Jordon Greene's Blog

Becoming their crush's fake enbyfriend after witnessing him fall into a literal coma wasn't how non-binary kitchen witch Mackenzie Jackson expected their Thanksgiving to play out, but that's only part of Mackenzie's problems. Now something warm is stirring in them for their crush's brother.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (Aug. 27, 2026) – F/K Teen is pleased to announce the release of Jordon Greene's eighth novel, “How (Not) to Conjure a Boyfriend,” a queer young adult contemporary romance, inspired by the '90s rom-com “While You Were Sleeping,” about a non-binary teen and real-to-life witch who accidentally becomes their crush's fake enbyfriend. The novel will be released on March 10, 2026 in hardback, paperback, audiobook, and on Kindle.

“We're excited to get Jordon's tenth story out there, and as another young adult read, we hope it'll find those readers who need to feel seen the most and bring a smile to many faces,” Caleb Wygal, Franklin/Kerr Press's publisher, said about Jordon's new book.

The story centers around a non-binary kitchen witch, Mackenzie Jackson, who is desperately “in love” with Hayden Marcus, the basketball star from the neighboring high school who happens to frequent the shop where Mackenzie is a barista. They find themself suddenly welcomed into Hayden's family as his fake enbyfriend when Hayden falls into a coma after an accident at the coffee shop. Did their love spell have an effect? Is this somehow the work of Mackenzie's gods—the old Norse gods—answering their intentions? Or is it just one big mess that Mackenize must dig their way out from? Thrust into a world of lies from which they can't seem to come clean, Mackenzie finds themself questioning why they fell for Hayden in the first place when his brother, Zachary, enters the scene. First he's an enemy, doubtfully questioning Mackenzie on their relationship with Hayden. Then he becomes their first kiss. Mackenzie doesn't know what to think, and even more importantly, what to do.

“HOW (NOT) TO CONJURE A BOYFRIEND” releases March 10, 2026 in paperback, hardback, audiobook, and Kindle formats, and is available for preorder wherever books are sold.

ABOUT JORDON GREENE

Jordon Greene is the award-winning author of “EVERY WORD YOU NEVER SAID” and “A MARK ON MY SOUL.” He can usually be found at his favorite little coffee shop with his found family or posting online about his latest Asian pop music or BL drama obsession. An alumnus of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a B.S. in Political Science, he works full-time as a software engineer. Jordon lives in Kannapolis, NC, with his children Genji and Freyr (aka his cats).

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For more information about “HOW (NOT) TO CONJURE A BOYFRIEND” or to schedule an interview, please call Charlotte Kinzie at 704-918-5594 or email her at charkinzie@franklinkerr.com.

A Mark on My Soul is getting a 5th Anniversary Edition, and that's not all! It has a bonus chapter and a gorgeous new cover!

It's genuinely hard to believe it's been five years since my first young adult novel made it's first steps into the world. I was horrified. Before that my stories had basically all been horror novels. Bloody and sort of demented in ways, but that was before I came out and before I was able to be my true self.

A Mark on My Soul will always be special to me because it was my first story where I felt I could be 100% honest and me. I wanted to tell a story that was both real and meaningful, something that could actually help people. I know it might seem odd to say that to some since the book isn't one with a happily-ever-after ending, but its message is important not only for our community but those outside of it. It's a book about acceptance and what toxic faith and ignorance can do to a young mind that just wants to be accepted for who they are. A story that I hope can one day reach those who don't understand how their hate hurts and truly damages.

So to celebrate the 5th anniversary of a book that means so much to me, I'm releasing a second edition in the 5th Anniversary Edition in hardback with a bonus chapter featuring Parker Evan's point-of-view. Also, just look at that cover! Lucia Limon has done it again in illustrating a beautiful piece of art that truly depicts the essence of the story. I can't wait for you to dive in and relive (or live it for the first time) Noah's story and finally get a closer glimpse into Parker's head as well.

The 5th Anniversary Edition of A Mark on My Soul will release exclusively in hardback on May 21, 2024 at online retailers. Signed editions will be available from Editions Bookstore. I'll announce as soon as pre-orders go live!

I am beyond thrilled to announce that I have officially signed on to be represented by the amazing literary agent Eva Scalzo of the Speilburg Literary Agency. I can't wait to get to work with Eva and start charting out a course for many young adult books to come featuring the struggles and joys of queer youth. The Noahverse was just the beginning.

So far I've had the pleasure of meeting a number of other authors on #TeamEva (as I'm coming to know it as) who have had such amazing success and achievements. All of them have been so kind and embracing. I look forward to being a part of this family and working with them to make my stories the best that they can be, so that you can have the stories you need and want in your life.

