✨ Getting to Know the Author

1. Let’s start at the beginning. Who is Penelope Guinn in your own words?

I’m a writer, wife, and mother. I’m a singer who tired of traveling and being away from my family on evenings and weekends. I’m a reader, a romantic, and a music-lover. I recently discovered that I’m neurodivergent, which has significantly increased my understanding of my brain and the way I approach my writing but relationships and interests as well. My feet are currently cold, because I forgot my slippers upstairs.

 

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📖 About the Book

2. A Fine Line is described as a love letter to small towns and community. What inspired this story? 

I’d written a fanfic years ago about two rival campaigns in a presidential election. I say years ago, because while the state of politics wasn’t great, it was more optimistic than now. It also existed in a fanfic world where it was expected for the main characters to start out in opposition to each other. I wondered if I could take that idea and turn it into a contemporary romance. But the more I looked at it, the more I realized that I did not want to write about a presidential election (or about two people with different belief-systems), and I really wanted to explore two people who held the same beliefs but were in opposition for various reasons—Calliope, because her beliefs would never let her work for someone wishy-washy. And Emerson, because his faith in his work is crumbling, so it's easier for him, in a moment of desperation, to work for someone blowing in the wind. I thought a lot about Parks and Rec and there’s an episode of The West Wing where a few campaign members get abandoned by accident in a small town. At the core of both that episode and Parks and Recreation is this idea that local politics and policies matter. In West Wing, the character of Toby is humbled by a conversation with a man at a bar that is celebrating his son’s graduation from high school, but is embarrassed and terrified that he’s going to have to sell his house to pay for what remains of his son’s college tuition. In Parks and Recreation, Leslie Knope and the Parks department are consistently at odds with the business leaders and outspoken members of the community, but they’re constantly trying to make their town better. It emphasizes that we can be devastated by national politics, but your local and state government still need your voice to create policies that benefit its people. And maybe that involvement will help shape the national stage as well. 

I’m also an absolute goner for two people bantering their way into love and finding these little revelations about each other along the way.

3. Your background as a classically trained opera singer is unique. How does your musical experience influence your writing?

I often think of chapters, and the book as a whole, in terms of musical beats and arcs. My writing style has certainly evolved the longer I’ve written, but when I read it aloud, I’m always searching for the musical quality to how it's read–if that makes sense. Sometimes a phrase is a little longer because I’m considering how it sounds read aloud. When a singer releases a note, there’s often a breath (whether quick or long), where you’re gathering up energy to go again, and I think that’s been a great guide in helping those moments between characters breathe as well. 

I once had an acting teacher that was very invested in making sure the characters weren’t within touching distance on stage until the very last moment, and I think that’s true for romance as well–even if they’re plenty physical from the beginning, like in A Fine Line. There has to be distance somewhere, whether physical or emotional, for tension to exist.

It will come as no shock to anyone who reads my work that when directors asked me and the other singers to write background histories on our characters, I never had a problem coming up with the character’s history. Opera is full of that—creating your own depth to the character. You have works that are hundreds of years old, familiar works that many people know by heart, and you have to come up with something that resonates with you, so that you can perform it and make an audience believe you’re a devious star queen intent on forcing your daughter to assassinate your political rival or a young woman haunted by the separation from your lover, etc. Some people describe opera stories and romance the same: frivolous and silly. But if you give these characters life and breathe real issues and hurts into them, then it can actually reach people in a new and profound way.

I once performed the character of Magda from Puccini’s La rondine—this big sweeping love story with all these gorgeous high notes and big emotions. But the character of Magda, a courteson, chooses to leave her lover in the end, because unlike him, she’s a woman with no money and position and has real fear that if he abandons her, she will starve. So she chooses survival, and it’s so heartbreaking and just as her lover is begging her to say and right before she says goodbye, I once heard an audience member say out loud in the silence before my high note (and farewell): No. Don’t. Don’t go.

It was one of my favorite moments as a singer, when you feel like you’ve created a space for the audience to invest so heavily in you as these characters that they are physically begging your character not to leave. That’s the feeling I want to carry over from my singing to my writing. I want readers kicking their feet, heart pounding, blushing, and weeping right along with these characters. The difference is that I serve up happy endings, whereas most of the roles I performed did NOT get them.

