, what kills it, and how to write with someone else without losing what makes your voice distinct.
Credentials & Community
Podcasts
- Write Wrong Repeat — Current co-host
- Writer's Ink — Occasional co-host
- Dialogue Doctor — Occasional co-host & editor
- The Writer's & Reader's Serial Fiction Show — Past co-host, 1 year (Three Story Method Podcast Network, w/ Christine Daigle)
- Write Away — Past co-host
Editorial & Teaching
- Three Story Method Certified Editor
- Editor — Dialogue Doctor
- Author — Story Hypothesis (craft guide, 4.60 ★); appeared on Indy Author, Rebel Author, Writer at Work, and more
- Twitch writing streams — CheshirePope (accountability sprints)
Community & Industry
- Founder — Rockford Area Writers (80+ members, Rockford, IL)
- Speaker — Rockford Area Arts Council, Business of Art
- Represented by Elaine Spencer, VP of Operations, The Knight Agency
- Audiobook publishers: Tantor Media · Simon Maverick
- Five total audiobook deals placed by The Knight Agency
Author Platform
1,258+
Goodreads Ratings
4.05 ★
Avg Rating
22+
Books on Goodreads
80+
Rockford Area Writers Members
TikTok
Bluesky
X / Twitter
Booking & Press
JP is easy to book and a good interview. Available for podcasts, panels, conventions, speaking events, and most things in between. For press materials, review copies, or booking — just reach out.
Press, Media & Booking
Literary Agent
Elaine Spencer · VP of Operations
The Knight Agency
Audiobook Publishers
Tantor Media · Simon Maverick
Download the Full Media Kit
Bios, headshot, complete catalog, awards history, press appearances, story angles, interview questions, and speaking topics — all in one PDF.
↓ Download Media Kit (PDF)