Coastal Magic Convention 2025 Featured Author Spotlight: J.D. Monroe/Stella Frost
Please give a warm welcome to J.D. Monroe/Stella Frost to the Blog today, one of the Featured Authors for the Coastal Magic Convention that will be at Daytona Beach, Florida (February 20-23, 2025). Check out the Interview below with J.D. Monroe/Stella Frost where you get to read about five fun facts about her, writing process, what inspired her to write PNR/Fantasy/Sci-Fi, and so much more.
1) Tell us Five Fun Facts about yourself that readers may not know about you.
- I’ve been going to conventions and cosplaying since 2006, so I have a closet full of costumes including more than 75 wigs!
- I’m a certified personal trainer, and I coach fitness classes for people with neurological disorders.
- I started my first garden in 2024 and have a backyard full of plants.
- In 2024 I tried rock climbing for the first time and got super into it. I go “bouldering” at a rock climbing gym 2-3 days a week.
- I am a Cat Mom to a chunky little calico named Matilda. She used to be my neighbors’ cat, but apparently fell in love with me during the pandemic. While roaming outside, she always found her way to my porch. When my neighbors moved, they couldn’t take her, and asked if I wanted to take her in. She’s been my favorite little freeloader ever since.
2) Can you describe your writing process? Do you have any rituals or routines?
I might sound a little contrary, but I try to avoid any rituals or requirements when it comes to writing. My goal is to be able to write basically anywhere at any time. I need a laptop, and ideally headphones/earbuds so I can listen to music.
The reason I try to be flexible is because my schedule can be all over the place during certain times of the year. I’ve written chapters on a school bus while traveling to marching band competitions, sitting in the audience during a technical rehearsal for a show, and in an airport terminal, just to name a few.
My drafting process is fast and dirty. I don’t stop to research unless it’s something that would completely alter the book’s plot. Names or details I can’t remember get marked with a # so I can find them later. Sometimes I don’t feel like writing a fight scene and I’ll just put in brackets like this:
[Fight scene – Bob tells Sam he’s going to kill Jane before escaping]
My philosophy is “I’ll fix it in rewrites.”
When I’m working on a first draft, I write every day that I can, but with a fluctuating work schedule, I don’t always make it. On writing days, I write 3000 words. Depending on how I feel, I may just sit down and do it all in one fell swoop, work for timed intervals, or set intermediate goals (every 500 words).
I have a rule that I can go back to yesterday’s work and fill in little details or make small changes, but I can only do the previous chapter. Once I’ve finished the new words for the day, I can go back further if I feel like it. But I learned from doing NaNoWriMo many years ago that you really have to keep moving forward or you’ll end up tweaking Chapter One for three months and never finish the book!
3) For new readers that are wanting to start reading your books, where would you encourage them to start?
I’d recommend The Guardian’s Curse. It’s a vampire retelling of Beauty and the Beast, and it’s got some amazing characters in it.
4) What inspired you to start writing Paranormal/Fantasy Romance (J.D. Monroe) and Science Fiction Romance (Stella Frost)?
When I first started getting serious about writing novels, I wanted to write epic fantasy. I actually have pages and pages of worldbuilding and character notes for epic fantasy universes. However, in the mid-2000s, I started reading a lot of urban fantasy and paranormal romance, including the Kate Daniels series (Ilona Andrews), Harry Dresden (Jim Butcher), and Anita Blake (Laurell K. Hamilton). These books were like grown-up versions of some of my favorite books as a teenager like L.J. Smith’s Night World.
I love the idea that there is a whole magical world right hidden under the surface in the normal world I live in. Urban fantasy and paranormal romance are roommates (who sometimes kiss), so sliding into paranormal romance was a pretty natural fit!
As for sci-fi romance…during the pandemic I got into reading some pretty spicy alien books just for fun. After reading a couple dozen, I started to joke that I should write some since I’d basically been doing market research for months.
Then it really wasn’t a joke, and I hammered out the 60,000 word first draft of Havoc in five days. (Seriously!)
Part of the inspiration for those was just writing something that was so unabashedly steamy with heroes that were super alpha types! It was also exciting to dig into worldbuilding an entirely new universe. Sci-fi allows for such BIG universes, so it was really fun to just keep playing. You want a planet covered in ice with an underground resort? Make a new planet. You want an alien race that can shapeshift into twenty-foot long tigers? Go for it.
5) How do you create and develop your paranormal creatures or elements? Do you draw from mythology or folklore or invent your own?
