Indie author, Jennifer Cyphers, quickly became a favourite dystopian writer of mine after I binge-read The Cosmos In Her Hand. This post-apocalyptic science fiction tale is deeply layered and engaging, just like the author herself. I had the pleasure of interviewing her and today I’m sharing our illuminating conversation where we discuss the inspiration behind her mind-bending stories, her writing and publishing adventures, and the secrets she hides within her books. Buckle up! We’re about to go on a deep dive into all things Jennifer Cyphers!
Interview with Jennifer Cyphers:
1. What inspired you to write the Tipping Whiskeys series? Who is your intended audience, and what do you hope they take away from the story?
I’ve seen books that are retellings. I decided I wanted to retell familiar bible stories and feature women in the prominent roles. Instead of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, TW has the Mother, the Daughter, and the Ghost. I began the story at the end, more or less, and ended the story in The Garden of Eden. I write my stories to get them out of my head. I really don’t consider the audience as I’m writing, but as I finished writing TW, I did consider that some people might be offended by the shakeup. All of my stories contain adult content.
2. Can you tell us a bit about the books you have published?
Each of my stories feature a strong female lead character who bounces her vibrant and erratic energy off of a steady male lead character. In each story, the female character is energy that activates the male character’s consciousness. In Cosmos, Lev is in a rage-fueled meditation for nearly two decades before Kali shows up and activates his consciousness. In Shitshow, Mike is essentially a corpse until he crosses the bridge and meets Dixie. In Tipping Whiskeys, Tom is without meaningful direction until he captures Nalani. Well, even after he captures her, he’s still rudderless while he waits for her to remember who she is. He needs her to know herself. That’s the only person he can truly respond to. If you read my stories with that in mind, you’ll notice how essential each of my main characters are to each other. They play off of one another. Neither dominates, because they’re equals while being opposites.
3. Do you use an outline to plan your stories before you write them or “write by the seat of your pants”?
I never have a plan. For anything. I’m quite accustomed to failure as a result.
4. How many drafts do you write before reaching the finished product? What’s your editing process like? How do you know when your book is finished?
Oh, I have no process. I just write. I edit by reading through the story. I actually try to edit while writing so that I don’t have to go back to edit. I know when it’s finished when I quit caring about mistakes that are definitely still there, but I can’t find them. Oh, and one draft. My god. More than one. I’d die.
5. Is there a particular scene or passage you’re incredibly proud of?
In Cosmos, there’s a scene where Kali is lying beside Lev in bed. They’ve been intimate. He’s asleep. She reflects on the fact that Lev doesn’t question her about the scars that cover her body. She notes that he doesn’t look away from her scars when they’re together and that he finds her attractive and sexy despite them. Her thoughts wander, and she acknowledges that, of course, Lev sees her scars, but notes that he accepts her as she is. She concludes by considering that she’s glad he doesn’t expect explanations from her about what someone else did to her body. Her anger rises as she considers that a lesser man might expect her to explain the scars on her body and then hope to be accepted in her damaged condition. She suggests that she would never be so pathetic as to be apologetic about the condition of her body. As her internal anger subsides, she concludes by softening her tone and appreciating Lev for allowing her to be herself and making her feel sexy and desired. She considers that she felt as though she’d explained her complicated feelings to Lev by presenting herself to him with confidence during their shared intimacy, even while she never said any of the words out loud to him. I’m proud of this scene because as a human with my own scars, I don’t want to apologize for what’s been done to me. I don’t want to talk about it. And I think popular approaches to self-acceptance miss that emotional healing can take place quietly, inside a person. Talking about shitty things can feel like reliving them. No one should ask another person to relive horrors. In Cosmos, Lev tells Kali several times that if she wants to talk about an issue, she can. He’ll listen. But he always tells her she doesn’t have to tell him anything. You know why? It’s not necessary. He’s a grown-ass man. He knows what’s going on. His ego doesn’t demand Kali seek acceptance from him.
6. How has your writing evolved since you wrote your first book?
I don’t think anything’s changed. I just write. I love writing.
7. What’s one writing rule you support and one you think is meant to be broken?
I make a point of not respecting the rules. Break them all for all I care. But, as a former teacher, I believe strongly in coherent communication. Just say what you want to say. It could be my adhd, but if sentences get too self-conscious, flowery, fancy, I zone out. I don’t want to decipher weird dreams. To each their own, though.
8. Do you write for your audience or primarily for yourself?
Myself.
9. What themes do you find yourself repeatedly exploring in your writing?
The emotional strength of women. Generally speaking, we’re not physically stronger than men, but we’re strong in other ways.
10. Do you show anyone your work in progress? Do you use beta or ARC readers in your writing/publishing process?
I write in isolation. No one sees what I’ve done until it’s available on Amazon. I own every sentence and every editing mistake. lol
11. What would be essential to preserve if your book(s) were adapted for film/television?
The flat affect of my FMCs faces while they consider murder. I don’t want to see the struggle on their faces. And mostly, they don’t struggle with their decisions anyway.
12. Do you base your characters on real people? If so, who is Kali based on?
Yes. Kali is me. I used that story to tell my own story in a fictional world where I could get revenge against some people. Dixie is me, as well. Nalani is also me.
13. Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people find?
Yeah, lots of things! It amuses me to hide stuff throughout the stories I write. “The book about the rabbits” referred to throughout Cosmos is Watership Down, my first post-apocalyptic read when I was a little kid. I love those post-apocalyptic bunnies. Then June, in Shitshow, was a teacher’s aid before the corpse apocalypse, and she becomes Mike’s second in command. Lol. Prior to the corpse apocalypse, he was “a history teacher from Portland.” Honestly, there are so many things. Almost every single name in all of my stories has a meaning. Ivy is a real place. I chose it for reasons. So much.
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A huge thank you to Jennifer Cyphers for gifting us with her stories and giving us a sneak peek behind the scenes of her creative process. I look forward to seeing the next brilliant masterpiece she creates!
In the meantime, if you want to know more about Jennifer, connect with her, or follow her writing journey, check out her Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/thecosmos_in_herhand/
Stay tuned for next time, when I share some effective marketing tips for authors in a mini blog series I’m starting, Marketing for Indie Authors: How to Gain Visibility and Sales! In the meantime, don’t forget to keep reading!
💋 Lanie Mores
Brilliant Q&A! I enjoyed learning more about Jennifer and her work!👏🥰
Thank you, Vashti! ❤