It’s been far too long since I’ve posted any thoughts or news. I have been deep in the inkwells with Mountainfall, book 4 of the Swordspeaker Saga. But today I have something fantastically exciting to share. My good friend and fellow author, Jenelle Leanne Schmidt and her brother, Grantland Walker recently began a podcast and they were kind enough to invite me as a guest.
Jenelle is the award-winning author of many books, all of which I have read and enjoyed. If you love well-crafted, heartfelt, and fantastical stories, be sure to check out Jenelle’s books. Her new series The Turrim Archive is extremely well told and full of memorable characters in a robust, original world. It’s an epic, grand story that is full of hope amidst the darkness.
Grant is a filmmaker and while I am not as familiar with his work, from what I have seen of it, he is amazingly talented as well.
Our conversation centered mostly on books and stories, but it ranged to a few other topics as well. We talked about how I first started writing. How I came to love fantasy. The Silmaril Awards. What makes a good book. And what three fiction books we would take with us if we were stranded on a desert island.
The Stormcave Podcast
If you haven’t heard of the Stormcave Podcast, don’t be surprised because it’s brand new. I got to chat with Grant and Jenelle a little before and after we did the recording and they talked about what they hope to accomplish with their show. They want to share their love of stories and of the treasures they have found along their journey with others who are looking for great stories, too.
As they say at the beginning of every episode, Stormcave is the place, “where stories live and breathe and family memories are cherished.”
I’ve been listening to all of the episodes myself and it’s such a warm, friendly, engaging conversation. Grant and Jenelle really make you feel like they’ve invited you over for a visit in their cozy little home on the internet. It was great to not just listen in this time, but to get to contribute to the conversation.
A first time for everything
This was my first time ever being on a podcast. I’m generally a pretty private person. I don’t post much on social media and I don’t share much about myself when I do. But it was so natural speaking with Grant and Jenelle that I found it easy to go on and on about all sorts of things. To be sure, a lot of it was about books, and why reading and writing are so important, but inevitably I ended up sharing a few anecdotes from my own life as well.
We also talked a lot about how God is central to both our lives and our writing. That was such a blessing to be able to walk through that part of the craft because ultimately, He is both the Author and Audience for all of the stories I tell.
I really do love their podcast. It’s that authentic, genuine feeling, and the great rapport and care stories and for their families which Grant and Jenelle exude so effortlessly that make this podcast work.
I actually listen to a lot of podcasts on various topics and this is one of the key things I look for. Real people talking about important things they are passionate about. And the Stormcave Podcast has that in spades (and hearts, and diamonds, and clubs).
Where stories live and breathe and family memories are cherished.
—Stormcave Podcast
Tune in for a special announcement
I hope you’ll listen, not only to this podcast, but to all their past and future episodes. If you do, I’m sure you’ll come to enjoy spending time with Grant and Jenelle as much as I have.
The Youtube link is embedded below. You can also listen to the podcast on Spotify.
Oh! And there is one more thing…
I shared a bit of news on the podcast about an upcoming release in the Swordspeaker Saga! And it’s not what you might be thinking. All I can say is, you’ll have to tune in and find out.
An epic thank you to Grant and Jenelle for inviting me on. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I did recording it.
Until next time, I’ll see you between the pages.
It was so fun actually getting to meet you and hang out for a bit (even if it was still across the miles!) Thanks so much for being a guest on our podcast! Grant and I both agreed that you made our jobs very easy and we’d love to have you back soon! (Maybe we could schedule something around your next release!)
It was such a blessing to chat and get to know you better and to get to talk to Grant for the first time. I love what you guys are doing with the podcast. It’s funny how sometimes you don’t know you were missing something until it appears, like microwaves, rear parking cameras, or GPS, and then you think, “how did I get along without this?” Thank you so much for inviting me on. I can’t wait to see what God does with the show in the days and months ahead.