Jessi Cole Jackson: Each Project Tells Me a Little Bit More About Myself
In this interview, author Jessi Cole Jackson discusses facing her fears when writing her debut romantasy, Ruinous Creatures.
Jessi Cole Jackson’s perfect day involves fresh cut flowers, cream-filled pastries, and stories of all sorts. After a dozen years making costumes for professional theaters all over the East Coast, she moved home to rural Michigan, where she now lives with her family. Visit JessiColeJackson.com for more information, and follow her on Instagram.
In this interview, Jessi discusses facing her fears when writing her debut romantasy, Ruinous Creatures, the changes the story took in the seven years since the original idea, and more.
Name: Jessi Cole Jackson
Literary agent: Danielle Burby
Book title: Ruinous Creatures
Publisher: Atria / Simon & Schuster
Release date: March 10, 2026
Genre/category: Romantasy
Elevator pitch: Ruinous Creatures is an adult romantasy set in a world where the skulls of mythological creatures are worn to access rare magic. In it, two strangers are accidentally, permanently matched through a pair of bonded phoenix skulls—upending one's plans for securing her community's safety and the other's path to vengeance.
What prompted you to write this book?
I wanted to tell a love story with a couple who had an immediate, unignorable connection that they were terrified of exploring and could not escape. And I wanted to fill it with elements I love: a queer-normative world, beautiful rural and gritty urban settings, creepy and lush clothing, a variety of body types, community, magic, and sexy-times.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
Oh goodness. Seven years, I believe? I kept picking it up and putting it back down in between other projects that felt safer.
The fundamental concept of the book never changed. The magic system and the world and the main characters stayed consistent (though depth was added). But the tense, POV, and even age category changed.
Before Ruinous Creatures, I always wrote in the young adult space and only read adult romance for my own pleasure. But this story never fit in YA. And I was afraid to write it as an adult romance—sex scenes! that other people would read!—but once I admitted that yes, that’s what this story needed to be, it began to click into place.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
Ha! It’s my debut, so … everything?
One of my big “duh” moments was when a bunch of questions came through from the copy edits to pass pages. At first, I thought they were being kind of passive aggressive asking them again, like they didn’t agree with my takes. I thought if I didn’t answer them that it meant I was good with my original version. Turns out that is not the case, in fact.
Apologies to my copy editor and team there.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
Every book is full of surprises! Each project tells me a little bit more about myself—what I enjoy, what I’m afraid of, what I believe, where I’m struggling.
Ruinous Creatures is the first project where I leaned into all of that, particularly what brings me pleasure that I am terrified of admitting. What parts those are specifically, I will never admit. Or at least, not without a couple of cocktails and some cajoling.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
I hope it illuminates the parts of themselves that they’re afraid of, and that it shows them a path to embracing those parts. I hope it helps them realize that loving themselves and allowing themselves to be loved means allowing themselves to be seen.
Mostly, I hope that it brings them joy and pleasure in dark times.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Quit. If the process of writing or publishing gets too hard, give yourself the permission to stop. You’ll find your way back to it when you’re ready.
