Jenni Fletcher has written more than 25 books despite initially being rejected by Mills & Boon
A successful Hull novelist driven to keep writing despite once being turned down by Mills & Boon is looking forward to the release of her latest book, a “Regency romance”, in time for Christmas. Mum-of-two Jenni Fletcher said she “always wanted to write” and, undeterred by the rejection of a fledgling idea by the UK’s number-one romance publisher, she is now 26 books in and counting.
Jenni is originally from Fraserburgh in Scotland but “moved around a lot” as a child with her father’s fishing industry job and came to Hull when he worked for fish curers Cawoods. “I always wanted to write, it’s the only career I ever wanted,” she said.
“Nothing else ever felt right to me. I studied English because I loved reading.”
Jenni is all about “heartwarming historical and fun Formula 1 love stories”, engaging adult audiences with the former and a newer, younger adult fan base with the latter. She is also a creative writing tutor at Lincoln Bishop University, formerly Bishop Grosseteste University.
“I’ve won two UK Romantic Novelists’ Association Awards,” said six-times-nominated Jenni. The second time of picking up the Shorter Romantic Novel Award, in 2024 – four years after the first – presented an opportunity to meet Strictly Come Dancing ’s Anton du Beke.
In the same year she visited Bath to immerse herself in a host of events centred around one of her favourite authors. “I’m a huge Jane Austen and period drama fan so I attended the festival in Bath last year. It was so fun to dress up Bridgerton-style.”
Jenni’s latest romance, A Marquess to Remember, comes out on December 18. She sums it up on her social media accounts with the words “Amnesia”, “Enemies to Lovers” and “Grumpy/Sunshine”.
Jenni said: “I’ve always loved romance fiction and I’m so glad it’s finally getting the credit it deserves. It’s all about hope, positivity and empowerment, which are all things to be celebrated, not mocked.
“I’m also lucky to have a supportive family, because it’s really not easy living with a writer. My mum still reads all my books first (and gives her honest opinion) and everyone else knows to bring tea and chocolate as frequently as possible.”
Mum to a daughter, 13, and a son, soon to be 16, Jenni said she first dipped a toe in romance writing with Mills & Boon. “You can write a synopsis and they will tell you if it has any promise – and my first one didn’t.
“I had a couple more tries and eventually they said, ‘send us in the whole thing’. That was amazing.
“My husband, Andy, was diagnosed with cancer at the same time, Hodgkin’s lymphoma – he has recovered now, thankfully – and my book was written all the while he was getting the treatment; he was the one who told me to keep going.”
Jenni has another of her motor racing inspired romances coming out next March, called Off Grid and Off Limits. It means she can indulge another love, F1.
In conversation with her editor, Jenni was invited to pitch an idea and out came the suggestion for a love story with the world of professional motor racing as a backdrop. It resulted in Lights Out and then “addictively steamy” Falling Fast, published by Penguin.
Jenni said: “It’s been great because my husband loves F1 – there is only so much Regency romance he can take – and I went to Silverstone for the first time this summer; I’m a Williams supporter.
“I’ve always been interested in F1. My husband is into the technical side of it and I love all the politics around it.”
Jenni, who chose Fletcher as her pen-name because of Murder She Wrote – “I watched it a lot as a student” – used to do a lot of her writing in the early hours, when her children were small. “I’d get up at about 4.30am and write for a couple of hours; I don’t think I could do that now.”
There are not the same distractions for Jenni now, at least not from her children, but she might have Meg, the family’s “extremely hairy” Shetland sheepdog, demanding a walk. The family live west of Hull and Jenni attends a book club that meets at the Hop Pole pub, in Willerby.
“It’s great. I’ve been going about three or four years and it makes me read different genres.”
She does not have time for much else – “writing just takes over” – but when there is chance Jenni enjoys mountain biking or a spot of hiking, she said.
“I do love teaching,” she said. “My students have done really great.
“There are a lot of changes coming with AI in the arts, though. For me, that’s like, why would you want something that’s not created by humans?”
You can find out more about Jenni and her books on Facebook and Instagram.