Episode 102: Jen Craven, author of Best Years of your Life
Jen Craven writes upmarket women’s fiction where one decision changes everything.
Her latest novel, Best Years of Your Life, takes place on a college campus, following the path of three women with big secrets. Early reviews describe the novel as gripping and a fast and exciting read.
Jen explains how her decade as a college instructor inspired her love of campus settings. And she shares how she knew indie-publishing was the right path for her novels.
Find Book Club Questions and Jen’s recipe for pumpkin cookies here through our collaboration with Book Club Bites! As Jen says “Back to school ushers in the fall season, which brings to mind all things pumpkin! These cookies are perfect for September all the way through Thanksgiving (or the fall semester, as my novel would call it!).”
Books Mentioned:
Best Years of your Life by Jen Craven (Bookshop.org / Amazon.com )
These Precious Days: Essays by Ann Patchett (Bookshop.org / Amazon.com )
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy (Bookshop.org / Amazon.com )
Connect with the author:
Transcript:
** Transcript created using AI (so please forgive the typos!) **
Lainey Cameron
Jen, congratulations, this book just launched.
Jen Craven
Thank you so much. I'm so excited to be here. It's been a great week. I'm only on day to post launch. But it's been wonderful.
Lainey Cameron
Best Years of your Life is your third book. I'm actually fascinated to talk to you about this because you wrote historical fiction, your first two and this is contemporary. But before we go there, where are you joining me from today?
Jen Craven
I'm on my lovely screened in back porch, which is my favorite spot in the house. I do a lot of writing here. And I'm based in Northwest Pennsylvania. So what I always tell people is kind of in between Erie and Pittsburgh. So way on the western side of the state. And yeah, it's my favorite spot. And where I get a lot of creativity being out in the natural light.
Lainey Cameron
It's beautiful. looks lovely. The background there on the video for those are all on the audio, you'll just have to go check the video out on the website. Yes, yes. So best years of your life, I am fascinated to hear let's start with the story. So for those who are not familiar, it takes place on a college campus. What's your short pitch? How would you describe the book to people?
Jen Craven
I would say that this is classic women's fiction. So we're talking about the emotional journey of the female protagonist. It's two mothers and their teenage daughter, and like lady said, Set on a fictional college campus with the professor moms and the daughter who goes to school there. And really kind of all of the things that happened to these three women over the course of an academic year, where they're each harboring different secrets, and they make some questionable decisions. Really, in the name of what I think of as identity, and love and affection.
Lainey Cameron
One of the things I love is how you can take a theme of a book, right? And you can write it multiple different ways. One of the things I thought was fascinating looking at the first reviews that have come in for this book is people are calling it almost suspense, like in the way they describe the book, which is fascinating to me.
Jen Craven
I know. And I think that's also so interesting as well, because I definitely would never have pitched this as a suspense book. But I do understand that there are some elements of it more from like, an emotional sort of suspense. So there's certainly no like, killer about to jump out of the closet kind of suspense. But it's really just like, oh my gosh, what's going to happen to this character sort of suspense. And that's the kind of stuff that I love to read. And so I think it kind of keeps the pages turning when there's you know, cliffhangers at the end of each chapter, completely agree.
Lainey Cameron
And I just pulled some of the stuff in your reviews to give people a sense. And here's the most common things that are being said things like it gripped me, I pulled an all nighter secrets fast and exciting. So it's amazing. You've managed to write a really fast pace kind of grips you and pulls you in women's fiction, which again, I love those books. i My goal is to write that kind of fiction too. I'm excited to get my hands on this one that was out in the world.
Jen Craven
Yeah, you know, I really tried to blend character driven and plot driven together and not really focus on one or the other, really just trying to make a story that you know, the pages keep turning, there's things happening. And there's a lot of, you know, some twists along the way, but also really diving into the characters to understand why the characters are making the decisions they are so I feel like it's very relatable even though you might think to yourself, oh my gosh, I would never do with this character did but you can understand the reasoning and it's it pulls out those like human emotions. I just tried to kind of blend both.
Lainey Cameron
One of the things I read is that it really deals with moral dilemmas. Can you tell us a little bit more about that? Like, what are the moral dilemmas the characters are facing?
