Hi there! My name is
Jesse Weiner
Fort Collins, USA
Synopsis
When NYSA discovers that she is a Wonder-Weaver, a rare and powerful magician, she must earn the trust of taciturn guard KEIR to escape their city before her power is leashed to its corrupt officials. Yet Keir has his own deadly secret— he isn’t who he says he is, nor does he want to leave. The two teens become begrudging allies when they discover that the lethal fever spreading through the poorest quarter of their city is actually a mass poisoning. If they can’t find a cure and expose the murderers, it will bring their city to the brink of war.
This is the first in a two book series.
Read sample chapterAbout Me
Jesse lives in Colorado with her husband, daughter, and two fur-children. Her short stories have appeared in The Saturday Evening Post and Youth Imagination Magazine, among other publications. She loves running, hiking, photography, and making her toddler laugh.
Favorite Things
| Charity | Doctors Without Borders | |
| Coffee | At least three cups a day... | |
| Book | Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor | |
| Superhero | My mom. She is the strongest woman I know | |
| Movie | Tombstone | |
| App | ||
| Musical | Kinky Boots! | |
| Ice Cream | Tear drops on my keyboard, I'm a lactard |
Q&A with Vincent
How would you increase literacy?I worked for several years with young adults, first as a private tutor and then as a high school teacher and academic advisor. I know first hand how embarrassed and discouraged a person can feel when she is struggling to catch up with her peers academically. The best way to inspire a person to practice reading is to give them a story they simply cannot put down; something that makes them laugh and cry and stay up until 2am. If my book gives that to but one child, I'd feel I'd done my job.
What are the ingredients for a blockbuster story to you?To be a hit, a story must have a compelling premise, the plot needs to have a few unexpected twists, and the reader must care about the characters and what happens to them. A strong story invites the reader to continue thinking about the world you've created, even after they've closed your book.
What are your top stories that entertain and/or inspire you?The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, Ember in the Ashes by Saba Tahir, Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls, A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab.
Do you have any advice to aspiring writers?Keep at it! Writing feeds your soul. Give yourself permission to write— sucker punch that voice that says you aren't good enough, or that tells you you're wasting your time, and just tell the story you need to tell.
Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?As a child, I was obsessed with the Redwall series by Brian Jacques. Those books made me want to imagine my own worlds that people would want to visit again and again.