How We Started
Two industry veterans. Writers. Editors. Story champions.
Julie and Janyre have spent decades working in publishing—nearly sixty years of combined experience between them. Along the way, they saw a common problem: once editing was complete, many authors had no idea how to take the next step toward publishing.
That’s where Ember & Vine began.
Drawing on their backgrounds in both traditional and indie publishing, Julie and Janyre created a space where writers with wisdom, life experience, and powerful stories could find the guidance, tools, and encouragement to bring their books into the world with excellence.
We are NOT a publisher. We are advocates and mentors who work hand-in-hand with authors to help bring projects to shelves. We customize our services based on each specific project, helping authors solve problems along the way while leaving all rights/proceeds to the author. Not sure if you need services or a publisher? You can find the differences between options here, and you’re always welcome to ask us too.
From time to time, we may host special projects—like our upcoming Ember & Vine Anthology Competition—to spotlight exceptional stories. These limited publishing opportunities are separate from our core services and are always clearly identified as such.
At Ember & Vine, every author matters. Every story matters. And every journey matters.
Your story is the spark. We help it grow.
Julie Cantrell…
…is a multiple award-winning, New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author, editor, creative writing instructor, TEDx speaker, and ghostwriter. She served as editor-in-chief of the Southern Literary Review and has received the Mississippi Arts Commission Literary Arts Fellowship, the Rivendell Writer’s Colony Mary Elizabeth Nelson Fellowship, the Fairhope Writers Residency, and the Pat Conroy Writer’s Residency Fellowship.
Her novels have earned starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Library Journal and have been featured in Top Reads lists by LitHub, Redbook, Southern Living Magazine, REAL SIMPLE, BookBub, HuffPost, USA TODAY (HEA), and more. They were also selected as book club picks for Target and Books-A-Million.
She currently serves as the Managing Director of Story Summit, where writers of all levels and genres come together to elevate their craft and support one another’s creative works. She also teaches creative writing for Story Summit as well as for the Drexel University Low-Res MFA Program.
After years of helping friends polish their manuscripts, Julie launched her own editorial and co-writing business to help bridge the creative vision of the author with the business goals of the publishing team. Now, with Ember & Vine, she’s adding the final steps to her service portfolio.
Janyre Tromp…
…is an award-winning nonfiction and fiction editor with nearly 30 years of experience in the publishing industry. In her career, she has worked with both traditional publishers and Indie authors—acquiring and editing books, writing and editing marketing copy, creating strategies and budgets, overseeing cover and interior design, concepting and executing branding, and generally doing whatever needs doing.
She has worked with nearly a thousand books written by new and seasoned authors. All of which makes her uniquely suited to equip authors with the tools to help them navigate the quagmire.
She adores working with writers and helping them make their books the best they can be.
But she is also the best-selling hybrid author of myth-influenced historical suspense, including The Scorpion Thief, Darkness Calls the Tiger, and Lovely Life.
In case you’re wondering, you pronounce that first name Jan-ear.
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Ember & Vine—
Dedicated to empowering storytellers.