PENN COLE

Interview Guide

Thank you so much for your interest in Penn and her books! We understand that interviewers are very busy people with lots to juggle, so the following is intended to be helpful to you in scheduling and conducting the interview.

To ensure the timeliest response, please direct all communication to Penn’s PA, Nichole, at admin@penncole.com. If your interview platform requires a specific email for the invitation link, you can send it to Penn’s direct email - penn@penncole.com

JUMP TO A SECTION

About Penn Cole
Scheduling Preferences
Topics To Avoid
Penn's Favorite Topics
Question Examples
Posting Guidelines

Scheduling Preferences

Other days/times available on request, but please stick to the below whenever possible.

Day of the Week: Friday is ideal, but Saturday and Sunday are available if needed
Time: 12:00pm-6:00pm Central European Time/CET (6:00am-12:00pm Eastern Time/ET) is ideal, but 10:00am-11:00pm CET (4:00am-5:00pm ET) is available if needed
Length: Up to 60 minutes

About PenN Cole

Bio photos and high-res cover images available via the Press Kits on Penn’s website: https://www.penncole.com/press-kit-spark-of-the-everflame

Author bio: Penn Cole is the New York Times bestselling author of the international romantasy hit, Spark of the Everflame. Her debut series, The Kindred’s Curse Saga, has been published in 18 languages and has sold over 2 million copies. Before becoming an author, Penn was a small business owner and an attorney. A Texas native, she now lives in Paris, France with her husband and their cat, Cardboard. When Penn isn’t writing epic slow-burn romantasy, she can be found eating far too many French pastries and trolling her readers on Discord.

Series Name: The Kindred’s Curse Saga

Spark of the Everflame 
Originally self-published June 1, 2023 
Traditional publication re-release October 8, 2024

Glow of the Everflame
Originally self-published July 18, 2023 
Traditional publication re-release December 3, 2024

Heat of the Everflame
Originally self-published September 12, 2023 
Traditional publication re-release March 11, 2025

Burn of the Everflame 
Currently drafting, release date is TBA

Tropes and traits: Enemies to lovers, chosen one, elemental magic, political intrigue, dragons/animal sidekick, fight against injustice, banter, found family, prophecies, slow burn romance, shadow daddy, feisty healer FMC, brooding dark prince MMC

Synopsis: When her mother suddenly vanishes, healer Diem Bellator’s search for answers forces her out of her poor mortal village and into the dark world of the cruel demigods known as the Descended. Bloodthirsty rebels are recruiting her to join the civil war, but the King’s handsome, mysterious heir is watching her every move. Diem must navigate a dangerous game of love, power, and politics to save her mother—and all of mortalkind.

Background/Pronunciation Guide: A general overview of the world and a pronunciation guide for the locations and characters is available on Penn’s website at https://www.penncole.com/enter-emarion

Topics to Avoid

There are a few topics that Penn prefers to avoid in interviews, summarized below.

Personal Info: While Penn is happy to answer most personal questions, she does want to stay clear of sharing information that could threaten her privacy. She kindly asks that you avoid asking about her family (including her husband), specific cities that she has lived in (Paris is OK), schools she attended, or places she worked. 

Favorite Book(s): As Penn is friends with many of her colleagues and doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings by not listing their book, she prefers to avoid naming her favorite books, especially within her genre. However, Penn is happy to talk about books that influenced her and her writing in the past.

Negative Takes: Penn will not answer any question that centers on speaking negatively about books, readers, or other authors. Discussions of the difficult parts of publishing are OK, as long as they don’t direct negativity to any person, group, or preference. Examples of negative questions/prompts to avoid include:

  • What book do you think is overhyped?

  • What was your last DNF?

  • Tell us about your worst experience with a reader.

  • What’s your least favorite trope/genre?

  • What is your bookish hot take/unpopular opinion?

Penn’s Favorite Topics

Here is a list of Penn’s favorite topics to chat about.

  • The business of publishing

  • Advice for new authors

  • Discussions about craft (worldbuilding, character development, plotting, editing)

  • The themes of her books (social justice, female empowerment, compassion, scars)

  • The side characters and their journeys (Teller, Taran, Aemonn, Alixe, Eleanor)

  • The “villains” of the books (Vance, Henri, Remis, Aemonn, Ophiucae)

Question Examples (Optional)

We understand that not all interviewers will be familiar with Penn or her books in advance, so we have prepared the below list of questions that you may use directly or as inspiration. Of course, you are always more than welcome to ignore this list and write your own questions!! The examples below are purely to help, if needed.

Penn tends to expand on questions and give lengthy answers. We recommend planning for 1 question for every 4-5 minutes of interview time.

Personal/Background Questions

  1. Have you always wanted to be an author?

  2. Was there a book that inspired you to write a book of your own?

  3. You currently live in Paris, France, but you are from Texas…

    1. Why did you move abroad?

    2. What do you miss about Texas/the U.S.?

    3. Does Paris inspire your writing?

    4. What is your favorite thing about Paris?

    5. How has moving abroad impacted you as an author?

  4. Before becoming an author, you were an attorney…

    1. Why did you decide to switch careers?

    2. Have you discovered any similarities in the two career paths?

    3. Does being an attorney influence your business or your writing?

  5. Your books are very political. Is that something that is important to you in your personal life, as well?

  6. You famously hate the word “butter.” What’s that about?

  7. Possums are often shown as the mascot of your reader group. Why do you love possums so much?

  8. Your author bio mentions that you can often be found “trolling” your readers. What do you mean by that?

Publishing

  1. You went from being a self-published author to a hybrid author (part indie/self-published, part traditionally published)...

