Jessica Girke’s journey as a writer is one of resilience, courage, and an unwavering commitment to authenticity. Despite facing harsh criticism and the challenges of being a non-native English speaker, she pushed forward, inspired by the impact her characters were making on readers’ lives. Jessica’s ability to transform personal trauma into powerful, raw narratives has given hope to others, showing that vulnerability can be a bridge to healing. Through her books, Jessica reminds us all that even in the darkest times, there’s light—and maybe, just maybe, we can find our happy endings too.
Can you describe a specific moment when you almost gave up on your writing? What kept you going during that time?
This was right before my first book “Demons in your mind” came out. I was still very insecure because it was my first book and I wrote it in English as non-native speaker. I chose a couple of beta readers and two of them gave me such harsh feedback that I was about to give up right away.
Thankfully I had a couple of other beta readers that gave me positive feedback and one of them even sent me a message that said they started therapy again because Nate’s story gave her enough courage to tackle her own demons. That was the reason I kept going because I realized that even if the books aren’t the mainstream read and might not be loved by bookstagram and booktok, they can change the life of individuals.
How do you balance staying true to your message with the desire to reach a wider audience?
This is still one of the biggest mental challenges that I’m facing on a daily basis. I always remind myself that my focus is to spread awareness and write real and raw characters that my readers can relate to. And I’m aware that these stories aren’t for the mainstream reader, but the message is more important than the sales. And if my characters and their fights give struggling readers hope, that’s all that matters. Of course sometimes I’m thinking “maybe if I follow a trend and can still include mental health in it, I could reach a bigger audience” but none of the current trends like sports romance or cowboy romance is something I want to write. So I just focus on the books I have planned for the upcoming years.
What role does personal trauma play in the characters and themes you explore in your books &
What have you learned about yourself through your journey of rewriting your story and pursuing your writing dreams?
I’m currently writing a book about a female character dealing with toxic parents, gaslighting, and insecurities who is based on my own experiences. This book especially made me realize that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and how important a support system is for your fight. I started therapy again, I started to focus on my own happiness because I see in my characters that it’s always worth to tackle your demons. They get their happy endings, so maybe I can too!
How do you deal with the pressures of writing about sensitive topics such as trauma and mental health &
How do you ensure that your personal experiences and struggles are authentically represented in your work?
I don’t see any pressure with these topics because I’m very passionate about spreading awareness. To make sure the represented topics (esp. physical and mental health) are authentical, I have friends reading over passages. One of them is an orthopedics who makes sure that medical scenes are correct and the other is a psychologist who focuses on the mental health parts. We decide together how we represent e.g. panic attacks as everyone experiences them differently. We also decided together which strategies we can implement that would potentially help the readers without further explanation. For example we included the “grounding exercise” in Defeated Demons that helps with panic attacks.
How do you maintain your motivation and creativity when facing setbacks or challenges in your writing career?
I am an absolute mood writer. I plot my books very detailed but then often ignore the plot and listen to my gut and my characters. When I’m in a sadmental state, I always write a sad scene or the other way around with happy scenes. I also learned to never pressure myself to write because in my opinionforced creativity will never be as good as honest one. I will never write just to write. If I don’t feel it, I won’t touch my manuscripts. I’m an indie author who doesn’t rely on sales to pay my bills as I’m having a full time job that actually pays them. So I don’t have to getbooks out just to pay my bills. I write and publish books to share messages and if life becomes too much and I can’t finish a book in time, I’ll postpone the release date.
Can you tell us more about the themes and messages in your upcoming projects, “Defeated Demons” and “Friendly Fire”?
“Defeated Demons” is the last chapter in Nate’s PTSD recovery journey and shows that with time, patience and the right support system everyone can get their happy ending.
But it also tackles topics like work-life-balance, starting back into your job after parental leave, and how to communicate mental health issues to your kids. In comparison to the other Demons books it’s relatively light though. “Friendly Fire” is a standalone enemies to lovers book that follows the young agent Eliana Richards. Eliana had to deal with a toxic and gaslighting father who destroyed her self-confidence and self-worth through years of mental and physical abuse. Eli’s coping mechanisms are funny banter and unwanted comments which doesn’t make her the best team mate. It isn’t until Peter discovers her true self and does everything to heal Eli’s broken heart and mind that she realizes that happiness and love exist in this world and that she is craving both.
What has been the most rewarding aspect of your journey in rewriting your story and staying true to your creative vision?
aha – Every time someone reaches out to me to tell me that one of my characters or my stories has changed their life, gave them hope, made them go to therapy or resonate with them in any other way, my heart is full. Because that is why I’m doing this. I want to help people finding a way out of the darkness and to a happier and brighter life.
