Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Salina.
Hi Jessica, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I knew I wanted to be an author ever since I was a little kid, which is also when my love of superheroes started (shoutout to Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man for kicking that off). It inspired me to pursue my degree in journalism, though I work in marketing now instead of in news for my day job.
After a series of traumatic events in college, I was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), though my diagnosis was recently updated to complex PTSD (CPTSD). Seeking treatment and therapy helped, but one of the biggest things I struggled with was the avoidance aspect – where you completely avoid anything and everything that could potentially be a trigger.
So, I took my experiences and my love of superheroes (specifically, the street-level ones like Spider-Man, Batman, and especially Daredevil) to craft a safe environment for exploring. I also feel like, in the movies especially (not in the comics – we’re getting some great fresh perspectives in that space) that superhero stories are starting to feel formulaic, so I wanted to flip the script: what if there was a superhero story where the hero wasn’t the main character taking the reins, but his love interest was? Or his sidekick?
That was how the Riverpeak Heroes series was born. Rory, the protagonist of the first book NOT MY TIME, goes through a similar experience that I did (stalking) but is rescued by the local vigilante superhero and decides she wants to help him. Readers have described her as the “real” hero of the series, as she works through her PTSD throughout the events of the book (which, I promise, isn’t doom and gloom – there’s a lot of fun action and sweet romantic moments, as it is a romance first and foremost).
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
While the series started with an independent publisher, I’ve since parted ways with them. Now, the first two novels are available through me directly.
The third and fourth novels in the series will be available soon, as they’re both already complete, but I’m sourcing some new cover designers first as I also work on some new projects and seek out literary agents for my future books.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As a writer of romance novels, I love seeing how the tension can play out before the inevitable happily ever after. This is especially fun with superhero romance in particular since there’s room for a lot of action and fight scenes.
In my stories, I use my own life experiences to shape some of the characters, and with this representation, I hope that others can feel seen. I’ve had others with PTSD reach out to me to say how much they resonated with Rory, or how real Hannah’s problems at home felt in To Be Normal.
After I was stalked in college, I didn’t have a super strong support group. A therapist told me that when experiencing something traumatic, lacking proper support can increase your chance of developing PTSD.
So with my stories, ultimately I just want people to feel seen and feel like they’re not alone and like, no matter what happens, there’s hope for a happily ever after on the horizon.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
You can get signed copies of NOT MY TIME or TO BE NORMAL on jessicasalina.com/shop.
Pricing:
- Paperbacks: $22.99
- Hardcover: $34.99
Contact Info:
- Website: jessicasalina.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/authorjessicasalina
- Facebook: facebook.com/authorjessicasalina
- Twitter: twitter.com/jess_salina
- Other: tiktok.com/@authorjessicasalina
