Jenelle Schmidt and Fantasy for the Family- Guest Post

Why Family-Friendly Fantasy?

When I tell people that I write “Family Friendly Fantasy” and that my target audience is “families” I often get some very quizzical looks. “What does that look like?” and “How does one write a book ‘for families’?” are some of the most common questions that are asked.

Growing up, books were a very important part of life. My mom read me the entire series of Little House books before I turned three. My dad read books to my siblings and me almost every night before bed. That was where I fell in love with Middle Earth, Narnia, Charles Wallace, Lad, Taran of Caer Dalban, and so many other worlds and characters. When I came home from college after my freshman year, my dad challenged me to write an “adventure tale” that he could read out loud to the family each night that summer. The idea intrigued me, and I set to work.

My family was my first audience. At the time, my younger sister was 11 and my brothers were 15 and 17. I had to work hard to make the story interesting for my high school brothers, enjoyable for my parents, and yet also understandable and not too scary or intense for my sister. When that summer was over, I knew I wanted to write more stories, and I wanted to find that perfect balance again and again.

That summer is one of my favorite memories. As my family was introduced to each new character, as each segment of ten pages unfolded more story before them, I saw a picture I wanted to be able to gift to others. My hope is that my books can provide entertainment to a whole new generation of families. I know mine isn’t the only family who reads out loud together, and I would count it the highest praise to someday discover that my books had made it into that honored position of evening read-aloud time for other families.

So, you parents who read out loud to your kids before bed and watch wonder unfold in their eyes and inspire their imaginations? You children who eagerly anticipate hearing stories come to life in the voices of your parents? I wrote this book for you.

About the Author

Jenelle Schmidt grew up in the northern-midwest. She now resides with her husband and their three adorable children in North Carolina where the summers are too hot and there is never enough snow. Jenelle fell in love with reading at a young age during family storytimes. To this day she enjoys creating exciting adventure tales filled with poignant themes and compelling characters in the fantasy and sci-fi genres.

To learn more about Jenelle and her work, visit her website.

King’s Warrior and Second Son are the first two books in Jenelle’s debut series “The Minstrel’s Song.” She hopes to release the third book, Yorien’s Hand, sometime this year. You can purchase her books through Amazon here and also here.


 

Giveaway: Jenelle is offering a copy of King's Warrior to two lucky winners. There is a physical copy for US entrants and an ebook for international entrants.
 
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