Daily Inspiration: Meet Persephonie Rose

Today we’d like to introduce you to Persephonie Rose.

Hi Persephonie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
“I didn’t start writing because I thought I’d be a famous author. I started writing because I was unbearably alone, and the only friend I had was a blank page.” – P. Rose

My father was a con man and my mother was a nurse, so I learned early how to use lies to tell the truth. I grew up in women’s shelters, moving every three to nine months, placed in gifted programs while navigating highly functional autism and C-PTSD. I also struggled with an undiagnosed genetic condition — Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome — that would later nearly kill me. Books were my first constant. Writing became a way to impose order on instability.

After earning my MFA from Florida State University — where I met my husband and creative partner, JR Hawkins — we left for Los Angeles with nothing but ambition, dreams, and determination.

I trained under an Independent Spirit Award–winning filmmaker and learned how independent films are built and sustained. At an international film sales company, I studied how projects are packaged and sold. At Paramount Pictures, under Vice President of Television Jeannie Koenigsberg, I supported development on series including 13 Reasons Why, The Alienist, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, and Shooter. I retrieved Mike Flanagan’s The Haunting of Hill House from the slush pile and pitched it internally.

I learned how stories move from page to property.

After my first screenplay was optioned, JR and I relocated to Atlanta and founded Area 77 VFX.

There were years when payroll outweighed momentum. JR rose from PA to On-Set Supervisor on major productions, including Ozark. I produced behind the scenes — structuring projects, pitching, writing, and growing the company alongside our marriage.

Between 2019–2021, I optioned additional scripts. Script sales did not eliminate volatility. Building a company did not remove risk. We continued building and purchased our home in 2022.

In 2020, undiagnosed Ehlers-Danlos caused dysautonomic failure. In 2021, two neurosurgeries stabilized my life. In 2024, we lost our son a week before my scheduled C-section.

Loss recalibrates time and informs art.

Area 77 continued to grow. JR stepped into larger roles.

I shifted my focus to novels and began building long-form work of my own.
I am preparing my debut novel, A Cowardly Old World, for release in 2027, followed by a historical fantasy duology (2028–2029).

I write about power, survival, and devotion because I understand what they cost.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Childhood, generational trauma, poverty, homelessness, and complex love were the first trials I faced. My dad was a con man and my mother was a nurse, so I learned early how to use lies to tell the truth. I grew up in women’s shelters, moving every three to nine months, placed in gifted programs while navigating highly functional autism and C-PTSD. Books were my only friend, and writing became the place where an otherling could finally belong.

I overcame poverty by becoming the first member of my family to graduate from a university. Education was my way out.

Breaking into the film industry required more than talent. There were years of uncertainty. Years where progress felt invisible. Working at Paramount did not guarantee fame and fortune. Selling a screenplay does not guarantee it will be made into a film. Launching a VFX company does not eliminate risk or guarantee that your mortgage will be paid.

When we founded Area 77 VFX, we walked into an empty office near the stadium before the renovations — a half-demolished space we had to renovate ourselves. Things get real when you’re remodeling with a broken arm, taking calls and pitching like you’re still in the executive dining room at Paramount.

There were no shortcuts — only reinvestment, discipline, and long stretches of invisible, hard work.

JR climbed from PA to Data Wrangler to On Set Supervisor on major productions, including Ozark. Between 2019–2021, I optioned a second and third script. While others slowed during COVID, Area 77 VFX took off.

In 2020, I almost died due to undiagnosed Ehlers-Danlos causing dysautonomic failure. In 2021, I underwent two neurosurgeries that saved my life. In 2024, we lost our son a week before my scheduled C-section.

Those moments were devastating, but they clarified what mattered: creating a family and a legacy of creative work to leave behind.

Area 77 VFX continued to grow. I continued producing, pitching, and developing new work, pivoting into writing books instead of optioning them. My debut novel, A Cowardly Old World, will be published in 2027, followed by a historical fantasy duology.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a producer, optioned screenwriter, and debuting author based in Atlanta.

My work centers on historical fantasy, dark romance, dystopian fiction, psychological thrillers, and literary adaptations. I specialize in character-driven storytelling set inside powerful systems — where devotion, survival, and moral tension collide. My debut novel, A Cowardly Old World, a dystopian thriller, will be published in 2027, followed by a historical fantasy duology (2028–2029).

My writing process always begins with dreams. I am a dreamer of beautiful nightmares. I get the soul of the story in my bones — a scene, a character, a rose in the snow. Then I build the architecture. I have to know who my characters are and what they want. Then I draft straight through. I don’t edit until the second draft. Otherwise, it’s like carving marble while it’s still clay.

My work features historical fantasy, intertwining folklore with fact to capture culture and give birth to living, breathing characters, dark romance, dystopian, psychological thrillers, and literary adaptations. If it’s dark, magical, morally grey, haunting and darkly romantic, it’s probably mine.

Alongside my writing career, I co-founded Area 77 VFX.

Through our company, we have delivered visual effects and production services on major network and streaming productions, including Ozark and other nationally recognized series. I have produced across 25+ television episodes and multiple feature films, managing multi-million-dollar budgets and collaborating with directors, showrunners, and studio executives. In terms of writing for screen, I wrote and optioned literary adaptations of Stephen King’s Mute and Eyes of a Blue Dog by Gabriel García Márquez, as well as an optioned psychological thriller feature, Borderline.

As a producer, I approach it like a curriculum developer, which means content and script first. I go through the script, tear it apart, make sure the bones are good, then ready the flesh. I identify the necessary elements and shots, build the budget, then begin pitching. Once the green light is given, pre-production begins.

I am most proud of building something lasting — a body of work, a company, and a creative partnership — through endurance. But, I don’t think I’ve had my proudest moment, yet. Because the proudest moment of my life will be when I hold my first child and when I autograph my first novel.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
The most important lesson I’ve learned is that in the Hunger Games, the survivor wins. Life is hard. The climb is harder. Be kind to people. Treat others well. In this industry, you run into the same people again and again, and no one forgets anything. If you are a writer, your voice is your power. Don’t let anyone take it from you.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/Persephonierose?utm_source=threads&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/persephonierose
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/persephonierose
• Twitter: https://www.threads.com/@persephonierose
• Other: https://m.imdb.com/name/nm7599107/

Image Credits
@HollywoodHeadshots
@JRHawkins