Thank you again Eva for giving me this opportunity.

First, it's finally time to show off the cutest cover I've ever seen in my life. I mean how can you not just adore the cuteness of Jacob and Skylar on the official cover of SNOWFLAKE KISSES designed by the extrodianary illustrator Yayira Dzamesi. It's just so cute.

Also, you are in luck. Yayira is also illustrating the entire graphic novella. Yep. You heard that right. Yayira is illustrating the entire thing, ever single page of absolute cuteness, because that's what this story is. It's absolute cutenss that you're not going to want to miss. AND... when SNOWFLAKE KISSES officially releases it'll be in both English and Spanish thanks to translators Bruno Álvarez and José Monserrat as BESOS BAJO LA NIEVE .

Preorder your copy of SNOWFLAKE KISSES today!

It's been an absolute joy working with Yayira to come up with this story and see it brought to life in such a fantastic style, and with Bruno and José to see it come to life in Spanish. SNOWFLAKE KISSES will be released simultaneously in English and Spanish on Kindle, and in paperback and hardback editions on December 13, 2022, just in time to enjoy Christmas with Jacob and Skylar.

Book bans have become something of a fad and rallying call for groups with oxymoronic names like Moms for Liberty and [Insert State] Freedom Coalition. Unfortunately, it seems many forget what liberty and freedom actually entail when it comes to views they don’t agree with or people they find objectionable simply for existing. Being different than their preconceived and limited narrative is too much for them so they work to limit and restrict the liberty of those they disagree with or attempt to erase those people and groups from our classrooms.

And while they believe they’re doing “God’s work” or “protecting the Constitution”—neither idea of which contains the slightest semblance of truth—they are removing much needed representation. The queer books they are pulling from our schools are those that help this generation feel seen, understood, and safe. They are the books that my generation needed. The books that help queer teens see their worth and help keep them with us. That’s what these groups are trying to take away.

But it isn’t going to work. Why not?

Because we are not going away, we are not being erased, and we exist whether they like it or not. And…yes, there is more. We’re doing something about it. There are libraries in certain areas that are giving free access to censored books to those outside their normal jurisdictions. There are organizations dedicated to providing literature about and containing representation of marginalized communities. And authors are doing what they can to speak out and help as well.

That’s where I come in.

I might not have the reach that some of my amazing queer author friends have, but I’m stepping in to help. How? Good question. How does a single author with limited resources help battle a nationwide queer book banning crisis?

One book at a time. One school at a time.

First, I’ve setup an area on my website to allow teachers, school librarians, and school administrators to request a 100% free copy of any of my young adult books for their school or class library. So all they have to do is submit a request for either A Mark on My Soul , Watching for Comets , or Every Word You Never Said and the request will go in a queue. When I have the ability, I’ll donate a copy of the book to the next school on my list. Although I’ve already donated multiple books, I can’t personally fulfill all the requests that are made.

That’s where I turn to you.

I’ve placed each of my young adult books in my Merch shop for the sole purpose of letting readers purchase a book for only $10 (plus shipping) to be donated to a school. All you have to do is go to my Merch page, choose the book you want to donate, add it to your cart and checkout. Once the order comes through, I’ll then package the book and send it as a donation to the next school on my list (or one you choose if you want).

It's really that easy! Sure we’re not going to solve the whole book banning problem with this one little program. But, we can get a few queer books into schools that want them so that queer students can have the validation and representation that they so need and crave.

So yes, that’s the plan. I hope you’ll help me out.

“‘Diversity’ should just be called ‘reality.’ Your books, your TV shows, your movies, your articles, your curricula, need to reflect reality.”

—Tananarive Due, author and American Book Award winner

Book banning is nothing new. It’s been happening in the United States since we were just a few colonies under the Crown. And just like now, back in the mid-1600s when the first known book was banned in the colonies, it was to censor countering opinions that made some uncomfortable or questioned their views.

However, in recent months, with the growing rise of the “parental rights” movement endangering the educational system and our students, challenges to books in school libraries are becoming unusually rampant. They claim it is all in the name of protecting the innocence of children or to prevent them from obtaining so-called “pornographic” material. Yet when you look at the list of books being challenged there is an obvious recurring theme. It’s not that the books are genuinely pornographic or vile in other forms. No, because if it were, there would be so many other books on those lists, including the Bible, but of course that isn’t the case.

