Discover answers to the questions most often asked by readers about The Wren Island Series, an interactive serialized fiction experience.
What is The Wren Island Series about? Will I like it?
These feel-good, contemporary stories go deep with challenging relationships between endearing characters. The stories are set on an island in the Pacific Northwest and feature the local landscape, including our beloved whales. They’re free of harsh language and unnecessary violence. (You can share them with your pre-teen daughter and your grandmother!) They sometimes include threads of slow-burn romance (without bedroom scenes) and lighthearted mystery.
There are currently two books in the series: Wren Island and Wren Island with Wallace Around.
How do I read The Wren Island Series?
One option is to subscribe to receive my emails. You’ll get a link to download the current e-book and you’ll start hearing about opportunities to influence what happens next.
Another option is to subscribe to the podcast. Episodes include a short section of the current story and a few additional thoughts.
Coming soon! Books in The Wren Island Series will start being available for purchase from your favorite booksellers beginning Summer 2025.
Does it cost anything?
Email subscribers (also known as Wren Islanders) get to read the current e-book at no cost. The podcast is free to listen to. And it’s free to subscribe to receive my emails and participate in opportunities to influence the developing story.
Beginning in the summer of 2025, books in The Wren Island Series will be available for purchase from many of your favorite booksellers. Email subscribers are always the first to hear about new releases!
When does the next installment get released?
A few times a year, email subscribers receive a new installment of the current interactive serialized fiction project. Between installments, email subscribers hear about opportunities to influence the developing story.
Podcast subscribers receive shorter installments more frequently, but after the complete installment has been released to email subscribers.
Email subscribers are always the first to hear about new books for sale.
How long is each installment?
Email subscribers receive installments that are around 10,000 words each. That’s like reading three or four chapters (or two long chapters) of a novel.
Podcast subscribers receive shorter sections at a time. Each podcast episode is around ten minutes in length.
How many parts are there? When will The Wren Island Series be finished?
Currently, the series includes two books.
The first book, Wren Island, was written in six parts and wrapped up in the spring of 2024. It’s the length of a short novel and can be read as a complete story.
The second book, Wren Island with Wallace Around, began releasing to email subscribers in the summer of 2024. It will be a complete story when it’s finished, but we don’t know yet how many parts it will be. With interactive serialized fiction, there’s always more to the story, and readers influence what happens next!
Is there an audio version?
While The Wren Island Series hasn’t been published in a traditional audiobook format, it is available to listen to in a podcast! In each episode, I read a section of the story and add a few thoughts. Join me on Read with Laura Joy.
There’s also a playlist of music that inspires The Wren Island Series! Learn more here.
I haven’t read any of The Wren Island Series yet. How do I catch up? How do I start influencing the story and characters?
That’s easy-peasy! When you subscribe to receive my emails, you’ll get a link to read the current e-book. Then, watch your inbox for opportunities to influence what happens next! Podcast listeners can start at the beginning of the series here.
Can my book club read The Wren Island Series? Would you join our conversation?
I love sharing Wren Island with book clubs! Find the Wren Island Discussion Guides here. Learn more about including me in your conversation here.
Does Wren Island actually exist?
Wren Island is fictional. It’s based on the Pacific Northwest’s San Juan Islands and British Columbia’s Gulf Islands, where my ancestors put down roots and where I live now.
Is there such a thing as the hydrophone you write about? What about that gong Wren residents ring when whales can be heard on the hydrophone?
The Wren Island hydrophone is based on real hydrophones here in the Salish Sea. Scientists monitor the hydrophones to learn more about whales. The rest of us listen just for fun!
The gong on Wren Island is part real, part fiction. It’s inspired by a ship’s bell in a park on Whidbey Island in Washington State. Locals ring the bell when whales can be seen from shore.
Have a question you don’t see answered here?
I love hearing from readers! Send me a message.