4. Romance is central to your work. How do you approach creating emotional arcs that feel authentic and heartfelt?

I like messy characters, and I try to honor their mess as much as possible. I’m okay if characters make decisions I disagree with or find irritating–I love it when they do. It’s fun as a writer to try and walk them through that, and it also endears me to them more. I feel sometimes, especially when it comes to female characters, there’s a real aversion in reader spaces to characters being “unlikeable” or irritating. But I think if every character, even the ones we love, don’t irritate us to some degree, then we’re not developing them enough. Calliope is very noble and has good intentions. If she was just that, I would find her boring. So I wanna balance that out and give her somewhere to grow. She’s incredibly driven, but she’s making it up as she goes. I also hint that she’s undiagnosed neurodivergent, so she has a pretty huge case of justice sensitivity that she wears on her sleeve. For me, it’s delicious to see bits of her idea of perfection unravel for her. 

5. The story explores themes of hope and connection. How did you balance tension, romance, and community dynamics?

I think there are a couple of things that I use that offer a quick way to tension–one is the timeline in which it is set. It gives us a countdown of sorts. It makes it clear where we’re headed, which is the mayoral election. It’s also a countdown in terms of the development of the relationship. 

I love the question about balancing the community dynamics, because I’ve had moments where I wondered if I’ve given the reader enough of the community and enough to make it feel as if it’s strongly connected to Calliope and Emerson’s story. But I’m reminded that this is only a piece. This is Calliope and Emerson’s story, so where those dynamics come into play are where it matters for them. So much of that is seeded in their interiority and dialogue. A favorite scene early on is one in which Emerson has demonstrated to Calliope that he’s learned a good bit about the town since his arrival, and not only does it heighten their interaction (she no longer feels like she has the upper hand, their biting tension burns even more), but it’s also a moment to seed in information about the town. I don’t always think of it that way when I’m writing it, but when I go back and edit and am making a case for that scene to stay in the story, that’s often what I’m looking for.

6. Your experience with fandom writing on AO3 has built a devoted following. How did your time in fandom influence your approach to storytelling and character development?

I think fanfiction and fandom is such a wonderful place for a writer to explore and experiment. I’ve written contemporary, paranormal, omegaverse, historical, dark romance all in that space. I’ve written short stories and 150K word multichapters. It’s a place that offers a hivemind mentality of creativity, very quick feedback, and other people that are there doing the same thing for the love of these characters. Even when you’re playing with an existing IP, you’re playing around with very common archetypes in storytelling, so when you approach it that way, you still have an opportunity to give these characters motivation and more development than the original property ever could. 

You do have to learn how to more effectively develop original characters from the ground up, but writing fanfic gives you a sense of what’s possible, writing the same characters over and over in different universes.

 

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⚡ Characters & Worldbuilding

7. Who was the most fun or challenging character to write in A Fine Line, and why? I’m going to pick a fun side character and say, Nate. I just love his biting retorts. I would want to be his friend outside the story that he complains to in text messages about his annoying day at his internship.

8. How do you craft characters that feel real while still fitting into a romantic, small-town setting?

I think in terms of always allowing things to be grounded in some reality. Sure, there are parts of the small town in A Fine Line that are sweet or cute, but there are also the sad and unfortunate parts: a town that’s never had a Black OR female mayor in its history, abandoned and unkempt buildings, greedy business owners dead set on maintaining the status quo, townspeople in opposition to the historic college. 

It’s something that may not stand out to anyone else, but at one point the characters meet by an abandoned car wash from the eighties and it’s something that I was determined to put in, even if it was a mention in passing. I’ve read these small town stories that were lovely and cheerful but never felt like the small towns that I remembered growing up. I always seemed to land on reading the ones that were Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls with the quirky cast of characters and never mention the abandoned buildings that likely existed in parts of town where business boomed at one time and then failed. It was also important that while this is Calliope’s hometown that she has something to learn about it as well, which is why she ventures out on the campaign into some of the more rural parts.

9. Were there any plot twists or moments in the story that surprised you during the writing process? 

Yes, and without giving away spoilers, I’ll just say that trusting your gut is very important.

 

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🖋️ The Writing Process

10. You’ve navigated both indie publishing and querying. How has this shaped your approach to your work and your career?

I think querying gave me the relief of knowing I’d accomplished something big and the strength to take it to indie publishing. In fact, the story that I’m planning to query next will either land in trad publishing or indie—that’s how much I believe in it and want to write the series. For me, there is no option to shelve. And when I considered how I felt about it, I wondered why I would bother shelving A Fine Line, a story that I believe in and love.

