#author Jenelle Schmidt

[erawls-themaskedstoryteller]

Steal the Morrow by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt!

#StealTheMorrow an #OliverTwist retelling by #JenelleSchmidt full of heart and adventure! #fantasybooks #cleanreads #cleanbooks #indiebooks #indiereads #steampunkbooks #retellings

Yes, there’s another book release from Jenelle! Can you believe how much she’s published this year? See my post about her other series The Turrim Archive earlier this year! But today is about Steal the Morrow, which is a fantastical Oliver Twist retelling and part of the A Classic Retold multi-author series. NOW AVAILABLE Universal Buy Link: mybook.to/stealthemorrow Universal Series Page Link:…

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Dive Into 2020 CFA Finalist Jenelle Leanne Schmidt

Dive Into 2020 CFA Finalist Jenelle Leanne Schmidt

Vote Now for An Echo of the Fae as the 2020 Indie Fantasy Book of the Year! Behind the Writing of An Echo of the Fae Continue reading

[cultivating-wildflowers]

My reading goals for 2021

In honor of the fact that I already have 21 books on my TBR for 2021 (some of them books that I’ve been meaning to read for two years and more...) I wanted to share my two specific goals for reading, since they’re different from past years in that it’s not about numbers. In 2021 I want to:

Seek out newer, quality Christian fiction

Get to the nonfiction that’s been piling up around my house

The second is pretty obvious, so to expand upon that first point:

I want to intentionally seek out and read fiction from professed Christian writers whose works very likely reflect their faith. I’ve mostly avoided fiction marketed as by or for Christians for years because to me the majority of it tends to lack the standard of quality that “mainstream” fiction adheres to. Lately I’ve seen signs that this is changing (especially with a rising number of Christian fantasy writers and even a Christian fantasy/sci-fi publisher or two cropping up) so I want to investigate it for myself.

Plus, it’ll be nice to support fellow Christian writers.

What does this mean for my selection process?

I’m looking for writers who specifically state in their bios or on their websites that they are Christian, as opposed to it being some tangential fact you can only find in a random interview (e.g. Veronica Roth, Ally Condie).

For the first time ever, I’m utilizing publisher catalogs to find books (though I’m not look at a lot of the big-name Christian publishers). My starting point has been Enclave Publishing, since I like how they present themselves online and I like the apparent quality of the books in their catalog. I’m also looking through resources related to the Realm Makers conference, and to the Lorehaven website and podcast (Fantastical Truth).

I’m still mostly sticking to speculative fiction. It would take a lot for me to willingly curate a year’s TBR full of contemporary or historical Christian fiction, and even more for that list to be romance-centric.

Related to the above, I’m not specifically requiring that these books mention God or be allegorical, though it is nice to see how various writers approach this. (I still like Wayne Thomas Batson’s approach.)

I will probably have to buy a lot of the books on my TBR, or else work up the nerve to make requests through my library.

So here’s my 2021 TBR (so far):

Non-Fic

Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making* - Andrew Peterson

A Grief Observed - C.S. Lewis

Lost Women of the Bible: Finding Strength & Significance Through Their Stories - Carolyn Custis James

Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis

Peace Child: An unforgettable Story of Primitive Jungle Teaching in the 20th Century - Don Richardson

Prophecies Of Pale Skin* - D.S. Phillips

Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free* - Linda Kay Klein

Christian Fic

The Beast of Talesend - Kyle Robert Schultz

Brand of Light - Ronie Kendig

Child of the Kaites - Beth Wangler

The Electrical Menagerie - Mollie E. Reeder

Heartless - Anne Elisabeth Stengl

The House of DunRaven - Steven Thomas Lympus

The Innocence of Father Brown - G.K. Chesterton

King's Warrior - Jenelle Leanne Schmidt (the audiobook was just released!)

Mark of the Raven - Morgan L. Busse

Seventh City - Emily Hayse

Superego - Frank J. Fleming

Other Fic

The Silver Hand - Stephen R. Lawhead*/**

Re-Reads

The Silmarillion***- J.R.R. Tolkien

The Thief - Megan Whalen Turner

Since the whole goal here is to find some quality fiction I would happily recommend to others, I’m going to do my best not to slog through books that aren’t holding my interest, but I have a feeling I’m going to struggle with it this year. I tend to feel obligated to finish certain books and that obligation is always magnified when the author Christian.

The Thief will hopefully be my first read of the year (depending on what library books I still have after Christmas) because I’ll be marking it up and then sending it along to a friend to read, who will pass it to another friend, and so on throughout the year. By the end I will hopefully have indoctrinated at least one friend into the Queen’s Thief fandom. (I have five of my writing gals signed up so the odds are solid one of them joins me. Yes, I am ridiculously giddy about this scheme.)

