Jen

Jen Desmarais is the creator of the sex education game Blush and co-author of “Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers” and “Monsters! Incidental Wedding Guests.” “Crushing It” was her first solo novel.

Find her on Instagram @JenDesmaraisAuthor

You can also find a short story by Jen in “Nothing Without Us Too”, and a novella in “The Mystery of the Dancing Lights”.

Co-founder of JenEric Designs, she creates unique geeky crocheted items. Her blogs The Travelling TARDIS and How I Taught My Dragon have been nominated for the Prix Aurora Awards over 2018-2024.

She lives in Ottawa with her author husband, daughter, son, and their library of over 3000 books.

Find her pen name here! (Must be an adult)

Our Tropes for “A Study in Aether” – image

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The tropes we use in A Study in Aether

Every book utilizes tropes, even if it’s to subvert them, and A Study in Aether is no exception. This book covers: Magic exists!, Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Detailed worldbuilding, Hidden magical world, Single POV, Kidnapping mystery, and First day of school.
A Study in Aether by Éric Desmarais
Cover art by @pinkpiggy93

Get it now!

(coming soon)
eBook
Paperback

The Gates of Westmeath isn’t dead

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Hello Readers,

This summer, the first two books in The Gates of Westmeath will be going out of print and the rights are returning to us. Thankfully, River City Siren Press has agreed to re-release them and publish book 3 in Fall 2027!

The Gates of Westmeath books 1 and 2 are on sale through the All Lit Up store. (Enter RENPRESS20 at checkout)

Go buy some books!

Stay safe and be kind,

Éric

A Study in Aether is now available!

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Hello Readers!

If you like magical mysteries set in high school, with killer kitten swarms, carnivorous ball pits, and girl detectives, then A Study in Aether is for you!

Have a movie poster inspired by our book!
A Study in Aether is out now!! YA urban fantasy mystery.
Cover Art by @pinkpiggy93
Published by River City Siren Press
Written by Éric Desmarais
https://www.jeneric-designs.ca/UBL-Aether
A Study in Aether by Éric Desmarais
Cover art by @pinkpiggy93

Get it now!

(coming soon)
eBook
Paperback

2026 Aurora Awards Finalist

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Shocking everyone, especially myself, I found out at the beginning of the month that Winging It had made the shortlist for the 2026 Aurora Awards!

The Best Young Adult Novel category has six finalists, meaning there was a tie, which is exciting! More books for you to read when the electronic package is released! I am incredibly honoured to be included alongside these other fantastic authors.

BEST YOUNG ADULT (YA) NOVEL (alphabetical by title)
Breath of the Dragon, Shannon Lee & Fonda Lee, Wednesday Books
Fireboy, Edward Willett, Shadowpaw Press
A Lion’s Head, D.M. De Alwis, Ahasae Tharu Publications
Minotaur, Jamieson Wolf, Rebel Satori Press
One Morning Sun, Avi Silver, Molewhale Press
Winging It, Jen Desmarais, Renaissance Press

Spot the Changes: A Study in Aether edition

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Sometimes seeing it in our minds (or in the rough stick-figure sketch sent to the artist) doesn’t match what we had envisioned. Since we caught so many at this stage, the colour version only had three changes. In this edition of Spot the Changes, we decided to go from the sketch version. There were seven differences between the first sketch and the final cover. Can you spot them all? Don’t scroll down until you’re ready for the answer.

I know everything says “Get it now!” but there’s no link – that’s because the release is delayed a little due to printing issues. Keep checking the UBL page – we will update the link as soon as we have it!

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

A Study in Aether by Éric Desmarais
Cover art by @pinkpiggy93

Get it now!

(coming soon)
eBook
Paperback

Renaissance Press is closing

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What does that mean for JenEric Authors?

First, we’d like to take a moment to thank Renaissance Press for giving our books a home. Éric was one of the first authors signed with them; his first book released in 2016. Since then, he released a book a year. Jen’s first book released in 2022, but before that, she helped out with the metadata and behind-the-scenes data entry that comes with publishing a book.

The loss of Renaissance will be felt heavily in our household as well as across the Canadian landscape. We are losing a fantastic spec-fic press that elevated marginalized voices.

Renaissance Press will be missed.

What is happening with our books?

Well, that depends on the book.

Our series (serieses? seriesi?) have been picked up by publisher River City Siren Press!

We’re already published by them for a few of our books. We’re extremely excited to work with them for the rest of our series.

However, we don’t want to overwhelm them! We have a lot of books! We’ve discussed a slow-ish re-release schedule. Things may change, but for now, this is how things stand:

Everdome and Parasomnia will stay published under our imprint.

Faymous, The Copper Tarnish, and Connections! The Unexpected First Collection will stay with River City Siren Press (obviously!)

Now comes the slightly more complicated stuff.

The Elizabeth series is getting new covers! They will be released yearly over the next four years, starting with “A Study in Aether” very shortly. The goal is for Éric to finish writing books 5 & 6 in time to release them after the re-releases.

The Gates of Westmeath rights are returning to us as of June 15, 2026. There’s a 20% off sale going on right now to try to empty the warehouse of the excess stock. (https://alllitup.ca/book-list/renaissance-press-book-sale/) These covers will stay the same. The goal is to re-release these in time for book 3 to come out in Fall 2027. (Book 4 is not yet written – sorry!)

The Lucky in Love series is staying with Renaissance until the end of 2026. This is partially due to the fact that Crushing It has an audiobook coming out that was part of a CCA grant, and partially because Winging It has been nominated for an Aurora Award! They are included in the 20% off sale. (https://alllitup.ca/book-list/renaissance-press-book-sale/) These covers will not change. Ideally, I finish writing book 3 this year, and we can release the full series by the end of 2028. (Our daughter is a good motivator…)

We’re undecided about where Coffee Shop Between the ‘Verses is going after Renaissance closes at the end of the year, but until then, it is available through the warehouse sale, so get it for 20% off while you still can! (https://alllitup.ca/book-list/renaissance-press-book-sale/)

Keep up to date with us by:

Pictogram of the Tropes in “Faymous”

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Image showing the rating for the tropes in Faymous. Roadtrip explorations, Magical shenanigans, and Music are about 90%, Riddles are about 75%, and Kissing is about 40%. At the bottom, there’s a “Vibes”, which has an image from the movie The Princess Bride.
Faymous by Jen and Éric Desmarais
Cover art by Pinkpiggy93
eBook
Paperback

Shawna’s Google Search in Faymous

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If Shawna had access to Google during Faymous, these might be some of her search terms.

Character’s Google Search: “Shawna Peaceblossom in Faymous” in the search bar reveals the following six results: “neon orange fox name”, “what can I eat in Fay”, “how to play chess”, “types of salamanders”, “common riddles”, and “what’s a Fay lord”. Under that and the cover in ebook and physical book form reads: “Get it here: jeneric-designs.ca/UBL-Faymous“. The image of Shawna from the cover is off to the right.
Faymous by Jen and Éric Desmarais
Cover art by Pinkpiggy93
eBook
Paperback