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.
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 2018-2023.
She lives in Ottawa with her author husband, daughter, son, and their library of over 3000 books.
The Pocket Library template was made by @thebookishanimator_, and I thought it would be fun to make character editions of it! Here are Tommy and Carter’s Pocket Libraries.
The Pocket Library template was made by @thebookishanimator_, and I thought it would be fun to make character editions of it! Here are Kennedy and Jason’s Pocket Libraries.
Left: Kennedy Fairfield has Lord of the Rings, Ella Enchanted, and An Offer From a Gentleman as her comfort reads, and an emergency croissant. Note that the BSc in Agricultural Science is sold separately. Right: Jason Johnson has Everdome, The Sleeping Dragon, and Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher as his comfort reads (the Everdome series is actually his favourite, but I was unable to find an image of the covers), and an emergency spatula. Note that his Phantom costume is sold separately.
Read Kennedy and Jason’s books here:
Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers
Monsters! Incidental Wedding Guests by Jen and Éric Desmarais is available now!
Image showing the rating for the tropes in Winging It. Coming of Age Romance, Teenage shenanigans, and kissing are all about 90%, Monsters is about 75%, and Music is about 60%. At the bottom, there’s a “Vibes”, which has an image from the movie Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017).
Winging It by Jen Desmarais is available June 3rd, 2025! Cover Art by Pinkpiggy93
“Winging It” is a queer YA portal fantasy romance. A wedding and a summer camp that Tommy and Carter are never going to forget. The only way they, and their relationship, can survive is if they start Winging It!
“Winging It” is a queer YA portal fantasy romance. A wedding and a summer camp that Tommy and Carter are never going to forget. The only way they, and their relationship, can survive is if they start Winging It! Cover artist: @pinkpiggy93 Universal book link: https://www.jeneric-designs.ca/UBL-WingingIt WingingIt original pinkpiggy93 artist book YA 2SLGBTQ+ LowStakes queer romance STEM music JenDesmarais author PressesRenaissancePress Canadian booktok
Every book utilizes tropes, even if it’s to subvert them, and Winging It is no exception. This book covers: Queer, Young Adult, STEM & music, portal fantasy, Hidden magical world, Dual POV, No angst romance, and Detailed worldbuilding.
Winging It by Jen Desmarais is available June 3rd, 2025! Cover Art by Pinkpiggy93
The Aurora Awards, which are for Canadian science fiction and fantasy writers and artists, are open for nominations for the 2024 works! (Nominations are open March 2 – April 5) This means the LONG lists of eligible works are being narrowed down to 5-6 per category.
Once they have a list of nominated works, every single person who signed up and paid the $10 membership fee gets ALL the nominated works as downloads. That’s all the adult novels, YA novels, novellas, short stories, graphic novels, and related works (usually anthologies), so about 36 works, for just $10 CAD, which is a great deal.
Getting nominated for an Aurora Award is a BIG DEAL in the speculative fiction writing community. You get a nomination pin (only once, so I’m terrified I’ll lose mine!), and you’re part of an elite group of people. This would be Adrien’s first nomination, so my fingers are crossed!
Not only do Éric and I have quite the list of eligible works, but Pegasus (for his work last year in his kindergarten homeschooling, and the short story he wrote and illustrated) and Dragon (for the short story she wrote and illustrated) are eligible as well! By the way, nomination forms are not ranked.
It would mean a lot to all of us if you’re willing to nominate us! (Categories are in alphabetical order by work)
Eligibility Category 1 – Best Novel
Monsters! Incidental Wedding Guests by Jen and Éric Desmarais
Eligibility Category 3 – Best Novelette/Novella
Red Day, Ere the Sun Rises: A Sun Speaker Story by Éric Desmarais
Eligibility Category 4 – Best Short Story
A Concert Tail by Jen Desmarais
Costume Magic by Éric Desmarais
Escaped by Pegasus Desmarais (age 4)
Funky Looking Chickens by Éric Desmarais
O Tannen-bomb by Jen and Éric Desmarais
The Hole in the Playground by Dragon Desmarais (age 7)
What Scares Pre-teen Monsters? by Jen Desmarais
Eligibility Category 6 – Best Poem/Song
Shadows Live for the Light by Jen Desmarais, found in Monsters! Incidental Wedding Guests by Jen and Éric Desmarais
Eligibility Category 8 – Best Cover Art/Interior Illustration
Escaped by Pegasus Desmarais (age 4)
The Hole in the Playground by Dragon Desmarais (age 7)
Eligibility Category 9 – Best Fan Writing/Publication
JenEric Movie Reviews by Éric Desmarais
Pegasus Flight School: Kindergarten education through genre media (second semester) by Jen and Pegasus (age 4) Desmarais
The Travelling TARDIS by Jen Desmarais
In case you’re wondering why Monsters! Incidental Wedding Guests is not included in the best cover art category, it’s because our cover artist is Vietnamese! Only Canadian creators are eligible, unfortunately.
Thank you so much for your time, attention, and support. If any of the above does make it through the nomination round, which ends April 5, I’ll be making another post for the voting round, which will be taking place starting in June 2025.
You’ve already met 3/4 of the main characters in Crushing It (here and here). The problem is, those actors have grown up. I still think they’re the perfect dreamcasting, though, and it got me thinking: People don’t like it when the movie doesn’t match the book. So why not write the movie post-Lucky in Love trilogy? It would be set when they’re in university, in Westmeath, and I think it would be super fun.
Tommy Fairfield
Maxwell Jenkins 2021 (high school/book age)
Maxwell Jenkins 2025 (university/movie age)
Age in Winging It: 15
Date of Birth: May 11, 1988
Appearance: Short blond hair, green eyes, tall, white
Grade: tail end of grade 9
Favourite class: Math or Science or Music
Parents: Lilah and Gerard Fairfield live on a farm in Parry Sound, Ontario
Siblings: Older brother Phillip, married to Sarah and has one son, Arthur (almost 2 years old). Twin older sisters Eliza and MacKenzie. Older sister Kennedy, engaged to Jason Johnson (gets married in this book) and lives in Westmeath (seen here).
More information: human, plays guitar
Carter Batudev
Max Torina 2021 (high school/book age)
Max Torina 2024 (university/movie age)
Age in Winging It:15
Date of Birth: March 5, 1988
Appearance: Curly brown hair, grey eyes, tall, bronze skin
Grade: tail end of grade 9
Favourite class: Science and Drama
Parents: Sam and William Batudev own a bakery in Westmeath, Ontario
More information: Aetherborn rock giant, marital artist black belt first degree
Elyse Garrido
Meesha Garbett 2023 (high school/book age)
Meesha Garbett 2025 (older high school age – she’s younger than Maxwell and Max because I picked her two years after I picked them!)
Age in Winging It: 15
Appearance: Wavy brown hair, blue eyes, short, tan skin