An Echo of the Fae – Author Interview with Jenelle Schmidt

Today I’m excited to welcome Jenelle Schmidt to the blog! You might know her as the author of the Minstrel’s Song series or as one of the fabulous founding co-hosts of the annual Silmaril Awards.

She just released a brand new book for middle grade readers this week, called An Echo of the Fae, which looks positively DELIGHTFUL. And as part of her blog tour, I have the pleasure of interviewing Jenelle about her creative process… and how she’d fare in an enchanted wood. 😉

But first! Here’s a little bit about the book itself.

An Echo of the Fae

Echo enjoys the peace and solitude of the Faeorn forest, regardless of how strange spending time in the “haunted” wood seems to others.

But on the cusp of her thirteenth birthday, the discovery of a family secret reveals why Echo has never been drawn to the sea like her mother. This discovery shakes the foundations of her world and sends Echo on a quest, not merely into the forest, but into the heart of the fae-lands themselves, to rescue the sister she didn’t know existed.

Elves, dragons, and fairy courts will put Echo’s wit and resolve to the test. But with time running out for her sister, will Echo even be able to save herself?

A fairytale adventure perfect for fans of The Secret of Roan Innish and The Girl Who Drank the Moon.

Find the Book:

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Praise

“Enthralled by the terror, charm, riddles, and beauty of a richly depicted fae world, I devoured this marvelous book in two sittings! Readers of all ages will love Echo, a heroine strong in her weakness, clever and resolute amid her doubt and fear. An Echo of the Fae is sure to satisfy lovers of adventure and faery!”

—J.M. Stengl, author of The Faraway Castle Series

“Jenelle Schmidt has a gift for drawing readers into the action even from the very first sentence—and An Echo of the Fae is no exception. I was instantly captivated by this timeless story of adventure, discovery, friendship and family. Not only is An Echo of the Fae a book families can enjoy together, it is also one that leaves readers with full hearts, ignited imaginations, and a longing to embark on their own adventure.”

—Jennifer Marshall Bleakley, author of Joey: How a Blind Rescue Horse Helped Others Learn to See

“If you’ve ever felt uncomfortable in your own skin—or unsure of your place in this (or any other) world, this journey is for you. An Echo of the Fae is both timely and timeless, a mythic quest where anything is possible, nothing is as it seems, and everything is at stake.”

—Allen Arnold, author of The Story of With

ALL RIGHT! Now on to the interview you’ve been waiting for!

Tracey: What were the most challenging and most rewarding parts of writing middle grade for the first time?

Jenelle: That’s an interesting question, because I didn’t really set out to write a middle grade book. It just sort of happened. Because of important plot elements, I needed the main characters to be nearing some sort of milestone birthday. I considered making them fifteen, but historically around the world, thirteen is a more accurate “coming of age” birthday, and it seemed wrong trying to impose the sixteen number from my own culture and time onto Echo.

Once I embraced her age as being twelve-almost-thirteen, a lot of other aspects of the story clicked into place rather nicely with regards to whether or not it was MG or YA. I think it settles solidly into the middle grade slot, even though I didn’t pull any punches when it comes to vocabulary and descriptions! It’s the teacher in me, I like helping to expand vocabularies and teach new words.

I think, to answer your question, that the most challenging part of writing middle grade for the first time was actually embracing the fact that it is middle grade. I don’t know why, because I personally love reading MG fantasy, but I’ve had a bit of a hang-up about not wanting to write MG, and insisting that I write YA. But the YA genre has changed a lot in the past 20 years, and the themes and types of stories that I write fit better in MG.

The most rewarding part of writing middle grade for the first time? That’s easy! My daughters (ages 8 and 11) were my very first beta readers for this story. Watching them zip through it and hearing their opinions and ideas for how I could improve the story and getting their help brainstorming ideas for an appropriate title was one of the most rewarding experiences of my author career.

T: For me, stories are born out of a hodgepodge of ingredients. Can you tell us about the inspiration(s) behind An Echo of the Fae?

J: Definitely! My stories spring from a hodgepodge of ingredients, as well, and An Echo of the Fae is no exception. It started as a glimmer of an idea I had for a Rapunzel retelling. The original idea was, “What if instead of a tower, Rapunzel is a selkie spirited away to the fae realm as an infant? She has no idea who she really is, but she’s longing for the sea, even if she doesn’t really know what the sea is, and the fae realm IS her tower?”

Now, of course the story has changed a lot from that original idea, but some of those elements did remain as the core of the story.

Another ingredient was a desire to write a story that reflected how beautiful adoption can be. I know it can also be difficult and messy, but in my life I’ve been surrounded by quite a few people who were adopted, including an aunt and uncle, several friends, and I have many friends who have adopted children, and a lot of those stories have been absolutely breathtaking. I feel like fantasy is full of stories about orphans and children with evil stepmothers and broken families or horrible families or adopted children who want nothing more than to find their original parents… but so many of the people I know who have been adopted LOVE their adoptive families and have never questioned whether or not they belong… and I just kind of wanted to write a story for them.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the many amazing books I’ve read that helped inspire various elements of this book: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tales of Goldstone Wood, Ill Met by Moonlight, The Princess and the Goblin, The Secret of Roan Innish, and The Girl Who Drank the Moon.

T: If you were swept off to an enchanted wood, what would you do? And what would you hope to find?

J: First, I would probably be a little frightened at first and worry that I was lost or something. I’d probably pray for a bit, as well, and maybe cry… heroines in books aren’t supposed to cry when they discover an enchanted wood, but I’m assuming that maybe I wouldn’t know right away where I was because I’m not a very observant person.

But whenever it becomes apparent that I am in an enchanted wood, I would immediately start exploring. I would hope to find friendly and helpful beings in the wood, specifically a friendly dragon who would let me ride on his back and take me flying for a while. I’d also hope to find some sort of epic adventure or quest I need to go on.

Eventually, of course, I hope that I would ultimately find my way home, because while enchanted forests and epic quests are all well and good, all my favorite people are in THIS realm, and I would miss them pretty soon, so I would definitely want to get back to them… especially if I can bring a few good stories to tell them about my adventures!

Thanks so much for joining me today, Jenelle! Your answers were lovely and only make me want to read An Echo of the Fae more.

Be sure to add the book on Goodreads, snap it up on Amazon, and find Jenelle around the interwebs. 😊

About Jenelle

Jenelle first fell in love with stories through her father’s voice reading books aloud each night. A relentless opener-of-doors in hopes of someday finding a passage to Narnia, it was only natural that she soon began making up fantastical realms of her own. Jenelle currently resides in the wintry tundra of Wisconsin—which she maintains is almost as good as Narnia—with her knight-in-shining armor and their four adorable hobbits. When she is not writing, she homeschools said hobbits and helps them along on their daily adventures… which she says makes her a wizard.

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