    1. Why did you decide to self-publish the books originally?

    2. What made you decide to switch publishing paths?

    3. What was the most unexpected part of the transition?

    4. Is writing as a hybrid author any different from being fully self-published?

    5. Do you have any tips for authors that are going through a similar process?

  2. How involved are you in your books’ covers? Do you have any tips around selecting a cover?

  3. How did you market your books in the beginning? Has your marketing changed as you’ve grown?

  4. You have books published in markets across the globe. Do you have any tips around getting foreign deals?

  5. What changes do you see happening in the publishing industry?

  6. Romantasy has exploded in popularity recently. Why do you think this is? Do you think it will last?

  7. What do you think is more important, the quality of the book or how well you can market and promote it?

  8. What’s your approach to interacting with readers? Do you have any advice for other authors on how to navigate it well?

  9. What do you wish you had known before publishing?

  10. What’s your advice for people who are considering writing/publishing their first book?

Writing & Craft

  1. Do you have a special writing environment, setup, or any rituals?

  2. What influences have had the most impact on your writing? 

  3. Are you a “plotter” or a “pantser”?

  4. What misconceptions do you think people have about writing?

  5. How do you balance worldbuilding, character development, and plot?

  6. What is your favorite part of the writing process?

  7. What was the most unexpected challenge you encountered while writing?

  8. Do you ever experience writer’s block? How do you handle getting past it?

  9. Do negative reviews/critical feedback impact your writing?

  10. What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve received around writing?

  11. How has your process changed over the years?

  12. How did you decide to write fantasy/romantasy? Would you write in other genres in the future?

  13. What are you planning to write after your current series?

The Kindred’s Curse Saga (TKCS)

  1. What came first, the characters or the world?

  2. Do you have a favorite/least favorite character from TKCS? 

  3. Which character are you most/least similar to?

  4. If one character could join you on a roadtrip/deserted island, who would you bring?

  5. You often call yourself Henri’s #1 fan, but he’s not very popular with readers. Can you expand on what it is about Henri that you love so much? 

  6. How did you craft your main character, Diem? Is she inspired by yourself or someone you know?

  7. What was the inspiration behind Luther (one of the primary love interests)? How did you try to make him stand out from other “shadow daddies” in the genre?

  8. What were your considerations when trying to craft the romance between the main characters?

  9. Do you have a favorite scene/line from TKCS?

  10. Can you share a scene that didn’t make it into TKCS?

  11. What was the hardest part of the books to write?

  12. What themes/topics were most important to you when writing TKCS?

  13. Social injustice is at the heart of the conflict in TKCS. Why did you choose to make this a key theme?

  14. Female characters often get disproportionately criticized, especially in fantasy. Did that impact how you chose to write your female characters? Did it impact how you depicted the relationships between them?

  15. What message do you hope people leave with after reading TKCS?

  16. Who do you think is the true “villain” of your series? How did you approach writing the “heroes” vs the “villains”? 

  17. There are lots of hidden easter eggs and foreshadowing throughout the series; are there any that no one has caught yet?

  18. There’s a lot of discussion of scars in the books. Why did you include this theme, and how is it reflected in the different characters?

  19. If you could live in any of your realms, which would you choose and why? 

  20. Which of the nine realms in the series would you love to write a spinoff about?

  21. Your series features “gryverns,” a creature that is a mix between a dragon and a gryphon. How did you come up with this idea, and why did you choose to include them?

  22. Will the fourth book, Burn of the Everflame, be the final book? Do you plan to write in this same world again?

Suggested Sign-off (Optional): If you’d like to hear more from Penn, give her a follow on social media. She is @AuthorPennCole on all major platforms. Keep up with Penn’s latest news by joining her Discord reader group and subscribing to her monthly newsletter - the links for both, as well as a full list of upcoming appearances, can be found on Penn’s website, www.penncole.com.

Posting Guidelines

When posting about the interview on social media, please tag Penn @authorpenncole and the corresponding publisher in your region, if applicable:

  • US/Canada: Atria Books, @atriabooks

  • UK: Headline Books, @headlinebooks

  • Australia/New Zealand: Simon & Schuster Australia, @simonschusterau

  • Italy: Rizzoli, @rizzolilibri

  • Germany: Leaf Verlag, @leaf.verlag

  • France: Calix, @label_calix

  • Spain: TBR Editorial, @tbreditorial 

  • Poland: Wydawnictwo NieZwykłe, @wydawnictwoniezwykle

  • Bulgaria: Egmont Bulgaria, @egmontbulgaria

  • Czech Republic: Jota, @nakladatelstvijota

  • Brazil: Editora Arqueiro, @editoraarqueiro

  • Portugal: Marcador, @marcador_editor

  • Hungary: Kossuth Kiadó, @kossuthkiado

  • Romania: Litera, @editura_litera

  • Lithuania: Sofoklis, @leidyklasofoklis