🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where gardens can become portals, beetles can steal the entire show, and sometimes grief blooms into something magical. This week, host Bethany Amanda sits down with author J.K. Ross to discuss A Throne in Bloom, a whimsical and heartfelt romantasy filled with portal magic, living plants, bee rides, found family, a fallen fae prince, and one very unforgettable bejeweled beetle named Peeble. J.K. shares how her lifelong love of storytelling began in childhood, continued through journalism, and eventually led her to writing fiction after the loss of her grandmother. She opens up about how A Throne in Bloom was written in honor of her grandmother, whose own magical garden helped inspire the world of the book. What began as a deeply personal story of grief became an unexpected publishing journey, complete with a street team, reader excitement, and a series that grew into something far bigger than she originally imagined. The conversation also dives into J.K.’s fast and unusual querying experience for her new project, Stygian Academy, a dark gothic fantasy featuring phoenix shifters on a volcanic island academy. J.K. discusses researching agents, writing a bold query letter from the voice of her character, and approaching publishing with confidence, business sense, and a willingness to do things her own way. 🌸 What happens when a girl inherits her grandmother’s house and falls through a portal into a magical garden realm? 🪲 Can a sassy beetle sidekick become the most important person in the room? 🌿 And what if saving the realm from rot means discovering this may not be the first timeline where everything went wrong? Whether you love portal fantasy, whimsical romantasy, magical companions, found family, fallen fae princes, reader-driven chaos, or books that feel like Thumbelina, Alice in Wonderland, Ferngully, and Epic all collided in the best way, this episode is full of heart, humor, and wildly creative worldbuilding. 🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT: ✨ Growing up in Arkansas and building a creative life rooted in family, travel, and imagination. ✨ Journalism, TV production, and writing other people’s stories before turning to fiction. ✨ Writing A Throne in Bloom as a tribute to her grandmother, and how grief, memory, and a real-life garden inspired the magical garden realm. ✨ J.K.’s whirlwind querying experience and signing with an agent in three weeks. ✨ Stygian Academy, phoenix shifters, volcanic islands, and writing something completely different. ✨ Why being an author is part writing and part business. ✨ Developing thick skin, handling criticism, and refusing to give away your energy. ✨ J.K.’s visual writing process, world bibles, magic systems, politics, religion, and character planning. ✨ Inviting readers and street team members into the creative process. ✨ Portal fantasy, living foliage, magical bees, rot spreading through the realm, and multiverse timelines. ✨ Found family, grumpy sunshine, morally gray fae, sassy sidekicks, and chaos-making characters. ✨ Dr. Pepper addiction, warm soda memories, and the unexpected details readers latch onto. ✨ J.K.’s next creative obsession, including a pirate mermaid series designed to feel different from everything else. 🪲 Plus: European travel, African safari dreams, character art addiction, Dungeon Crawler Carl inspiration, plants versus zombies, Dr. Pepper memes, Peeble stickers, and why sometimes the sidekick you add on a whim becomes the soul of the story. CONNECT WITH US 🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic 👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland 📚 JK Ross – @AuthorJKRoss ✨ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review. It helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors find their way to The Mythic Mic.
