Tropes of “Winging It”

@jendesmaraisauthor

“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

♬ Powerful songs like action movie music – Tansa
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
49th Shelf Crushing It
Indigo Books Crushing It
Archambault Crushing It
Amazon Crushing It
Rakuten Kobo Crushing It
Apple Books Crushing It

Winging It puzzle

There’s this site that allows for any picture to be transformed into a digital puzzle. For free. And you can play for free.

I used it for the cover of Crushing It. See that puzzle here.

And now, here is the puzzle for Winging It!

Winging It by Jen Desmarais is available June 3rd, 2025!
Cover Art by Pinkpiggy93
49th Shelf Crushing It
Indigo Books Crushing It
Archambault Crushing It
Amazon Crushing It
Rakuten Kobo Crushing It
Apple Books Crushing It

Winging It Dreamcasting – Protagonists

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 It15

Appearance: Wavy brown hair, blue eyes, short, tan skin

Grade: tail end of grade 9

Favourite class: Math and Dance

Siblings: Older sister Rachel (seen here)

More information: Aetherborn succubus, dancer

Greg Finch

Casey West Simpson 2020
(high school/book age)
Casey West Simpson 2025 (university/movie age)

Age in Winging It15

Appearance: Blond cropped hair, brown eyes, tall, white, muscular

Grade: tail end of grade 9

Favourite class: Science and Gym

Family: Dad

More information: Blue Blood gang member, boxing champion

Shadowbox Ornament: Winging It

I got the idea to make shadowbox out of the cover image of our books, and I thought it would be fun for you to have access as well!

Also – first promo for Winging It!

Materials:
Paper (or cardstock)
Colour printer
Scissors
Exacto knife
Cutting board
Tape (or glue)
Patience

Instructions:

  1. Print the template provided (PDF download above)
  2. Cut out the pieces using scissors
  3. Cut out the greyed out background with the Exacto knife
  4. Tape (or glue) the parts together.

Winging It by Jen Desmarais is available June 3rd, 2025!
Cover Art by Pinkpiggy93
49th Shelf Crushing It
Indigo Books Crushing It
Archambault Crushing It
Amazon Crushing It
Rakuten Kobo Crushing It
Apple Books Crushing It

Shadowbox Ornaments: Crushing It

I got the idea to make shadowbox out of the cover image of our books, and I thought it would be fun for you to have access as well!

Materials:
Paper (or cardstock)
Colour printer
Scissors
Exacto knife
Cutting board
Tape (or glue)
Patience

Instructions:

  1. Print the template provided (PDF download above)
  2. Cut out the pieces using scissors
  3. Cut out the greyed out background with the Exacto knife
  4. Tape (or glue) the parts together.

Shadowbox Ornaments: Everdome

I got the idea to make shadowbox out of the cover image of our books, and I thought it would be fun for you to have access as well!

Materials:
Paper (or cardstock)
Colour printer
Scissors
Exacto knife
Cutting board
Tape (or glue)
Patience

Instructions:

  1. Print the template provided (PDF download above)
  2. Cut out the pieces using scissors
  3. Cut out the greyed out background with the Exacto knife
  4. Tape (or glue) the parts together.

Shadowbox Ornaments: Parasomnia

I got the idea to make shadowbox out of the cover image of our books, and I thought it would be fun for you to have access as well!

Materials:
Paper (or cardstock)
Colour printer
Scissors
Exacto knife
Cutting board
Tape (or glue)
Patience

Instructions:

  1. Print the template provided (PDF download above)
  2. Cut out the pieces using scissors
  3. Cut out the greyed out background with the Exacto knife
  4. Tape (or glue) the parts together.

Cover Reveal: Winging It

If you saw me in person at Geeked Out on December 1, or at The Book’s Better Bookshop in Smith’s Falls on December 14, you would have seen a sneak peek of Jen’s next cover.

Or if you were part of our newsletter, you got to see sketches and the background. (Incidentally, sign up for our newsletter here!)

There was a cover reveal party this past Saturday, which means:

I have been sitting on this cover since September and I can finally show it to you!

Art by @pinkpiggy93, of course.