Instead, what is happening is that parents and elected officials alike are taking it upon themselves to object to books that offend their own personal religious viewpoints and overt or latent racism. They are using terms such as “pornographic” and “sexual” and “racist,” or that they may make white students “uncomfortable” in order to justify removing books from school libraries and selfishly deny marginalized teens the representation they deserve. In some of the most absurd claims, objectors insist that books on systematic racism, police brutality, or the struggles POC individuals face are somehow in themselves racist. They claim that books with positive representations of LGBTQIA+ individuals sexualize their children or that it’s somehow going to cause their child to become gay. However, none of these allegations are supported by science or common sense. Rather, they all have the underlying message to marginalized people that they are somehow less than or bad.

The simple notion that a book is sexual in nature for no other reason than it positively portrays LGBTQIA+ characters—note, in the same way other books portray heterosexual characters without challenge—is outright preposterous and offensive. It’s as if the mere existence of a portion of the population is somehow harmful, when it’s that very assertion that’s harmful. The same goes for books by and about people of color. It’s not about protecting children, it’s about narrowing the scope of what children have access to read to control a narrative. It’s about control, it’s about refusing to progress and put outdated and harmful notions in the past where they belong, and it’s a refusal to accept that while the past can hurt, our system and history is flawed.

However, more important is that these self-righteous crusades to ban books are vastly detrimental to the well-being of young lives. The following books have been banned despite their many accolades: The Bluest Eye by Nobel Prize winning author Toni Morrison; Heather Has Two Mommies by Lesléa Newman, which was published over thirty years ago; bestselling book Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe; Amazon Teacher’s Pick They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera; and New York Library and Chicago Library Best Book of 2020 All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson. When books like these are taken off the shelf, it removes a child’s ability to see themselves in a story like so many others can, or to understand themselves more fully. The absence of these books tells a child that they are unnatural, second-class, and that somehow they are less than their peers. It also fails non-marginalized communities by allowing old stereotypes and bigoted thinking to persist and embolden bullies, promote racism, and foster homophobia. And worse, it increases the chances of youth taking their own lives because it takes away a rare affirming space, especially in school, which studies have shown decrease the chances of an LGBTQIA+ person attempting suicide simply by providing a place or a resource that shows them how loved and natural they are.

Yet, there are so many people who cannot understand the importance of representation in the media, including these books. They think it doesn’t matter, that marginalized communities are just being whiny or too needy, that they should just settle for the overtly cis straight and white media they’ve been bombarded with all their lives. And most of the time this comes from cis straight and white individuals, the same people who dominate most stories and have never had to struggle for their right to exist or to be heard (and no, Christians in America are not being persecuted, that’s imaginary at best). Unlike marginalized communities, nearly every story is about them, while POC and LGBTQIA+ people have to search and scour for books and movies that they can see themselves in.

As author, and American Book Award winner, Tananarive Due said, “Your books, your TV shows, your movies, your articles, your curricula, need to reflect reality.” However, book banning is a fear of diversity, which is a denial of reality. It’s one of those things that says a lot to us without ever having to say a thing. The sheer absence of diversity says plenty, and then the outcry against what little exists as if it’s horrid to even be there, finishes the blow.

I say all of that, and I know it was a lot, to say book banning isn’t the answer, and that it’s damning and harmful to our youth. In a time when teens need to be loved and their identity reinforced, we are telling them that anyone who doesn’t fit into the pre-approved categories of being cisgender and white is second-class. It’s disgusting and it has to stop, if for nothing else than for the 40% of LGBTQIA+ teens who have seriously considered suicide. Their lives are worth more than this unfounded debate.

So with that, increase your empathy and grow your knowledge by reading a banned book.

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Originally posted on JordonGreene.com

When I wrote A Mark on My Soul a few years ago, one of the accomplishments I hoped to reach was to see the day it came to audiobook. And that day has arrived, because we finally have the perfect narrator to bring Noah Andrews' character to life.

In January of 2022, you'll finally be able to listen to Noah Andrews' story as read by the super sweet and awesome Connor Gowland . You may know him by his modeling, or on Instagram, or his many videos on TikTok, but he also does voice-overs. I'm so excited to work with Connor Gowland as he becomes Noah Andrews, to record his first ever audiobook.

And I can assure you now that Connor Gowland is the perfect voice for Noah. I think you're going to absolutely adore the narration, and hopefully fall in love with the story all over again, or for the first time if you haven't read it yet.

Once the Audible book is ready for pre-order I'll be sure to let everyone know, so be sure to follow my Instagram or Facebook, or signup for my newsletter to stay in the loop. And I also encourage you to follow Connor's Instagram and TikTok to support the new voice of Noah Andrews!

