Kerry Rea: Don’t Sell Yourself Short

Kerry Rea lives in Columbus, Ohio with her husband and their small army of dogs. She grew up in Youngstown, Ohio and graduated from The University of Notre Dame. She believes that a happy ending is always possible. Visit her at AuthorKerryRea.com and on Instagram and X (Twitter).

In this interview, Kerry discusses scrapping her initial idea and upping the stakes with her new adventure romance, The Jewel of the Isle, her advice for other writers, and more.

Name: Kerry Rea
Literary agent: Jessica Watterson at Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency
Book title: The Jewel of the Isle
Publisher: Berkley
Release date: November 26, 2024
Genre/category: Adventure Romance
Previous titles: The Wedding Ringer; Lucy on the Wild Side
Elevator pitch: Two very indoor people rough it on a remote island after getting swept up in an archaeologist’s hunt for a famed jewel.

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What prompted you to write this book?

I initially sent my editor an outline for a completely different romance novel. She liked the wilderness element of that one, but she wanted to see something with higher stakes. So, I thought, Well, what higher stakes are there than life and death? I came up with entirely new characters, found the perfect setting (the very remote Isle Royale National Park) and plotted a story that had the protagonists teaming up to fight for their lives—and, spoiler alert, fall in love!

How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?

Yes, I scrapped my initial idea completely and started over after a conversation with my editor! It was challenging, because although I’d written romantic comedies previously, I’d never written an adventure romance book—and I don’t consider myself a particularly adventurous person. I wrote the outline quickly, probably in a week or two, but the manuscript took about seven months. That’s longer than it usually takes me, but I had a baby during that time, and the sleep deprivation was REAL. It took about a year and a half to get from crafting the outline to pub day, which is actually pretty quick given how slowly everything moves in publishing.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

I don’t know if surprised is the right word, but I was reminded just how adaptable you need to be to succeed in publishing. When my editor asked me to raise the stakes on my initial manuscript idea, I was stressed out. Could I, a woman who never leaves the house without an extra pair of contact lenses just in case, really write an adventure romance? Could a person who actually uses the treadmill safety clip write a story with intense action scenes and heart-stopping danger? I wasn’t sure, but I knew I wanted to try, and you know what? I did it. This book is proof that being adaptable and stepping outside your comfort zone can yield amazing opportunities.

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

This is the first book I’ve written in dual POV, and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it! Being inside two main characters’ heads instead of just one helped me understand each of them more deeply. Exploring Emily and Ryder’s developing romance (and lackluster wilderness skills) from both perspectives made their journey feel very fleshed out.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

I hope this book makes readers laugh! Emily and Ryder are two fish out of water—like, way out—and I got to flex my comedy muscles exploring that. I hope the book makes readers swoon and remember that you really can find love in the place where you least expect it. Grief is also a throughline in this book, because Emily and Ryder are both dealing with the loss of a loved one. I hope readers connect to that part of their story and feel comforted that there’s no right or wrong way to grieve. We live in a society that has no idea how to deal with grief, and I hope that anyone who’s felt pressure to just “move on” from a loss connects with the way Emily and Ryder challenge conventional notions of how to deal with heartache.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

KEEP WRITING! And remember that if you write, you’re a writer. You don’t have to be published or have an agent or be a New York Times bestseller to be a writer. You’re a writer because you write. Because you love stories and want to understand other people. Because you want to be understood. And if your work makes even one person laugh or smile or feel less alone in the world, you’ve accomplished something incredible. So, don’t sell yourself short.