What is the title of your latest release?
DEADLY EVER AFTER
What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Two dead princesses must survive a cursed forest on a quest for true love’s kiss, except there’s a catch. The right kiss will save them. The wrong one will kill them.
How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
Truthfully, and this might be fairly paradoxical, but it was a very intentional and deep yet shallow decision. I knew the story was going to take place in a world that felt like a never-ending garden, due to my love of floral metaphors—especially in relation to identity, growth, and healing. The shallow component is that I think flowers are gorgeous. They’re truly one of my favorite things on earth, so having a story that’s so close to my heart be full of something I adore so much just felt right.
Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?
I would love to go to a bakery with Amala and try to do something active with Kha’dasia. Perhaps rock climbing, but she’d probably hate that. (IYKYK)
What are three words that describe your hero?
For Amala—Sensitive, compassionate, resilient. For Kha’dasia—loyal, tenacious, gentle.
What’s something you learned while writing this book?
Something that stuck out to me is how easy it is to judge or criticize one side of the emotional spectrum if you’ve never been on the other. Amala and Kha’dasia are opposites in a lot of ways, but they’re more similar than some might realize. Anyone with a stiff upper lip may roll their eyes at someone who cries easily, while the person who is more emotionally open might get frustrated at why the other person can’t do it too. The expression “you live, and you learn” is accurate solely because you never know where life is going to take you and how it’s going to change you emotionally, and it’s important to give everyone grace (including yourself) because of that.
I also learned, on a technical level, how to really be an author through this book. Deadly Ever After gave me all my author “firsts.” It’s the book that got me agented, took me through the publishing process, and helped me find my voice. I learned who I want to be as an author and creative and refined the kinds of stories I want to tell moving forward.
Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), so my process changes with every project. With Deadly Ever After, I typically waited until I was done. I liked to work in order as much as possible due to the timelines and the emotional arcs of the books, but there were times I had to abandon that and draft/revise out of order.
What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Truthfully, I’m not a big foodie! I like what I like, and sometimes it gives me the palette of a 60-year-old grandma, and other times I eat like a six-year-old. That being said, currently I’ve been obsessed with chia seed pudding and tiramisu. I want to find a tiramisu-flavored chia seed pudding recipe. I just know it’d be delicious!
Describe your writing space/office!
I have a very pink, somewhat maximalist space. Every single piece of décor in my office has some form of sentiment or inspiration attached. I have an art wall full of floral and character art, and then the entire wall behind my computer is dedicated to Deadly Ever After or whatever project I’m actively marketing at the moment. At Y’allWest 2025, the Penguin Teen marketing team gifted me a full poster for the book, and that turned out to be the best décor! I’ve learned a very important lesson through publishing DEA and decorating my office in the same year—your books just might become your office’s entire décor scheme, so make sure the aesthetic is one you enjoy!
Who is an author you admire?
Alechia Dow, Steven Underwood, Kamilah Cole, and A.K. Savage! I’m so incredibly blessed to live in a time where I get to interact with their work in real time, and to also be able to call them my friends
Is there a book that changed your life?
Besides Deadly Ever After, I’d say The Sun is Also a Star. I have a soft spot in my heart for books about fate, the universe, and love, but the format and story to me represents everything I try to accomplish in fiction.
Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published). Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
Funnily enough, when we first heard back that my editor was interested, we misread and didn’t realize that he was! When we had the call, and I found out we were going to move forward, I nearly broke down. It was a very tumultuous time in my life due to some massive life changes, and it became one of, if not the, brightest spots of my life. I didn’t get to graduate college traditionally (yet), so it felt like I was finally getting my “graduation” moment. It’s always so surreal when “someday” becomes “today,” isn’t it?
What’s your favorite genre to read?
I L-O-V-E comedic cozy fantasy! I’m a very unserious person who deals with a lot of chronic stress. When I’m reading for fun, I love lighter reads with an HEA that make me giggle and kick my feet. I wish I were someone who enjoyed being emotionally destroyed by fiction, but who knows! Anything is possible once you’ve had more therapy and learn how to properly manage stress.
What’s your favorite movie?
Rodger and Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1997), followed by Dreamgirls and Moulin Rouge.
What is your favorite season?
Spring and Fall! I love transitional seasons where you can see the passing of time. I also like it because of the lack of extremes. Summer is so hot. Winter is too cold. Spring and Fall give us a little of both (along with a surplus of flowers and my birthday).
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Speaking of my birthday, it changes year to year based on my needs and where my head is at. Last year was my 30th, and given that it was one month exactly until Deadly Ever After hit shelves, I needed it to be lowkey. My best friend flew out from Florida, we went shopping and got Italian food with friends, and we relaxed. However, this upcoming year I’m thinking about going on a trip. As long as there’s dessert, flowers, and love, I’m a happy camper.
What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
This is fun. Currently, I’m watching The Jersey Shore for the first time ever (I know), and it’s taking over my life, but I can’t say it’s recent. Welcome to Derry may be one of my newer favorite shows, which is surprising because I am not a horror fan! A long-standing favorite that I recommend is Interview with a Vampire. I’m pumped for season three. The first two blew me away, especially as someone who never saw the original movie.
What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I’m a big fan of Creole and Cajun, Caribbean, and traditionally Black/African American meals. As far as food groups, if I could live solely on seafood or dessert, I would.
What do you do when you have free time?
Sleep.
What can readers expect from you next?
Deadly Ever After is a story so close to my heart. I grew up alongside the creation and publication of it. There are a lot of messages I needed to speak on for the desired audience, but also my younger self. It feels like a much-needed cathartic door was closed, and upcoming stories that I’m working on are a reflection of that in a fun, lighter, and brighter way. I’m pursuing creation on YouTube and Substack, and as far as books go…I can’t quite speak to the future, so all I’ll say is stay tuned. It’s going to be a very fun ride.
DEADLY EVER AFTER by Brittany Johnson
Two dead princesses must find true love’s kiss to be brought back to life in this heart-stopping romantic fantasy debut.
Amala has spent her whole life trying to be the perfect princess: delicate, quiet, obedient. But when she’s murdered on the night of her wedding, her story is cut short before it begins.
Kha’dasia has been told her whole life that she is too rough, too loud, too much. She’s no ordinary princess but a ruthless warrior on a quest to fulfill her late brother’s dying wish. Except she dies before reaching her destination.
When both girls wake up in a cursed forest, the gods offer them a second chance at life—if they can find true love’s kiss. But there’s a catch, the gods warn. While the right kiss will save you, the wrong kiss will kill you.
On their journey, the princesses must overcome challenges that force them to face the truth of their lives…and their deaths. And as Amala and Kha’dasia grow closer, they can’t help but wonder if true love has been standing right in front of them all along.
LGBTQ | Young Adult Romance [ G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, On Sale: November 4, 2025, Hardcover / e-Book / audiobook, ISBN: 9780593859537 / eISBN: 9780593859544 ]
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About Brittany Johnson
Brittany Johnson is a Young Adult Fantasy author in love with love, whimsy, and all things fairytale. Her first full-length novel, Deadly Ever After, hits shelves November 4, 2025 through Putnam Young Readers, an imprint at Penguin Random House. Previously, she was a contributing author on the CYBILs award-nominated anthology, We Mostly Come Out at Night.
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