Paper Roads: Received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Paper Roads: Received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.Following find an interview with author Jem Spears:
1. What is the name of the book and when was it published? Paper Roads, book three of the International Love and Misadventure series, was published March 11, 2026.
2. What’s the book’s first line? “I saw Luke from the road, several houses the color of winter grass between us and the salt from the sea peppering all my senses, but his sandy hair was unmistakable even under cloud cover, and a year apart wasn’t enough time to bury the memory of his smile deep enough to forget.”
3. What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”. In the two years since their break-up, Luke and Rin haven’t made any progress: not in their careers, not in their family or social lives, and certainly not in the romance department. When their well-meaning friends coordinate a “chance” meeting for them, the former couple dive in and embark on a road trip together. Between the chaotic moments of imminent car destruction, attacks by animals both wild and domesticated, getting lost in the woods, and escaping a possibly murderous eccentric, Luke and Rin explore what they got right together, what they got wrong, and what it will take to fall in love all over again.
4. What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event? Luke and Rin met in book two of the series, A Courtship in Quarantine, as secondary characters, and I knew the third book had to be about the two of them finding their way back to each other. Besides liking them enough to want to know more of their story, I really wanted one of my MCs of this series to be nonbinary.
5. What’s the main reason someone should really read this book? People should read Paper Roads for the queer joy. The struggle for both self-acceptance and acceptance from others is a relatable conflict, and watching these characters navigate that, grow, and come out the other side better adjusted and with a good partner is inspiring and cathartic.
6. What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of? Both Luke and Rin are ride-or-die for the people they love, while being utterly incapable of accepting any help in return. This reminds me of so many people in real life, and it’s a meme now that this is Eldest Daughter behavior, so Luke and Rin are both my fictional Eldest Daughters.
7. When did you first decide to become an author? When I answered this question before, I said I never chose to become an author because I’ve just always been writing something since I learned how to write and had stories to tell. But I’ll get a little more specific here: why did I choose to publish novels for the first time this past year? In 2021, I watched a streaming show that I loved, but I thought it really did the main character dirty, in terms of his queerness, so I wrote novel-length fanfic and posted it online. I got writer’s bingo in the first three days: someone said they stayed up all night to finish reading it, someone else said they cried a bunch, and another person said it was their new favorite fic. So I decided to finally finish my own IP (and the whole time I was writing it, my mom would text me asking for updates on the next installment of my fanfic). I published my novels now because it was now or never, and I couldn’t wait any longer.
8. Is this the first book you’ve written? Paper Roads is the fourth novel I finished writing and the third book in my International Love and Misadventure series.
9. What do you do for work when you’re not writing? When I’m not writing, I’m managing my household and doing author events. But even then, all my activities serve writing somehow. Reading and daydreaming? Also necessary for writing. Grocery shopping? Taxes? Believe it or not, part of writing.
10. How much time do you generally spend on your writing? When I’m drafting a novel, I spend about eight hours a day every day writing, for six to eight weeks. My brain is slow to focus and it takes a half hour for me to get into the drafting headspace, so I do it for the full day for two months to get it done. On non-drafting days, I’ll spend maybe four hours writing, but that could mean anything from outlining to brainstorming or sketching scenes or dialogue or prompts. It’s all practice, and it’s all useful.
11. What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie? I said before that the best part of being an indie author is having control over every detail of our books, and that’s still the best part for me. At this point, the hardest part is having to build your own support system. This is going to make a nice segue into the next question…
12. What’s a great piece of advice that you can share with fellow indie authors? Every person you meet while trying to write and sell your books is now a part of your network. The indie bookstore owner, fellow local indie authors, the delivery driver, the librarians, the person who eventually answers your email at Ingram Spark. Be kind and personable, even if your natural inclination is to hermit yourself in a pretzel shape in front of your computer with three different beverages, noise-cancelling headphones, and cats.
13. Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why? I can’t see myself going trad publishing anytime soon. I’m enjoying the freedom of crafting a book exactly how I want it in every way. It can be difficult sometimes, and I know I’ll have to learn more skills to succeed, but so far it’s been incredibly rewarding.
14. Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?) I love experiencing new stories and finding unexpected connections to them. If someone reads my stories and feels seen, I’ve created a connection for them, and that’s always my goal.
15. Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire? Octavia Butler! I know that was my answer last time. I admire a lot of writers for a lot of different reasons and I could sing their praises for days, but Butler has clinched the number one spot and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. She’s iconic.
16. Which book do you wish you could have written? I’m currently reading The Buffalo Hunter Hunter and it’s so clever and well written. Only Stephen Graham Jones could have written it, though, so I’m not too upset that I can’t call it my own. Hopefully my own novels read like I’m the only one that could have written them, too.