PHOTO: Jessica Therrien, best-selling author and co-founder of Acorn Publishing, photographed in a moment of quiet reflection, embodying her multidimensional storytelling spirit.
From Best-Selling YA Fantasy To Founding A Hybrid Press
Jessica Therrien reflects on her evolution from traditionally published fantasy author to hybrid publishing advocate, discussing her personal storytelling, creative flexibility, and the inspiration behind her genre-spanning books.
Jessica Therrien writes with the kind of quiet authority that only comes from having lived many lives—some in reality, others in fiction, and still others somewhere in between. Her stories, whether rooted in mythic fantasy or the tender, aching truth of memory, pulse with emotional honesty and fearless imagination. In her acclaimed Children of the Gods trilogy, she reimagines ancient powers through a lens of realism and wonder, crafting a world that feels as plausible as it is profound.
Her literary reach is as expansive as it is personal. With Carry Me Home, Therrien turns inward, fictionalising her own story in a gripping exploration of survival and identity. Later, in The Loneliest Whale, she shifts once again—this time toward the innocent gaze of childhood, a natural progression during her early days of motherhood. Her work refuses to be boxed in by genre; it is guided instead by instinct, by where the characters choose to lead her.
Yet Therrien’s impact reaches beyond the page. As co-founder of Acorn Publishing, she has helped shape a new path for writers—one that champions creative control, transparency, and community. Her journey from traditionally published author to entrepreneur is one of resilience, risk, and reinvention.
At the heart of it all is a quiet kind of strength—the same strength her protagonists often possess. Therrien doesn’t write heroes. She becomes them.
What inspired you to write the Children of the Gods series, and did you always envision it as a trilogy?
I’d always been haunted by the idea that if supernatural abilities ever existed in ancient times, those humans would have been undoubtedly mistaken for gods. I’m a sucker for realistic fantasy like Harry Potter where it’s just believable enough to feel true. The three books came very naturally, and the end seemed fitting. I never felt the need to expand the story beyond that.
Carry Me Home deals with gritty real-life issues—what drew you to explore that kind of story after writing fantasy?
Carry Me Home is actually my fictionalized memoir. I did take some liberties with certain elements of the story after deciding to market it as fiction, so I tell people it’s about 80% true. It was a very therapeutic book to write and remains one of my favorite things I’ve ever written.
What was the biggest challenge you faced when transitioning from traditional publishing to co-founding Acorn Publishing?
The biggest challenge was probably summoning the courage to get my rights back from my publisher and venture out on my own. It was a risk, but it paid off in ways I never would have imagined. My books have had just as much (if not more) success after republishing them through Acorn. The company grew very organically because my co-founder, Holly Kammier, and I wanted to provide a publishing experience that was author-focused and author-driven, something that would combine the benefits of self-publishing and the benefits of traditional to give the author the best of both worlds. Not only were we filling that need for ourselves as authors, but so many other talented writers looking to get their work published.
With The Loneliest Whale, you’ve written for a much younger audience—how different was your creative process for a children’s picture book?
My writing honestly reflects the period of life I’m in. I wrote The Loneliest Whale when I was a new mother and children’s books were my everyday. It came out very naturally, and because my illustrator was a childhood friend of mine, it was so much fun to create that book.
Your books often feature strong female leads—how important is that to you when developing your characters?
To be honest, I wasn’t ever intentionally trying to create strong female leads. One of the wonderful things about writing is you can be anyone. I write in first person, so a lot of the time I feel like I am the main character while I’m writing, and I guess I’m writing them in a way I’d like to be.
How do you balance writing across multiple genres—YA fantasy, contemporary, thriller, and children’s fiction?
The way I view writing it’s ultimately about the story and less about the genre. The genre is sort of an afterthought. The characters take me where they want. They’re usually in charge.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors navigating the choice between traditional, hybrid, and self-publishing routes?
Our first advice for any author who dreams of being published is to always try for the Big 5 first. If you’re the one in a million who gets that lucky break, how amazing would that be? Plus, you never want to look back and think “what if?” After you’ve tried your best, it truly depends on how much work you want to put into publishing. Do you want to hand the book over to professionals and feel supported and guided throughout the process, or do you think you’d enjoy handling all the details on your own (formatting, cover design, marketing plans, etc.)? It truly depends on the person. But it makes me happy that there is a middle-ground option for people. It’s not just Big 5 success or “you’re on your own, good luck”. We’ve made a lot of authors’ dreams come true.