*meant to read in 2020

** not 100% positive he’s a Christian author

***technically I’ve only ever got halfway through this book

[deborahocarroll]

An Echo of the Fae by Jenelle Schmidt (Blog Tour + Review)

An Echo of the Fae by Jenelle Schmidt (Blog Tour + Review)

Hey everyone! I’m thrilled to be a part of the blog tour for this fabulous new novel by one of my favorite authors! Read on for my review!

Title: An Echo of the Fae Author: Jenelle Leanne Schmidt

Date read: March 27, 2020

Rating: 5 stars

Genre: Fantasy

Age: Anyone / Children’s to YA

Year pub: 2020

Pages: 262

Series: Stands alone

Notes: I was a copyeditor for this, but as an unbiased reader I…

[jamesquinlanmeservy-author]

Cover Reveal For An Echo of the Fae by Janelle Leanne Schmidt

    (The cover art/design was done by the amazing Savannah Jezowski with Dragonpen Designs.)

  Book Blurb:

  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.

    Endorsements:

“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

    Author Bio:

  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.

Follow Jenelle around the interwebs to get news about latest releases and her writing adventures:

WEBSITE

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

INSTAGRAM

GOODREADS

NEWSLETTER SIGN-UP

AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL

    Excerpts (if you choose to share an excerpt, please choose just one to share, thank you!):

  My earliest memory returns often in my dreams. My mother’s soft smile caresses me as she bends down to kiss my forehead, my own tiny hand reaching up and trying to capture a lock of her long red-gold hair between clumsy fingers that refuse to obey my wish. A soft, sweet humming fills the memory, a tune that is both dear and yet unfamiliar. Eyes filled with love gaze down at me, and a gentle laugh, a man’s laugh, fills the room. Strong arms encircle us both, my mother and me, and I know I am perfectly safe. Perfectly loved.

Another sound permeates the memory: a rhythmic, rushing, liquid sound I do not recognize, but which fills me with a deep longing that threatens to burst out of my chest and leave me completely hollow. In the dream, it is merely a subtle noise in the background, but when I wake I feel a desperate need to find its source. Sometimes the longing clutches me so tightly that it leaves me gasping, desperately sucking in each breath as if through a narrow reed, my lungs screaming as though they have forgotten how to breathe the very air I need to survive.

It is rare to have a memory from such a tender age, especially one so vivid. And yet, that moment is locked in my thoughts with perfect clarity. During the day it grows distant and faded, but it has haunted my sleep in full, vibrant detail each night for nearly thirteen years.

So why is it that the face in my dreams is wholly unfamiliar to me? Why is the mother from my memory a stranger?

***

Echo sat on a salt-smoothed boulder, her knees pulled up to her chin, watching the other village children playing along the beach. Some of them traversed the shore collecting shells in wicker baskets. The braver ones waded out into the water, splashing and swimming in the gently rolling waves. A shudder coursed through her. Even if it were not early spring and the waters were warmer, nothing would induce her to go any closer to that surging surf and those unfathomable depths. Who knew what untold terrors the placidly sparkling surface concealed?

A cluster of girls stood in the wet sand where the waves lapped about their ankles, baskets swinging from their arms, the foaming water swirling at their feet. She imagined ghostly, watery hands reaching out to capture them, pulling them beneath the surface, deeper and deeper until all memory of light and warmth was long forgotten.

***

    She lay still, listening. All was quiet in the house below. Or was it? A voice filtered through the hammering rain—Dadai’s deep rumble, and then Mamai’s treble answered, though Echo could not make out the words. Another rumble of thunder, and beneath its rolling bass, she could just pick out the higher-pitched creak of the front door opening.

Quietly, so as not to alert her parents, Echo crept out of her bed, dragging her quilt with her, and tiptoed to her window that looked out over the front of the house. Before the open front door, she could make out a faint rectangle of light on the ground below. Gusts of wind buffeted the cozy house, and she squinted into the pelting rain to see who might be going out. Then the hinges creaked again and the light disappeared, plunging the outdoors into darkness once more.

Through the driving rain, a hint of movement drew her attention to a shadowy figure crossing the yard. Echo strained her eyes, but she could not make it out. Then, a flash of lightning, another, and another, lit the sky in quick succession. Echo caught her breath. Walking through the storm, hair long and flowing unbound around her in the tempest, her skirts fluttering in the wind, Mamai walked heedlessly into the rain toward the tip of the peninsula. Echo stared out the window, willing another lightning bolt to scatter the darkness. When it came, she saw her mother descending the rocky stairs that led to the beach. Her head soon disappeared below the cliffside, out of Echo’s view.

Her head spun as she leaned her elbows on the windowsill. Where had Mamai gone? Why could she possibly need to be out in such a storm? No houses lay that way, so it couldn’t be a sick neighbor. The docks were on the other side of the peninsula, and anyway, if there were a problem there, it would have been her father who attended to it. The mystery of it lay heavy on her thoughts as she awaited her mother’s return.

