All in the Family: How Janet Evanovich and Her Daughter Alex Support Each Other's Writing Projects (Exclusive)

"I'm like one of five people on the planet who absolutely has no desire to be an author," Alex says, whose debut novel is out now

<p>Daniel Turbert</p> Janet Evanovich and Alex Evanovich

Daniel Turbert

Janet Evanovich and Alex Evanovich

For Janet Evanovich and her daughter Alex, writing is a family affair.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Janet Evanovich is preparing to release the 31st book in her popular Stephanie Plum series, Now or Never, but first, she is teaming up with her daughter Alex to celebrate the release of her debut middle grade novel Keeper Chance and the Conundrum of Chaos, which hit shelves on Tuesday, Oct. 8.

Ahead of the release, the mother-daughter duo spoke exclusively with PEOPLE about writing their respective books and how they supported each other during the process.

Janet tells us that their collaborative promotional trail, which will see the two of them at a shared Barnes and Noble event in Durham, N.C. on November 23, "probably means more to me than to Alex."

"Alex has been with me right from the very beginning, so we're used to being a team," the proud mother says. "But for me, this is a lot of fun. This is really special, especially since she wrote [the book] originally for my grandson. Then when she let me read it, I said, 'No, no, this is for everybody.' "

Despite support from her family, Alex said she initially felt nervous to venture into the publishing world. "I'm so used to being behind the scenes. I work the other side of tours," she says, in reference to her experience supporting her mother’s book launches. "To actually have to be the presenter, instead of the one that's carrying all the bags and handing out all the goodies, and having all the fun … I have to do the work now, and that makes me a little nervous, but I'm also proud about it."

<p>Linda Cataffo/NY Daily News Archive via Getty</p> Janet Evanovich with her daughter Alex

Linda Cataffo/NY Daily News Archive via Getty

Janet Evanovich with her daughter Alex

Meanwhile, Janet notes that Alex's involvement with her fans during this time helped her when it came to penning her popular series. "[Alex's] feedback was really important. She's always been my first editor. She doesn't write the books, but she gives ideas, and she reads them, and she critiques them. I always felt like her opinion was so important because she was the one who was always interacting with the fans."

Through it all, Alex never thought being an author was her calling. "I'm like one of five people on the planet who absolutely has no desire to be an author," she says. "I have a kid and he's my world. We used to really love reading together … And as he was getting older, I was like, 'There are no books for my kid anymore, especially not modern ones.' We were getting to the point where we're gonna have to go to Agatha Christie's [books], which are phenomenal, but not modern. It's not relevant to him."

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During that time, her son was starting to be assigned "intense" required readings at school, just like generations of kids before him.

"It's hard when you're a teen, or tween, and you're reading those sad books. Life is already hard. I mean, middle school is brutal. There are a lot of hormones. There are a lot of emotions. I could just see it happening. And I was like, you know, 'I'm just going to write a story for him.' And so I did. I wrote him the story and I actually put it away for a while for when he got a little bit older."

Keeper Change and the Conundrum of Chaos
Keeper Change and the Conundrum of Chaos

Keeper Chance follows a young boy – the titular character – as he explores "a life of villainy" after being invited to try out for his local chapter of the Evil Villains International League. "Keeper’s not sure his unremarkable life makes him villain material, but things get more remarkable, and fast, when Keeper and another new recruit, Toby, face the chapter’s first test — and disasters begin to snowball," the synopsis reads.

The author shares that the book was "probably over five years" in the making from the process of writing it for her son and then actually getting it published.

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While Alex worked on her debut book, Janet was penning Now or Never, which is out on November 19. The two didn't collaborate much during the writing process, though they did support each other as accountability partners.

Now or Never
Now or Never

"We finished pretty much at the same time, so we could switch books for editorial reads. We did sort of plan on that because nobody wanted to take up writing time," Alex explains. "You can't read another person's book when you are trying to really come to the end of your book. You have to have your book in your head. So we were like, 'Alright, when's your your due date?'"

A lot of that mutual support meant good, old-fashioned commiserating. "Mostly what we do while we're each writing our own books is complain," Janet says.

When Janet read her daughter's book, she knew it was something special. "It was like this very mature product," she says. "It was not a beginner's book. It was just beautifully written. It was clear that she had all of these necessary skills. It wasn't a straight narrative. The characters were interesting and well formed."

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Now, in retrospect, Alex reflects that she "really enjoyed writing" the book, although she feels a little apprehensive about it going out into the world, given its sentimental beginnings. "It is so personal to me because it is filled with little hints of things that my son loved as a child and adventures we went on, and little inside jokes we had," she shares. "It is a personal project and maybe that is part of what made my mom like it so much."

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With Alex's first book out, Janet looked back on what the mother-daughter pair share in common. To her, it's their instinct to, as the old adage goes, "show, don't tell."

"If you know what the author's agenda is, the author has failed. We don't want to hit anybody over the head with what our messaging is," she explains.

Alex agrees, citing a familiar creative icon. "I always go with Jim Henson, who talked about how your kids are going to remember your actions, and what you do more than they're going to remember your words," she explains. "I tried to do that in my book. We don't need to give lessons in words. If you read about good people trying to be good, that's far more powerful than using words to tell people to be a good person."

Keeper Chance and the Conundrum of Chaos is available to purchase now, wherever books are sold.

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