Now, instead of feeling like every new story will incur this waiting period before I feel like the rest of my writing career can begin, I’m thinking in terms of my schedule (fantastic, that didn’t query well? Welp, let’s get it ready to bring to indie readers who will love it! Let’s balance that with the second release. Let’s write the next thing.) It feels boundless and exciting instead of like I’m waiting for permission to belong.

I have a lot of friends in trad publishing and the two things that come up often are that publishing is not a meritocracy and so much of it is subjective. At a certain point, you really wonder if this is passed around to soften the blow of rejection, but it’s just the reality. It’s a needle in the haystack of finding that one agent, that one editor, that will love your work. Heck, they can love your work and not see the market primed for it. So, yes, maybe it makes the rejection easier, but it’s also important to remind yourself that it’s not the death of creativity or your writing. 

11. How do you balance inspiration, research, and worldbuilding when writing romance set in a real-world environment?

I am someone that can go miles on a tiny seed of an idea, but if it requires a lot of research, I don’t go blazing ahead into drafting until I feel grounded in the space. For A Fine Line, I’m very familiar with small southern towns, so my biggest challenges were making sure I represented local politics well—and then stretching that for story purposes where necessary. For example, many small towns that have mayoral elections also have a city manager who handles the bulk of the financial running of the city. The mayor has a great deal of influence, but they’re a figurehead. 

General writing wisdom says not to stop to research while drafting, but if it’s small enough, I do it in the moment, because it can shape the way I phrase something or expand on the interiority.

12. What’s your favorite part of the writing process, and what part challenges you the most? 

Drafting is always my favorite part, although now that I finally trust how editing shapes it, I’m falling in love with editing more. But initially, editing felt overwhelming. Honestly, it still does when I first start, but I’ve learned to do a reverse outline and try to just take it one step at a time and it’s easier.

 

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⚡ Rapid Fire (Quick Vibes)

13. Coffee, tea, or something else fueling your writing? Decaf, non-dairy chai latte on coffee shop days and water every day–I’m bad about staying hydrated, but I’m better about it if I write with some by my side

14. Writing in silence, with music, or ambient noise? SILENCE is my favorite and where I get the most work done, but I do use music a lot in the car to work through dialogue and create the atmosphere I’m looking for

15. One word you hope readers use to describe A Fine Line. Hopeful.

16. Character-driven or plot-driven story for you? character-driven!  

 

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🚀 Looking Ahead

17. A Fine Line is your debut novel. How does this book set the tone for your future projects? I think–whether it’s paranormal, contemporary, or anything else romance-related, readers can expect witty banter, complex characterizations, and emotional spice that helps drive the story

18. Are there any sequels, spin-offs, or related projects you can hint at? No, sequels/related to A Fine Line, but I’m in the editing stages for my next indie contemporary romance. I’ll start querying a paranormal romance in the next few months. It’s a series of standalone, interconnected stories.

19. What excites you most about sharing this story with readers for the first time?

I hope people fall in love with Emerson and Calliope and feel hopeful about the political climate—even for a little while. Things are scary and upsetting, but we need joy and hope in order to stay united and keep resisting.

 

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🖤 Just for Fun

20. If one of your characters could step out of the book for a day, who would it be and what would they do? Nate the intern would definitely be on a campaign to make sure everyone in his life watched Heated Rivalry and probably criticize me for not wearing at least a little concealer in my TikTok posts, lol

21. If A Fine Line were adapted, would you want it as a movie or a series—and why? A series, but I think a movie could work with the right structure. It’s just difficult to adapt books into movies without losing some of the spark. You always leave something behind on the cutting room floor. It’s not an easy task.

22. What’s one fun or unexpected fact about your writing process or the world of A Fine Line?

I say this often to readers who ask, but if I’m feeling stuck or like I don’t have the bandwidth to write, I go take a walk, do a task while listening to music, read, watch something, or just GET REST. For me, writer’s block is an empty well issue. I go and recharge and when I start to daydream about my characters again or start spouting off with new story ideas, it’s time to dive back in.

23. When readers finish A Fine Line, what feeling or takeaway do you hope stays with them the longest?

I feel like I keep repeating this, but HOPE. 

It’s a quote from the book:

“Hope, as an idea, is wonderful.

Hope, in practice, is terrifying.”

It’s difficult to hope when the alternative is scary or disappointment looms. There are levels of that for everyone in this story and something that I think can resonate with many of us. It’s an act of resistance and bravery to hope in times that are difficult.