I am beyond excited to reveal the cover of my newest young adult novel, Every Word You Never Said ! Lucia Barreda, the same amazing artist that created the character art for Watching for Comets, has not only drawn the character art for this story, but she stepped up and designed a stunning cover for the book as well. I love it, and I'm sure you will too.

PREORDER EVERY WORD YOU NEVER SAID ON AMAZON KINDLE!

We also have a release date! Every Word You Never Said officially releases on Kindle, paperback, and hardback on April 26, 2022! And with the cover ready, the final manuscript almost complete, and now an official release date, it's finally time to open up preorders! You can preorder Every Word You Never Said  on Amazon Kindle starting today!

I can't wait for you all to experience Jacob and Skylar's story. It's something a little different than the two previous books in the Noahverse. Don't worry, it's still a contemporary young adult story filled with humor, awkwardness, and some of life's hard realities, but this one takes on issues like ableism and sexism head on. It's a story that I hope will make you laugh, warm your heart, but still see how far we have to go.

And while you're waiting, if you haven't read A Mark on My Soul or Watching for Comets , you have plenty of time. All three of these books are in the Noahverse, but they're easily read as standalones too. You just might get a few neat little extra things out of it if you read the first two books before Every Word You Never Said comes out.

WANT SOME FREE BOOK SWAG?

In celebration of this exciting stage of the process, and as a thank you for preordering my newest book, I'm also giving away free book swag when you preorder Every Word You Never Said and send me your proof of purchase. If you preorder any version of the book (including hardback and paperback when they go up for preorder) before the release date you're eligible, worldwide!

JOIN THE EVERY WORD YOU NEVER SAID PREORDER CAMPAIGN

So what do you get?



-Signed Bookplate
-2 Character Stickers featuring Jacob and Skylar
-Jacob and Skylar Postcard Print
-Every Word You Never Said BookmarK

JOIN THE EVERY WORD YOU NEVER SAID PREORDER CAMPAIGN

All you have to do is join the preorder campaign by visiting my website here and submitting your proof of purchase. I'll be sending out book swag in mid to late April 2022. For rules and entry, visit my website.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Caleb Wygal
Tel: 704-659-3915
Email: caleb@franklinkerr.com
Website: www.FranklinKerr.com

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (Sept 7, 2020) — Franklin/Kerr Press is pleased to announce the release of award-winning and Amazon bestselling author Jordon Greene′s sophomore young adult novel, "Watching for Comets" under our new imprint F/K Teen. The novel will be released on December 8, 2020.

"As a gay man who grew up closeted for thirty years, it′s extremely important to me for there to be LGBT literature out there for today′s youth," Jordon said about why he wrote his second LGBT YA novel. "We need more stories that are both readily available and relatable for teens who desperately need to know they are seen, they are normal, and they can have the same crazy love story anyone else can. That′s what Watching for Comets is. Whereas A Mark on My Soul showcased the grim realities of how hate and prejudice can harm young lives, Watching for Comets exists to show the beautiful possibilities that LGBT youth have every right to experience. But, it′s also a story of healing and overcoming."

The story centers around Tyler Gentry and Aidan Molina, whose boyfriend and BFF, respectively, dies in a car accident months before the story begins. The two boys are former friends, but misunderstanding continues to divide them until one night brings them together and their deceased (boy)friend′s passion to see a passing comet puts them on an unlikely journey, together.

"Watching for Comets" releases December 8, 2020 in paperback, hardback and eBook formats, and is available for preorder on Amazon. The paperback version will be available at $12.99 and the hardback will be available for $19.99, both from most major online retailers. The eBook will be available on Amazon Kindle for $3.99. If you preorder in any format, or request the book from your local library, you can enter Jordon′s Preorder Campaign here for free book swag.

Download Press Kit

ABOUT JORDON GREENE

Jordon Greene grew up in a small southern town in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains just south of Boone, North Carolina. He is an alumni of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a B.S. in Political Science he′ll never use, and works at the nation′s largest privately owned shoe retailer as a full-stack web developer to pay off all that student debt. While not writing, Jordon spends most his time entertaining his cat, Genji, watching Schitt′s Creek and Parks and Recreation re-runs, and acting like he′s any good at Overwatch. He currently lives in Kannapolis, NC.

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For more information about "Watching for Comets," or to schedule an interview please call Caleb Wygal at 704-659-3915 or e-mail Caleb at caleb@franklinkerr.com.

Check out my latest interview with Jonathan Thompson on The Director's Chair at www.JordonGreene.com

We discuss everything from my newest & upcoming young adult novel, Watching for Comets , the writing process, marketing, and even a little about Franklin/Kerr Press.