Behind the Scenes

Born a Jennifer - I'm an elder millennial, born in '86. I'll be turning 40 this year, which feels absolutely wild because I still feel (and probably act) like I'm 15 most days.

I was born and raised just outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and lived there until 2021. Then my life shifted and my husband, our two kids, our two dachshunds, and I packed up our lives and moved to Portland, Maine. We'd never lived there, didn't know a single person, and I'd never even been to Maine until the day we permanently moved. I just knew it was time for a change, and somehow, this is exactly where we were meant to land.

My husband and I have been together since we were 16, married at 24, and welcomed our kids at 30 and 31.

By day, I work a full-time job. By night (and every spare weekend moment), I'm reading, filming, editing, and creating bookish content. Between making dinner, cleaning up after two kids, and playing chauffeur to what feels like a thousand activities, you'll almost always find me with a book or my kindle in my hands.

The Shadow Smut Journey

Believe it or not, I'm actually pretty new to the smut world.

It all started when my friend convinced me to read Zodiac Academy. That was my gateway, and I haven't looked back since. From there, I dove headfirst into Haunting Adeline, followed by Hallowpeen... and let's just say there was no saving me after that. My reading life, and probably my algorithm, has never been the same.

I started my Instagram and TikTok book accounts in August 2025. In the beginning, I was posting three times a day, every single day, for seven straight months. By March 2026, I decided to take a healthier approach and scaled back to posting about five or six times a week.

In May 2026, I attended my very first book con: Signed with Spice in Bangor, Maine. I went completely by myself, didn't know a single person, and spent most of the event wandering around in awkward silence😂. I'm definitely more introverted than people expect, but one of my goals is to get to know more people in the book community. I genuinely love talking about books, hearing what everyone else is reading, and inevitably adding way too many titles to my already impossible TBR.

What Comes Next?

I am incredibly excited to start my journey here on Bindery Books. This is a huge opportunity that I don't take lightly. Books have become such an important part of my life, and I want to share my love for them in every corner of the internet I can. Having a platform built specifically for book lovers, a place where we can connect over our shared obsession, is something I'm genuinely excited about.

I'm especially looking forward to giving everyone a behind-the-scenes look at Shadow Smut Jen. So much of what I film or want to talk about never makes it to social media because those platforms are designed for quick, bite-sized content. Here, I can dive deeper into the books I'm reading, share longer reviews and recommendations, talk about the chaos behind creating content, and have more meaningful conversations with people who love romance books as much as I do.

Whether you've been reading romance for years or you're just discovering the genre, I hope this becomes a place where you feel welcome. Expect plenty of unfiltered book thoughts, questionable recommendations, unhinged outtakes, and probably a few books that will permanently alter your reading habits. I'm so glad you're here, and I can't wait to share this next chapter with you.