KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamelia Grant’s passion for writing has led her to publish four books in just three years under the Not My Type romance series, which has garnered significant popularity among her followers on Wattpad, a free storytelling platform that also allows users to connect with readers who engage with their original stories.

Grant shared that the series goes beyond the popularity it has gained since being published on the platform; it is also a tribute to her late father, who saw and encouraged her work before passing away in 2023.

She revealed that, after losing her father, the book series has taken on even more significance because of how much he supported her when she shared her accomplishment with him—just an hour before he passed.

“He was my biggest motivation, and now I’m trying to navigate this new life without him. Every milestone is bittersweet because he’s not here to see it. But I’m happy that on the day he passed, I could tell him that my book had reached one million reads because I thought he was okay. It was about an hour after that, he died,” Grant shared.

Grant said her father’s last reminder to her was, “You’re a star,” which were some of his final words to her.

“He believed in me more than I believed in myself, so it’s a bit sad that I couldn’t tell him when I reached two million reads. This [book series] is like a testament to how much he believed in me, so the book is more than just a book to me,” she added.

Now a second-year university student, Grant said she began writing around grade six when she was awarded a scholarship for a poem she wrote. She continued to create written pieces but was inspired by a quote before writing the now-popular book series.

“I saw a quote that said, ‘For every good girl, there is a bad boy,’ and I thought it was a good idea. So, I imagined a story about a teacher and a don. It was just crazy to me, so I started writing it. My literature teacher always said that if you haven’t read a [type of] book before, you can write that book, and I had never seen a book like that, so I came up with this don and teacher [story],” the 20-year-old explained.

The four-book series is set in Jamaica and blends elements of drama, suspense, and heartfelt relationships. The story follows Zara Williams, a dedicated teacher from Homestead, Portmore, whose teaching practicum takes place at St Jago High School. Her life takes an unexpected turn when she meets one of her student’s brothers, Nickoi—also known as Prezzi—a powerful don from John’s Road, Spanish Town in St Catherine, who holds influence over the entire island. Despite their vastly different worlds, a profound romance blossoms.

The books in the series are ‘Not My Type: The Creative Genesis’ with two million reads; ‘Not My Type 2: The Creative Sequel’ with one million reads; ‘Not My Type 3: Alternate World’ with one million reads; and ‘Too Boujie For A Man’ with one million reads.

The books in the series are ‘Not My Type: The Creative Genesis’ with two million reads; ‘Not My Type 2: The Creative Sequel’ with one million reads; ‘Not My Type 3: Alternate World’ with one million reads; and ‘Too Boujie For A Man’ with one million reads.

“The first book is basically about the meeting. The second book is where they have children, and life continues. Then there’s a stand-alone book called ‘Too Boujie For A Man’, which is about Nickoi’s son, who is a lot like him. The last book that I just completed, ‘Alternate World’, reached one million reads in less than a year. It’s the same story of Nickoi and Zara, but they meet in a different way and are now younger. You probably get to know Nickoi more in that book,” Grant said, outlining the plot of her series.

When asked about the writing process behind her impressive accomplishment, Grant said she was greatly encouraged by her mother, who was always excited for the next chapter.

“It was very exciting [to write the books], to be honest. When I just started writing on Wattpad, I had maybe 34 readers; I didn’t have many. But it was easy because my mom was always excited about it, so she would always say, ‘Oh, I want the next chapter.’ Even though I didn’t have a crowd at the time, my mom was my biggest motivation to keep writing. I wrote the chapters quickly—I think it took me about six months to write 102 chapters. Each chapter was about 2,500-3,000 words,” Grant explained.

Thanks to the success of her series, evidenced by the number of people who have read the books, and her followers, who have nicknamed themselves the ‘Creativegang’ or ‘CGz,’ Grant was made Wattpad’s first Jamaican ambassador and was invited to join the app’s creators’ program. This opportunity could open doors for her dream of having her book turned into a film.

Grant also revealed that she is currently working on publishing her book in hard copy and is considering taking a screenwriting course to prepare for the possibility of adapting her work into a movie.

She hopes to write more books in the future and is seeking authorisation from dancehall artiste Masicka to publish a fan fiction story she wrote about him.

“I think so. I love writing. I had a fan fiction. My favourite artiste is Masicka, and I wrote a fan fiction based on him because there wasn’t a Masicka story on Wattpad, but I took it down because it’s kind of controversial. My readers always ask for the story, but I tell them it will be available when Masicka authorises it. I’m not comfortable with it on Wattpad without that, but I definitely feel like I should write more stories,” she explained.

Grant’s achievements also extend to being first runner-up in the Miss Trelawny Festival Queen pageant, where she was named most popular and awarded best talent due to her background in music, which she hopes to turn into a career soon.