When I think about Stacey Agdern, my mind immediately jumps to the time I spotted one of her Hannukah romances in a big box store. I was overjoyed to see Jewish romance, from an independent press, getting the attention it deserved. Stacey actually writes all manner of romance, including sports romance, and her social media feeds are some of the most positive things that come across my cellphone. I’m excited for BookishlyJewish readers to get to know her more!
BookishlyJewish: Can you talk about how you ended up with your publisher? I understand that in romance publishing some presses take unagented and agented submissions. What was that process like?
Stacey Agdern: I was a bookseller when Jane Porter founded Tule and had been watching them for a long time. I’d seen some things they’d done with some of their previous titles and wanted that experience for myself, so when I had MIRACLES ready to query, they were one of the places I sent it to.
I got the offer before I got my agent (fun fact : I had no idea what was happening and had to ask a friend who told me what was happening and what to do), and I was so glad when Lynnette Novak came on board. (fun fact this whole process is something nobody talks about; the best advice I can give about this time period before I write the essay I’ve been meaning to, is that an offer does NOT expire.)
The rest, as they say, is history.
BookishlyJewish: Many readers are surprised to learn about how complex categorizing romance based on heat levels can be (or even that such a classification exists!). You’ve written across that spectrum. Do you prefer high heat, low heat or something in the middle?
Stacey Agdern: For me, the heat level fits the story. Always. Low heat fits some stories, high heat fits others. Does it make sense for the characters? Where is their mindset? What are they thinking?
As a reader, I read everything. And I do have autobuy authors on all ends of the heat spectrum. Megan Hart and Alys Murray are both must reads for me 🙂
BookishlyJewish: Have there been any surprises so far in your author career? Any favorite moments?
Stacey Agdern: I will never get over the soofganiyot latte recipe that the Manhasset Barnes and Noble cafe made for MIRACLES AND MENORAHS, the first time I stepped into Love’s Sweet Arrow in Chicago, the first time my local bookstore had my books on the shelves. The first time someone told me they loved one of my books. And NGL, being voted as ‘Fan Favorite Jewish Book’ by Hey Alma readers was a big one for me. I’m still in awe of that.
BookishlyJewish: Any advice for writers just starting out?
Stacey Agdern: 1.Don’t give up – sounds ridiculously cliché but at the same time, it took me quite a number of years to get my confidence and my writing skills together enough to get involved in anthologies, and even more time to finally get my first solo book published.
Which brings me to…
Find your story. More specifically, every story you write brings you closer to the kind of story you want to tell. You refine, you learn, not only what you’re good at doing, but also the stories that make you excited. Because the desire to tell your stories will be what gets you through the days you can’t write, the days you don’t want to write.
You don’t have to write every day, but, you will need to learn how to meet deadlines. Deadlines are important whether you are going to seek traditional publishing or whether you want to self publish. It doesn’t matter whether that deadline is with your publisher, the editor you’ve hired who’s made space for you on their calendar or your readers. They are important and very necessary.
BookishlyJewish: What draws you to romance as a genre?
Stacey Agdern: The way writers can turn chemistry into words; how people manage to tell the story of the relationship between two fictional characters in a way that makes the reader fall in love with the story and those characters. It’s magic.
But that magic allows writers to explore the widest territory of any genre I’ve read before or since. A story can be set anywhere and do anything as long as we have that central couple at the center.
BookishlyJewish: What do you hope readers take away from your work?
Stacey Agdern: Jewish joy. One of the things I love about what I write is how much fun it is to be part of an ever growing community who write us into parts of the genre we haven’t been able to find ourselves in. For example, Last Girls Standing is actually a series inspired by the first actual Jewish wedding I saw in a romance novel. And the thoughts I had about what I, a Jewish writer, could write in a Jewish romance novel about a Jewish wedding.
Yep 😀 You read it right. The next few books of this series are going to be centered around a wedding.
BookishlyJewish: When LOVE AND LATKES was blowing up on my socials (and I even saw it in a big box store!) I was surprised to learn it was actually the third in a series of linked books. Can you talk a little about how each book released in a series affects the prior and whether you saw a sales bump across all three?
Stacey Agdern: I think it depends. MIRACLES and LOVE AND LATKES, and probably from this year on BURNING BRIGHT, will always see a sales jump around Hanukkah time. HISTORY OF US is tied a bit with B’NAI MITZVAH MISTAKE so there was a bit of a jump when that came out. And then the next book is tied to a few. So we’ll see what happens. Every series is different.
BookishlyJewish: In my head you are the Queen of Hanukkah, but I wonder if you have plans to expand to other Jewish holidays? I’d love to read it if you did!
Stacey Agdern: *blush* In my experience, writing about a holiday is a full book experience, but I definitely want to write a Passover story as well as a Purim one. I’ve written a Sukkot short which I want to re-release somehow. I can also see Shavuot as being a fun one to write about.
BookishlyJewish: Is there anything I didn’t ask that you think I should?
Stacey Agdern: So. My current project is a short that takes place between B’NAI MITZVAH MISTAKE and book 2. There is a five year time jump between these two books, and the catalyst that starts the next three books is the focus of the short.
Book two comes out in March of 2024 and is Leah’s. I just turned in an early draft of book three to my agent and the plan is for it to release in Hanukkah of 2024. I will say that the main male character of book two is someone new, and book three’s male main character is a returning character from the friendships and festivals series.
BookishlyJewish: I always end by asking if you have a favorite Jewish book.
Stacey Agdern: The one that made me a Jewish author is the All of a Kind Family series by Sidney Taylor. The one that made me realize that I could write hockey romance is Chasing Stanley by Deidre Martin.
And the honorable mention by a Non Jewish author that contained the first Jewish wedding I read in a romance novel? Stripped by Zoraida Cordova under her Zoey Castile penname.
Stacey’s Bio: Stacey Agdern is an award-winning former bookseller who has reviewed romance novels in multiple formats and given talks about various aspects of the romance genre. She incorporates Jewish characters and traditions into her stories so that people who grew up like she did can see themselves take center stage on the page. She lives in New York, not far from her favorite hockey team’s practice facility. Check out her latest book The B’Nai Mitzvah Mistake
Find It:
Miracles and Menorahs: Goodreads | Bookshop | Amazon
History of Us: Goodreads | Bookshop | Amazon
Love and Latkes: Goodreads | Bookshop | Amazon | BookishlyJewish Review