Paulette Kennedy: Give Yourself Grace
In this interview, author Paulette Kennedy discusses writing about the nature of love and forgiveness with her new historical fiction, The Artist of Blackberry Grange.
Paulette Kennedy is the bestselling author of The Devil and Mrs. Davenport, The Witch of Tin Mountain, and Parting the Veil, which received the HNS Review Editor’s Choice Award. She has had a lifelong obsession with the gothic. As a young girl, she spent her summers among the gravestones in her neighborhood cemetery, imagining all sorts of romantic stories for the people buried there. After her mother introduced her to the Brontës as a teenager, her affinity for fog-covered landscapes and haunted heroines only grew, inspiring her to become a writer.
Originally from the Missouri Ozarks, she now lives with her family and a menagerie of rescue pets in sunny Southern California, where sometimes, on the very best days, the mountains are wreathed in fog. As a history lover, she can get lost for days in her research—learning everything she can about the places in her novels and what her characters might have experienced in the past. Learn more about Paulette Kennedy at PauletteKennedy.com, and follow her on Instagram.
In this interview, Paulette discusses writing about the nature of love and forgiveness with her new historical fiction, The Artist of Blackberry Grange, her hope for readers, and more.
Name: Paulette Kennedy
Literary agent: Jill Marr at Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency
Book title: The Artist of Blackberry Grange
Publisher: Lake Union
Release date: May 1, 2025
Genre/category: Historical fiction/Gothic fiction
Previous titles: Parting the Veil, The Witch of Tin Mountain, The Devil and Mrs. Davenport
Elevator pitch: For a young caregiver in the Ozarks, an old house holds haunting memories in a ghostly novel about family secrets, sacrifice, and lost loves.
What prompted you to write this book?
I was inspired to write this book because I was interested in exploring the ways in which generational trauma and family secrets are passed down from ancestors to descendants, and how the fabric of memory changes as time passes. I also wanted to examine the nature of love and forgiveness, using caregiving and the supernatural as catalysts for my main character’s journey toward self-awareness and actualization. This book is about breaking old cycles and confronting the mistakes that haunt us.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
I had the initial idea for the story in 2023. I began drafting in early 2024 and had a completed draft by that March. The idea didn’t change very much from the initial concept, although the antagonists’ motivations needed more clarity, so I spent a great deal of time developing tension and conflict between the characters during revisions. From the time I get an idea, to publication, the entire process takes me about 18 months.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
One of the most pleasant surprises was the early enthusiasm for this novel by my readers and my publishing team. This is my fourth novel, so there weren’t a lot of surprises for me in the actual publication process—I have a great team at Lake Union, and I know what to expect at this point.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
This was the most ambitious and complex book I’ve written, due to the time-slip elements. I kept extensive notes on the chronology so I could tie the flashback vignettes to the main narrative without compromising the pacing or creating lapses in continuity. This required a lot of planning and a family tree with birth and death dates so I could track all the members of the Thorne family over the span of decades during which the story takes place. Lots and lots of timeline math!
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
My hope is always the same with each of my books—that they will spark conversations, contemplation, and inspire empathy. We all have so much to learn from one another.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
To give yourself—and others—grace. Grace with your process, with expectations, with publishing’s timetable, and with your fellow authors. Give more support than you ask for, help others, and someday, it will be returned to you. I truly believe that.
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