Jen Craven
I'm super fascinated with ethics, I guess you could say and how people basically have choices in their lives. And those choices come with consequences. I think there's good people out there that make bad decisions sometimes. And then it's sort of like they have to wrestle with, you know what happens afterwards. So my main protagonist is a professor, and she's in her early 50s. And she ends up sort of forming a friendship, which then turns to a relationship with a student. And so that's sort of like one of the hallmark no knows of Professor hood, you know, and so she has to kind of deal with that. And then it spirals a bit. And she puts a lot of things on the line, such as she's up for tenure and those sorts of things. And then the daughter who's another character is an outcast, and she really wants to get in with the cool crowd. And so she'd be friends, the most popular girl on campus, but there's some strings attached. She gets wrapped up in a, you know, college cheating scandal. And so there's a lot of scandals going on with parallel plotlines with a mother daughter.
Lainey Cameron
Fascinating. And I saw that one of the things that said in your book club questions is that it's almost a coming of age, but you've got characters in their 50s, who are dealing with kind of some of these dilemmas and going through this personal growth. And I thought that was really interesting to write a coming of age. Tell me more about that?
Jen Craven
Well, I think most people would consider coming of age novels mostly in that either the Y category or even if it is an adult book, they have characters who are you know, right on that cusp of adulthood, so leaving the teenage years entering their 20s Perhaps, and for me, I really thought you know what I feel like people can have coming of age moments all through their lives, navigating identity, maybe perhaps when a person is switching careers or some sort of life altering medical thing happened to them, which is what happens to one of my characters, so it's really sort of like, okay, here's the person I thought I was at this stage of my life and oh, maybe not. Maybe I'm pivoting and now I'm going to become this this person for reasons that are either in or out of their control.
Lainey Cameron
Well, let me read a quick review. And this is from the Nicole Meier the author of The Second Chance Supper Club, fabulous book, fabulous writer. You will want to pull an all nighter with Jen Craven's newest release, includes a cast of engaging characters, who must negotiate good decisions after bad, and learn the value of family love and loyalty in exchange.
Jen Craven
Yeah, that sums it up nicely. One of the things that I loved playing on alliteration was saying that this book really touches on lust versus loyalty.
Lainey Cameron
Like, yes, I love those two things paired against each other. So what was the inspiration for setting it on the college campus for moral dilemmas, like where did all this come from?
Jen Craven
So I actually spent over a decade as a college instructor, I worked at a small university close to my home, actually to my alma mater, where I graduated Mercyhurst University. And so I just love campus settings. In real life, I love you know, being on campus or walking through a campus. But I love reading books that are set on campuses or boarding schools, I just think there's like a cool feeling to it. It's that whole setting in the in the atmosphere. Plus, there's always drama, there's always drama at school, right. So whether it's the students, the popular versus the non popular, all of those sort of power struggles, the faculty versus the students or struggles within the faculty, I just find it very fascinating. Coming from a teaching background and experiencing those sorts of things firsthand, I really drew a lot of inspiration from my time in academia. While the exact plotline is certainly nothing that I encountered firsthand, I'm sure that those sorts of stories exist out there in the world somewhere. So it couldn't have been too far of a stretch, we see news headlines. So that's really where I got got some of the ideas.
Lainey Cameron
That's awesome. Well, I said it asked about the idea that you've written historical fiction, and now this is contemporary. And I always like to ask about the process of writing a book, and I'm fascinated isn't different reading historical versus contemporary in terms of how you approached it in terms of how you edited the book?
Jen Craven
I think you have to do research, no matter what type of book you're writing, of course, but I think with historical, there's probably a little bit more weight to the research side of things, especially if you're basing it in a real time period and a real setting. I made up sort of a fictional campus and placed it in Virginia, because I'm sort of familiar. I'm in Pennsylvania, so I wanted it somewhere near where I was familiar. But I do think that there's that that kind of research component that's different with historical.
Lainey Cameron
And what about editing? What did this look like for you did this book kind of come I fully formed and I have to have lots of revisions, anything people might be surprised to hear changed from the original versions.