But she did not return.

Echo’s eyelids grew heavy. She struggled to keep them open, propping herself up in an uncomfortable position in an attempt to stay awake, but eventually she succumbed to the insistent embrace of sleep.

***

  Do the fae read books? Echo wondered suddenly, and voiced the question before she had time to consider whether or not it might be rude.

“We don’t read about life; we live,” Malilia replied. “And we learn, not from reading, but from living.”

“That’s beautiful,” Echo said. “And yet… hollow.”

Malilia arched an eyebrow. “Hollow? What is in your books that is so wonderful?”

“Everything!” Echo enthused, warming to the topic. “Why, in books you can be anyone, go anywhere. There’s a freedom to reading unlike anything else. When you read, it makes you think differently about the world and your own life, and sometimes it helps you understand what’s going on around you by showing you a different perspective. And… well… there’s beauty to be discovered in books, more real and more true because it’s only limited by your own imagination. And besides, it’s…. it’s just… fun!”

Malilia grew thoughtful. “This is something you care about.”

“Yes.” Echo felt a little embarrassed. She did not usually speak so forcefully. “I like reading.”

“I can tell.” Malilia’s eyes twinkled with amusement.

***

  “You dare steal from the King of the Winter Court?” The voice reverberated through the air, its sheer, palpable power pushing Echo to her knees. The lantern dropped from her nerveless hand and clattered on the ground.

Echo bowed her head respectfully, racking her memory for every snatch of folk-tale she had ever heard about the Winter Fae or the Dark Host. “Forgive me, my lord,” she whispered. “I did not intend to steal from you. I merely seek to save the life of my sister.”

She heard soft footfalls approach across the sable ground but she did not dare raise her eyes, not even when she felt the touch of hot breath on the back of her head.

“You smell of truth.” The voice sounded puzzled. “Rise, seeker.”

Echo stood, wincing at the pain in her feet. But that thought fled with the rest as she came face to face with the largest tiger she had ever seen.

Upon reflection, it was the only tiger she had ever seen. But she was reasonably certain that, should she ever see another, it would be quite different from the monstrous beast that confronted her now.

Her eyes were even with his shoulders, and he stared down at her from his impressive height, his long whiskers twitching inches above her face. His fur was utterly black, the color of coal. Instead of stripes, Ritioghra’s—for it could only be Ritioghra—body was covered in swirls and whorls of gleaming blue, the same color as the Everflame. His eyes gleamed like two massive stars of an identical shade, and he gazed down at her with an expression of ferocious curiosity. He was utterly terrifying and utterly beautiful.

Terror coursed through her veins like ice, but the light of intelligence in his eyes gave her courage. “For-forgive me, my lord.” Echo gave a wobbly curtsy.

The tiger stretched with a lazy nonchalance. Every line of his long body rippled with power and strength, like the unstoppable force of a river about to burst its banks.

  Cover Reveal For An Echo of the Fae by Janelle Leanne Schmidt Cover Reveal For An Echo of the Fae by Janelle Leanne Schmidt (The cover art/design was done by the amazing Savannah Jezowski with Dragonpen Designs.)

[booksformks]

Picture Book Review: 'Twas an Evening in Bethlehem

Picture Book Review: ‘Twas an Evening in Bethlehem

‘Twas an Evening in Bethlehem by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt (Author), Sierra Klein  (Illustrator) 4 out of 5 stars on GoodReadsThe child of an innkeeper in Bethlehem shows Mary and Joseph to the stable, bringing them some blankets and cleaning out the animals’ trough to be used as the manger for the baby. In the middle of the night, the child hears a baby crying and sneaks out to the stable to…

[readwriteclub-blog]

Jenelle Schmidt - Author Interview

Jenelle Schmidt – Author Interview

Tell us about yourself and what inspired you to start writing. When I was a kid, my dad read out loud to my younger siblings and me every night before bed. This experience built up a love of stories in me. I guess it was only natural that I started making up my own. Tell us about your books. King’s Warrior, Second Son, and Yorien’s Hand are the first three books in the Minstrel’s Song series. The…

[erawls-themaskedstoryteller]

Cover Reveal for author Jenelle Leanne Schmidt!

#Coverreveal for author #jenelleschmidt her new #steampunkfantasy book releasing in June! #bookslikeNarnia #adventurebooks #airships #pirates #newfantasybooks #cleanreads

This week is a special one, as it’s the cover reveal for the first book in a series that my dear friend and fellow author has been working on for a lonnng time! In total it will be a 5 book series, and the other books are all close to being ready for publishing! Which means you won’t have to wait too long to find out what happens next in the story–you know, avoiding those dreaded “cliffhanger”…

[erawls-themaskedstoryteller]

It's the Audio Book Celebration for author Jenelle Schmidt!

