The Trail to Rom Com Land

/ Writing / , /

I’m known for my ugly-cry books. I’ve always landed on the dramatic end of the scale, which has served me well for my biggest bestselling books like Forever Innocent and Baby Dust.

I’d written a few rom coms here and there, almost by accident. (I’m funny? No. No one thinks the Queen of the Ugly Cry is funny.) But they sold way better than I thought they would. So when the pandemic began, I leaned in to my humorous side.

It didn’t really feel right to publish those books under Deanna Roy, where an unsuspecting reader with a box of tissues by her side was ready to go full-on emotional. So I chose my pen name known for her sports romance, JJ Knight.

And wow, did readers love them. Wow, wow, wow. Big Pickle hit the Top 100 on Amazon, then Hot Pickle did, too. I decided I had a series going, so I wrote more. Spicy Pickle. Royal Pickle. You can probably tell from the titles that I was not taking myself very seriously. But they ARE set in a delicatessen — where did your brain go? 🙂

These days I find myself working in two spaces: drama and comedy. It’s a good place. If you’re looking for my latest work, head over to JJ Knight, because that’s where the action is. But don’t give up your tissue box. I have a doozy of a Deanna-book in the works. It’s right up there with Forever Innocent.

No matter which name you’re reading me as, you can always find me on social media, especially in my private Facebook group, which is very active, full of Pickle jokes, and frequently doing giveaways of signed copies. I’m even on TikTok! Here are some of the crazy books in my Pickle-verse! I think you’ll still find that emotional connection inside, even if the crying comes from laughing too hard.

Thank you all for being crossover fans!