Jen Craven
I had pretty much the beginning to the end in my head from the get go, I kind of knew exactly how I wanted as far as changes, I would say, a couple characters changed a little bit, I don't want to give spoilers away, there was a slightly different ending where I deleted a last maybe half of a chapter where I thought I was going to end it on more of like a cliffhanger type thing. And some of my readers thought that's that seemed a little almost like too much suspense, almost like there was going to be a sequel, which there's not it's a standalone novel. Yeah, I think just like tweaking characters, and making sure they're fully fleshed out. But really, I had pretty much the whole thing in my head from the get go.
Lainey Cameron
And so what have you learned? This is your third book, it's getting great reviews, what have you learned along the way to share with other writers about the process the life like what wisdom do you have to share?
Jen Craven
I would say one of my biggest pieces of advice is to just really follow your gut in terms of your choices that you're making, with publishing, with writing, and all of that it's great to be involved in the community and look and listen to other people's stories, but you ultimately have to do what's best for you. So when I first finished this book, and once it was completely reviewed, edited, solid ready to go, I did query agents and I thought I was gonna go the traditional route for a long time, I had good success with agents it was with the manuscript was out with a with several in full and the whole time, just like my gut was telling me it wasn't the right choice. For me. I don't think there's anything wrong with traditional publishing, of course, but it just didn't feel like the right path for me at this time for this book. So I ended up withdrawing all of those, and just went indie and went full force. And we've been very happy with my decision. And who knows what the future holds. I could very well query it a new book, you know, down the road, but I think it's just important to not get too caught up in the should dues in the industry, or what you think is the right choice or, you know, a better choice and really do what's best for you.
Lainey Cameron
I love that you brought up this as an indie book, because our goal here on the podcast is to showcase the best in women's fiction and we do that by picking authors who are really engaged with the community which I know that you are. As well, who I know have really quality books that readers are loving. I don't lead with publisher as one of the things that I look at primarily as as a way to know whether someone fits in this category of being among the best of women's fiction. But it is hard right? When you're an indie, I think it's especially hard to put that mark of quality out there to show that you've treated this as a quality product that you didn't just, you know, write a second draft and fling it out into the world, which some people have that inaccurate perception, because there are some books out there, right. It's an open playing field. So how did you know two questions for this? How did you know that the agent publisher path wasn't the right path for you? Because I think a lot of people who listen to this are very interested in this this choice of Publisher question
Jen Craven
Again, it was totally a personal choice. And I have tons of friends who are still queering and traditionally published, and that's wonderful for them. And, um, their biggest cheerleaders. For me, I think it just came down to control and the idea that I knew that if I kept everything in my control, I'd be able to put out the material and the content that I want on my timeline, all of those sorts of things. And so it was more just like having that certainty where there's a lot of uncertainty in in traditional publishing, and plus the timeline, it's no secret that traditional publishing is very slow moving. And you know, I just kind of really wanted to get this out there, I was ready for it. To me, that was that was my best choice for this particular book. So back to your point about the podcast. I think that another reason why I reached out to you guys, and I just love listening is because you do focus in highlight on so many types of books that are coming from so many different paths. And I think that's so great, because sometimes we get bombarded with just all of the big name books that are out there. And there's so many other great ones that slipped through the cracks, because they might not just have been given the chance to be seen. I think really, readers, at the end of the day, don't really care where a book comes from, as long as it's a good book.
Lainey Cameron
And that was going to be my second question. I know, this is a great quality book, I already like I haven't had a chance to read it myself. But I'm already hearing about it from people I respect. So how did you go through the process of making sure it was quality? And asking this question as much for some writers who listen to this, who may be thinking I'm going to self pub, and I know you did this the right way. So did you hire a copy editor? Like what did that look like?
