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The Worst Book Idea I've Ever Had
There ARE such things as bad ideas.
Jordyn Taylor
March 11, 2026
#AMA
“What is the WORST story idea that you’ve had?”
On social media, I recently invited you to ask me anything so that I could answer your questions in my newsletter—and here we are! This question made me smile, and I’m not embarrassed to answer it.
I’m not going to tell you there’s no such thing as a bad idea. When I was in high school, I came up with an idea for a series of romance novels about girls who fell in love with sweet, smart, handsome, all-around flawless boys. (The series was literally called something like “The Stories of Perfect Boys”—creative!) I tried actually writing these stories, but I never succeeded. It turns out, when your love interests have zero flaws, your stories have zero tension and fall flat.
Bad ideas exist. ”The Stories of Perfect Boys” was definitely one of them. But there’s no such thing as a useless idea. Every bad idea teaches me how to come up with something better, the same way every rejection makes me stronger, and every crappy first draft is a step on the way to a finished manuscript.
Because of that awful idea, I’ve learned not to write about perfect boys. Instead, I write about moody carpenters with relationship trust issues.
Do you like this Q&A feature in my newsletter? Submit a question at the contact form below, and I’ll answer it in a future email!
Speaking of moody carpenters…
SEE YOU AT THE SUMMIT has been out for over a month!
Thank you so much to everyone who’s already bought or borrowed a copy of SYATS, my spicy queer rom-com about a woman who comes out as bi, only to reluctantly fall for a straight guy. (Bonus points and my eternal gratitude if you’ve also rated and reviewed it on Amazon and Goodreads!) Here are some highlights from a very memorable launch week:
A sold-out event at Books and Books in Miami, FL!
SEE YOU AT THE SUMMIT appearing in People!
A harrowing journey on a very tiny plane after Amtrak cancelled my train to the Adirondacks!
A perfect launch event at The Bookstore Plus in in Lake Placid, NY, which made the aforementioned harrowing plane journey SO WORTH IT!!!
Signing books at The Ripped Bodice in Brooklyn, NY!
Come say hi
I’ll be in Toronto on March 18!
My romance novel set in Toronto OBVIOUSLY needed a Toronto launch event. On March 18th, I’ll be speaking on a Toronto Public Library panel with my fellow Canadian romance authors Sonya Singh and Ellie K. Wilde, and I’d love to see you there! We’ll be talking with host Mirian Njoh about our recent novels, answering audience questions, and signing books.
Where: North York Central Library (5120 Yonge St.)
Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2026
Time: 7-8pm. Doors open at 6pm.
Currently reading
DEEP END by Ali Hazelwood
Holy hell. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 If you’re looking for a book that’ll put you in a full sweat…this kinky romance about Dom/sub power dynamics is IT. If you’re into audiobooks, I highly recommend this one, narrated by Thérèse Plummer and Ben Holtzmuller. | A competitive diver and an ace swimmer jump into forbidden waters in this steamy college romance from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis.  |