So far, most of my creatures are based on existing folklore/mythology. Like many authors, my vampires and shifters have my own unique twist, but are pretty recognizable.
In some of my novellas and shorts, I’ve created my own creatures as well. They’re often still loosely related to existing folklore because folklore tends to address our deep-rooted fears. For example, lots of cultures have some kind of doppelganger because it’s super freaky to think about someone you know being “replaced” and being entirely untrustworthy.
When I create a creature, whether from scratch or putting a twist on something familiar, I think about their unique powers and how that can play out for plot purposes. I try to take the time to think about how a power would affect their personality and their relationships. For example, my dragon shifters can compel humans to obey commands. If that was real, humans would probably be very afraid of dragons, and they’d probably avoid contact or develop technology to help protect them from compulsion. (Which some enterprising folks in the series eventually do!)
I also try to balance powers with weaknesses. You don’t want to create creatures that are so powerful that they face no real challenges.
6) If you could spend a day with one of your characters, who would it be and why?
I would spend a day with Viper or Ember from the Rogues of the Zathari series (Stella Frost). Both Viper and Ember are super loyal and happy-go-lucky guys. They also know how to have a good time! Even though they’re taken (LOL) they’re definitely the type that would take you out for a night on the town. They would know all the best hidden gems of restaurants and bars, and they’d definitely make sure you got home safe!
I also really love the ladies from my Cursed Blood series. I would 100% have a girls’ night with the whole squad. I can totally see them putting together a huge spread of charcuterie boards for an epic girls’ night.
7) What’s up next for J.D. Monroe/Stella Frost? Are there any upcoming releases you would like to share?
My two personalities – J.D. and Stella – are combining forces to rerelease a novella that Stella released in 2022. It’s a fantasy romance that was originally in a monster romance anthology called Big Feels. The story was well received, and I decided to do major revisions, expand the universe a little, and hopefully turn it into a trilogy. (I’m still working on the title, but it was originally called The Demon King’s Prize.)
The first book will come out in January or February of 2025!
8) Outside of writing, what are some of your interests or hobbies?
I love board games and roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons! Being a fantasy/sci-fi writer, it’s a pretty natural progression to enjoy story-telling games like D&D. I’ve run the game many times – which is like being an author with all your main characters played by chaotic humans who have a lot of stress to relieve. I’ve also played in a lot of games, from the very dark and serious to the wildly silly and whimsical.
My other main hobby is musical theater. I’ve been in the arts for many years, but stepped on stage for a musical for the first time in 2015. Since then, I’ve loved being a part of the theater whenever I can.
9) What are you looking forward to most at the Coastal Magic Convention 2025?
In general, I just LOVE being at Coastal Magic. I’ve been going for a few years, and I feel like I’ve become friends with a lot of authors and readers. It truly is a magical community. February in Daytona Beach feels like a family reunion!
Specifically, I always love the Murder Mystery night because I love to dress up and be silly. I also always really look forward to the Welcome Mingle!
10) Fun question: What magical or superpower would you most like to have, and how would you use it in your daily life?
I feel like a cliche, but my answer to this question is always the same: magical healing powers! I would love to be able to use magic to heal injuries or illness. Back in the 2000s there was a fun series on TNT called The 4400, and there was a character on it who could heal. I thought they did an amazing job of giving the power limits and exploring the complications of it!
(If that wasn’t an option, I’d definitely want super strength. Muscle girls all the way!)
J.D. Monroe is a Georgia-based author with a love for all things paranormal, magical, and downright fantastical. She currently writes the Dragons of Ascavar, a fantasy romance series featuring magic, mayhem, whip-smart women, and the powerful dragons that love them.
When not writing, J.D. can be found playing trombone in an orchestra pit or singing alto in a musical, or running a wicked game of Dungeons and Dragons.
Check out J.D. Monroe’s Website and Stella Frost’s Website follow her at the following sites: Facebook | X | Goodreads | Instagram | Bookbub
For a full list of Featured Authors, Information about the weekend, and link to register to attend, visit http://www.CoastalMagicConvention.com. And be sure to watch for more Featured Author spotlights coming up here each month!
My obsession with reading started over 30+ years ago when I went to my first Scholastic Book Fair and found R.L. Stine's Fear Street series. Later, I came across Anne Rice's novels at my public library when I was fourteen when my obsession with vampires started. I was the girl who preferred to be a vampire over a princess any day. My husband says I would leave him a heartbeat for a vampire that looked like Spike or Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. (It's true, though, and he's accepted it.)
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