Jen Craven
I definitely like did a lot of self editing. And once I felt like I got it to a good point, just what I could do with it reached out to some very trusted BETA readers that have that I've been working with, or we've collaborated for, you know, a couple years now who I really respect. And I know that there'll be honest with me lots of honest feedback, you have to be willing to take the constructive criticism, when you can sit back and objectively look at the feedback and say, You know what, they're right. Feedback is subjective. So you certainly can take or leave what you want. But I think when multiple people are saying the same things, then you know, that it's maybe something that you should consider, you know, editing or changing revising. So after betas, you know, I had critique partners, all of that, but I did hire a developmental editor. So she was able to go through and really, from a big picture, say, Okay, this is what's working. And she's trained to spot things like flow and plot holes, and just making sure that it was going to be quality, because I think if you're going to indie publish, you have to invest in editing.
Lainey Cameron
For those like readers who are listening going, what's the difference? What's the developmental editor versus a copy editor, the developmental editor is a story editor, they're going to help you make sure to your book that it really is a page turner, that it keeps people engaged that the story is working for a copy editor is going to be done at the language level of the book.
Jen Craven
Yes. And looking for typos. And I'm thankful to like my final arc readers who were still texting me like Oh, caught a typo here. Because Gosh, darn those things just slip right through.
Lainey Cameron
Yeah, well, obviously it paid off because people are loving this book already. So I always like to ask authors I admire what are you enjoying reading? Or can you recommend anything to the listeners here?
Jen Craven
So the two that I was going to mention today, one is I just earlier this month finished reading Ann Pratchett's essay collection, These Precious Days. And I have to say that this was the first time I had ever read short stories or an essay collection. It's not something I typically gravitate towards. I'm much more of like a novel reader. But wow, this book is very good. And I mean, let's not be surprised it's Ann Pratchett. Right? So I would highly recommend that. And it's really, you know, what I loved is that they're short, so you can just read one before bed each night. I know a lot of people say Oh, reading puts me to sleep or I don't have time. When you're reading something in smaller chunks, then you feel like you can finish a couple pages.
That's what I would suggest. And then just this morning, I finished on audio Jennette McCurdy's new memoir, which is I'm Glad My Mom is Dead, which has a very shocking title and it might turn some people off, but it was very well done. Even if you don't know her as an actress if you didn't grow up watching her on Nickelodeon. I don't think that matters because I did not and I could still appreciate the memoir. It was very haunting and just very, very good. I have heard great things about that. But I mean obviously Ann Pratchett who does love and friendship but in particular the man. More you're talking about really just hearing it in her voice. What made it extra, extra good?
Lainey Cameron
Is there anything you're hearing from your readers or your beta readers, or just that's out there that's been surprising or delightful to you?
Jen Craven
I just love when a reader will message me and say, oh my gosh, I didn't see that coming are oh, I just got to XYZ point and you know, I had to reach out to you or something like that. When some of my friends were reading an earlier draft. They said they called them gasp moments where they were sort of like, Oh, I got to another gasp moment. That's always kind of fun, because you know that it's creating enjoyment that it's something that they're enjoying reading.
Lainey Cameron
Exactly, exactly. Well, before we wrap up. Is there anything I haven't asked you that you'd like to talk about relative to writing or relative to this book?
Jen Craven
I don't think so. I'm just so excited for it to be out there. I'm so excited for readers to get their hands on it. It's a quick read. It's great escapism and perfect timing with back to school sunset on a campus
Lainey Cameron
So I'm going to suggest to folks that are listening graders that are listening that it sounds to me like this would make a great book club book because you've got those themes of temptation moral dilemmas, characters of different age, it's to me it would be a phenomenal have a glass of wine and talk about those things with your book club kind of book.
Jen Craven
Yes, I've had a few reviews saying like this is right up a book clubs ally, but I'm also so happy to zoom in with book clubs, they can reach out on my website or Instagram. I would love to meet up with people virtually and chit chat about the book.
Lainey Cameron
And that's always my last question. Where do you hang out in social media world where's the best place for folks to follow you and interact with you?
Jen Craven
The best place to find me is Instagram. That's where I'm most active. I'm trying to dip my toe into Tik Tok even though it feels like a whole new world. I'm I'm there a little bit Facebook a little bit as well. But Instagram is definitely my primary hangout.
Lainey Cameron
Well, thank you so much for joining me today and congratulations on the next release.
Jen Craven
Thank you so much, Lainey. This was so fun.