It's the Audio Book Celebration for author Jenelle Schmidt! #fantasyauthor #epicfantasybooks #newaudiobooks #fantasyadventureseries #newaudiblebooks

That’s right, Jenelle’s King’s Warrior book series is now an audiobook series! Epic adventure and fantasy and dragons galore! Below is all the info, and a link to an audio sample, plus you can see what other readers are saying. A huge congratulations to Jenelle for all the work she put into this, and her dream for this series coming true! Find the series on Audible at:…

[erawls-themaskedstoryteller]

The Silmaril Most Magnificent Dragon Award of 2022 Goes To...

Here it is: find out who the winner for Most Magnificent Dragon is! The ceremony's presenter is Smaug himself! #SilmAwards2022 #bookawards #dragons #fantasybooks #lotr #hobbit #Smaug #thedaisha #hulwen #juliodragon #enchantedforestchronicles #moonscript

Smaug the Tremendous and Mighty busied himself taking a bath within his hills of gold, rolling over and scrubbing at his scales with coins and jewels until they glistened as brightly as the gemstones themselves. He must look his best for the approaching award ceremony, after all–even if it was a tedious and nonsense ceremony designed by inferior humans. He must always look his most terribly best��

[erawls-themaskedstoryteller]

The Silmaril Most Epic Heroine Award of 2021 Goes To...

The Silmaril Most Epic Heroine Award of 2021 Goes To... #SilmarilAwards2021 #bestfantasybooks #bestbookcharacters #fictionheroines

Eowyn lifted her chin, gazing around at the capital of Rohan, Edoras. All of the decorations were in place, all the banners bearing the Silmaril Awards emblem raised high and flapping in the morning breeze. Today’s ceremony was for the women brave of heart, those who would not cower in the face of danger but would charge forward to save their country and those they loved, heroic women who she…

[erawls-themaskedstoryteller]

The Silmaril Awards 2021 are now open! Nominate your favorite characters today!

The Silmaril Awards 2021 are now open! Nominate your favorite characters today! #silmarilawards2021 #favoritecharacters #bestfantasycharacters #tolkienawards #bestfantasybooks

The Silmaril Awards are all about celebrating fantasy fiction. While most awards go to authors or books, these awards go to the characters themselves! This annual award ceremony presents awards to fantasy characters from novels–characters who are nominated by YOU. That’s right, it’s your vote that decides the win! These awards will be presented by characters from The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings,…

[erawls-themaskedstoryteller]

The Silmaril Least Competent Henchman Award 2020 Goes To...

The Silmaril Least Competent Henchman Award 2020 Goes To... #SilmarilAwards2020 #fantasyawards #fantasycharacters #bookawards

The day is here! Your votes have been gathered, and we can now present to you this year’s winner of the Least Competent Henchman Award!

It’s a cloudy day as henchmen from various tales arrive for the ceremony, this year to be presented outdoors where nothing much can be damaged or broken. Tables are set out, decorated with silky table cloths and fine silverware, bouquets of black roses for…

[erawls-themaskedstoryteller]

Myths and Folklore that Inspired "An Echo of the Fae"

Myths and Folklore that Inspired #AnEchooftheFae #newbookrelease #faebooks #newfantasybooks #folklore #fae #fairytales

Fellow author and friend Jenelle Schmidt is here today as my guest to talk to us about how she came up with her fae book’s story idea, namely what myths and folklore inspired her. Her new book, An Echo of the Fae, has just released and I’m honored to be a part of her book’s Blog Tour. Scroll all the way down for the full release schedule.

Myths and Folklore that Inspired “An Echo of the Fae”

by…

[erawls-themaskedstoryteller]

An Echo of the Fae, Cover Reveal!

An Echo of the Fae, Cover Reveal! #faebooks #anechoofthefae #newfantasybooks #mgbooks #fairytalebooks #fairybooks

My friend Jenelle Schmidt has a new book releasing soon, and it contains my other favorite thing besides elves: the fae! (As if the title didn’t give it away already) Yes, I love fae, and I can’t wait to read this pretty gem.

Here today, I’m honored to show you the shiny book cover for this fae tale:

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…

…

…

and…ta-daa!

Book Blurb:

Echo enjoys the peace and solitude of the Faeorn forest,…

[deborahocarroll]

An Echo of the Fae: Cover Reveal!

An Echo of the Fae: Cover Reveal!

Hello, my fellow page dreamers! I’m back from hiatus — and a lovely hiatus it was — to share the GORGEOUS cover for AN ECHO OF THE FAE by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt, one of my favorite authors!

This is a book I’m very excited indeed to share about (I have, in fact, read it, since I was privileged to copyedit it — and I hope to review it for the blog tour later this month), and the cover is STUNNING!…