We are delighted to have author Laura Jensen Walker visit us on Chicks today . . . please join us in giving her a warm welcome!
Confessions of a Genre Butterfly
Thanks for having me. It’s always fun to be back with the Chicks!
Recently, a writer friend called me a “genre butterfly because I flit from one genre to the next. That flitting has resulted in four books coming out in 2026. Yes, four—a first for me—and all in different genres. Another first.
My latest cozy mystery, The Alphabet Sleuths, released in February. My WWII historical, The Postmistress of Puddlington which I wrote in 2020 during lockdown when I longed to escape to England and which my publisher calls “a must-read for fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society,” (words that made me weep since Guernsey is one of my favorite books) came out in early August.
The Pilgrimage of Primrose Honeychurch (Oct. 2026) my book club fiction debut is now available for preorder. I wrote Primrose after discovering in my mid-sixties that I’m neurodivergent. Suddenly, everything made sense. And thus, my solitary seventy-year-old odd-duck curmudgeon with sensory issues was born.
My final book of 2026 is Comfort for Those Who Grieve (Nov. 2026) a non-fiction gift book I wrote after losing several people I love in a short period of time.
Here’s the thing: I’m a planner at heart, but I did not plan my writing career. I never set out to write humorous non-fiction (my first books published a few decades ago) they just came out organically. I didn’t plan to write chick-lit either and although I love reading mysteries, I never planned to write one. Mysteries are all about plot and I am not a plotter.
I also never set out to write historical fiction—the research required seemed daunting. Turns out I love research. I certainly did not plan to write “women’s fiction” (now called Book Club fiction.) That was the province of authors like Kristin Hannah, Elizabeth Berg, and Jodi Picoult. But when the muse speaks, I listen. And the muse spoke loudly to me about Primrose who grabbed hold of me with both hands and wouldn’t let me go.
Do you flit from one genre to the next in your reading/writing? What’s your preferred genre to read? Answer for a chance to win an ARC of The Pilgrimage of Primrose Honeychurch.
BIO:
Genre butterfly Laura Jensen Walker is the award-winning author of 25-plus books, including the Agatha-nominated Murder Most Sweet, the Lefty-nominated Death of a Flying Nightingale, and The Pilgrimage of Primrose Honeychurch (out Oct. 2024.)
Laura lives in Northern California where she drinks tea and dreams of England.
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