Success Story Interview - Jordan Rose

An Interview with Jordan Rose (Hellomissjordan on QT) upon receiving an offer of representation from agent Nelle Andrew of Rachel Mills Literary.

08/21/2025

QT: Can you tell us a little bit about the book for which you've found representation? What inspired you to write it?

Jordan Rose:
My book, The Library of Stars, is an adult magical realism novel about a girl who inherits an enchanted library that can heal its patrons' emotional traumas, all while slowly destroying her. Set against the backdrop of 1950s London, there is glamour, magic, and romance aplenty.

QT: How long have you been writing?

Jordan Rose:
Since I was a very young child, I've always written stories.

QT: How long have you been working on this book?

Jordan Rose:
I had the original idea back in 2021, but only wrote around 20,000 words of it before getting writer's block. I ended up coming back to the story in late 2024 and reworking the plot. I then wrote the first draft in January of this year and have been working on it ever since.

QT: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up, and what helped you to stay on course?

Jordan Rose:
I definitely fully felt like I had given up in 2021 when I kept putting off working on it. I couldn’t think of how to unfold the plot I had in my head and ended up becoming so frustrated that I essentially gave up. It wasn’t until I did some research into how to structure a story that I finally felt inspired to return. Since then, I haven’t been able to stop writing!

QT: Is this your first book?

Jordan Rose:
Yes.

QT: Do you have any formal writing training?

Jordan Rose:
None at all! I studied English Literature at university, but there wasn't much of a creative aspect to it sadly.

QT: Do you follow a writing routine or schedule?

Jordan Rose:
Not really! I usually prefer to write in the evenings once I've had a shower and feel super cosy. But I'll also write on my phone during commutes. I will work any time inspiration strikes!

QT: How many times did you re-write/edit your book?

Jordan Rose:
I did six full re-edits.

QT: Did you have beta readers for your book?

Jordan Rose:
Yes! I had four rounds of beta readers.

QT: Did you outline your book, or do you write from the hip?

Jordan Rose:
I had a full outline of the plot. I tried writing from the hip but it didn't work for me.

QT: How long have you been querying for this book? Other books?

Jordan Rose:
This is my first book I’ve queried. I did query it initially back in February when it, in hindsight, wasn’t at all ready. I only received rejections so went back and worked on it again.

QT: About how many query letters did you send out for this book?

Jordan Rose:
I think it was around 28.

QT: On what criteria did you select the agents you queried?

Jordan Rose:
I looked for agents who specialised in fantasy specifically. It was a huge bonus if they were looking for magical realism or loved one of my comp titles.

QT: Did you tailor each query to the specific agent, and if so, how?

Jordan Rose:
Yes! I would tailor a small section to describe how my book was similar to what they were searching for or to other books they had enjoyed.

QT: What advice would you give other writers seeking agents?

Jordan Rose:
Make sure your book is almost perfect before you query it! Don’t do what I did and rush into the process. Take your time, edit, send to beta readers.

Query Letter:

Dear ____ ,

Amid the smoke, silk and swing of 1950’s London, a star-born library appears from nowhere. Seraphine Finch is both its keeper and its prisoner.

Seraphine has spent her life helping people, whether she wanted to or not. When her parents die suddenly, she becomes the sole heir to Archimedes - a shifting library that calls to those in emotional despair. Its magic offers its patrons escape to anywhere that may heal them: lush woodlands, tea parties down rabbit holes, chambers at the bottom of the sea. But while Archimedes cures others, it devours Seraphine, draining her life force each time she helps someone. And despite lifelong dreams of drifting through Moroccan souks or Venetian streets in velvet and tulle, she is bound to the library by blood.

After discovering a hidden letter suggesting her parents’ deaths were no accident, Seraphine realises Archimedes is far more powerful, and far more dangerous, than she ever knew. A covert organisation is closing in, determined to weaponise the library’s magic to engineer a perfect society - one without poverty, war or crime - at the cost of memory and free will.

And into the chaos walks the handsome yet haunted Sebastian Ellerbrook. With ties to the enemy and a past laced with guilt, he arrives with a mission and a smile Seraphine doesn’t trust. But a magnetic tension sparks between them and beneath their sparring grows something tender and dangerous - something that tempts her to imagine a life beyond duty.

As danger approaches through the London smog, Seraphine must decide: uphold her legacy and protect the magic from corruption…or break free, and risk everything - the library, her heart and those she’s come to love - to finally write her own story.

NIGHTS AT THE LIBRARY OF STARS (complete at 103,000 words) is an adult magical realism novel with the enchanting aesthetics of The Night Circus and the sweeping romance of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. This book will appeal to fans of Heather Fawcett and Alix E. Harrow.