About J.B.

AUTHOR BIO

J.B. Vample is an author who fell in love with the written word at a young age. While in her final year of high school, she came up with the concept of her new adult fiction series The College Life Series. After years of writing only for herself, J.B. published her debut novel College Life 101: Freshman Orientation in 2015. Since then, she has written and published the other eight installments of TCLS. Her latest contemporary romance standalone Right as Reign is her tenth novel. Currently residing in Philadelphia, J.B. continues to write while managing her career as an indie author.

fun facts

1) J.B. Vample is an Aquarius.

2) She attended college at University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

3) She enjoys her alone time and feels that having it is necessary for her creativity.

4) She's afraid of heights but admits that she wants to go sky diving one day.

5) She is the oldest of seven children.

6) She is an avid reader.

7) She currently has seven tattoos.

8) She wrote her first complete short story while in the 7th grade.

9) She was once a pretty good artist. Unfortunately, she stopped practicing after being denied acceptance into an art high school.

q&a

Q: What made you write Right as Reign?

A: Let me start by saying that I didn't think that I would or could write a new story so soon after finishing The College Life Series. But in 2020, which was one of the toughest years of my adult life, while I was in the middle of redrafting the last book of my series, this story hit me out of nowhere like a ton of bricks. I was so engrossed in it, that I paused that redraft, and wrote the book in four months...the first draft that is. To say that I love, and am proud of this novel is an understatement.

Q: Right as Reign is categorized as contemporary romance, and The College Life Series is new adult fiction. Why did you decide to switch genres?

A: Honestly, I never planned on sticking to one particular genre. I just write the story that hits me, no matter what, and I actually like the idea of being a multi-genre author. As a matter of fact, I feel that Right as Reign is a combination of romance and women's contemporary, but that could just be me overthinking as usual.

Q: What made you create The College Life Series?

A: I was seventeen years old when this concept came to me. I was sitting at my grandmothers computer and as usual, I started day dreaming. (I have an overactive imagination and tend to live in my head a lot.) I was months away from graduating high school and was set to start college soon after, and I started thinking about what my college life would be like. From there, I created character names, added a description to each one and just started typing. The rest is history.

Q: Are you traditionally published or self-published? What made you go with your decision?
A:I am self-published. I decided to self-publish because the type of series that I am writing isn’t really something that many traditional publishers or even agents are looking for. Or, I should say, it’s not really well-know. As an African-American author, the biggest genre is urban or street-lit fiction and that is not the genre that I am writing in. Because I am so into my series and my characters, and didn’t want to toss the story aside to write something that was considered "popular", I decided to self-publish. I know that I have a great story concept and I wanted to get the books out any way possible.

Q: What are your hopes for readers?

A: I just hope that they enjoy reading the books. That's what any writer hopes for, you know? That readers love my stories as much as I do.

Q: What is your biggest regret?
A: That I didn't start following my dream sooner. I let fear and doubt stop me from seriously pursuing my writing for years. It wasn't until I hit thirty-four that I told myself to cut that mess out. Who knows where I would be now if I would have done this sooner. Then again, who knows if I would have been this passionate about following my dreams at a younger age. So I guess my delay happened for a reason.