Read Clean YA with CJ Episode Thirty-One
Welcome to another exciting episode of Read Clean YA with C.J.! Today, we’re exploring the fantastical world of The Orb and the Airship with author Jenelle Schmidt, whose love for storytelling began with her father’s nightly reading sessions.
A rogue airship captain.
An ambitious youth.
A clash of powers beyond their imagination.
Episode Show Notes below
Links to Things Discussed in this Episode
Adventure, Family, and Fantasy: Inside Jenelle Schmidt's "The Orb and the Airship"
Episode Show Notes:
Meet Jenelle Schmidt
A self-proclaimed seeker of Narnia and creator of fantastical realms, Jenelle Schmidt currently resides in Wisconsin with her “knight in shining armor” and their four “hobbits.” When not writing adventures, she homeschools her children and embraces her role as a family wizard.
The Orb and the Airship: A Tale of Two Worlds
This first book in the Turrim Archive series weaves together multiple storylines:
“It’s a story about quite a few characters. It’s a multi point of view story, because that’s what I grew up reading… It kind of starts out with the airship captain pirate, Merrick… planning a heist.”
A World of Adventure
The story follows two main threads:
- An airship captain planning a dangerous heist
- Two friends preparing to leave their village for military academy
The Story Behind the Story
Interestingly, the world of Turrim originated with Schmidt’s husband:
“He’s an engineer, but he loves fantasy… he started like doing this massive, massive amounts of world building. And there were these seven huge towers… He thinks about things like currency and does this country accept that country’s currency?”
Themes That Matter
Family First
One of the strongest themes in Schmidt’s work is the importance of family:
“Family is very important to me… Our poor fantasy genre has so many orphans… I have tried really hard not to have too many orphans in my stories, trying to give them good families.”
Faith and Redemption
The series also explores deeper spiritual themes:
“The solidity of your salvation… I do have a character who he’s basically been given a task by the creator figure in the story… and he has turned his back on that job.”
Influences and Comparisons
Schmidt’s work draws inspiration from beloved classics:
- Treasure Planet
- Star Wars (particularly Han Solo’s character)
- Firefly/Serenity (but clean)
A Family Affair
Schmidt’s writing journey began with a unique challenge from her father:
“If you want to be a writer, you should be writing… I want you to write me a book… I need an adventure story that I can read out loud to your brothers and sister… I’ll pay you a dollar a page.”
Writing for All Ages
The author’s target audience reflects her family-centered approach:
“When people ask me, who’s your target audience? I have a hard time answering that question. But it seems like it’s the target audience of families who really want to enjoy an adventure together.”
Where to Find The Orb and the Airship
Readers can find Schmidt’s books through various platforms:
- Amazon
- Barnes & Noble online
- Audible (for audiobook lovers)
- JanelleSchmidt.com
Conclusion
Jenelle Schmidt’s The Orb and the Airship offers readers a rich, family-friendly adventure that combines airship heists, coming-of-age journeys, and deeper themes of faith and family. Whether you’re reading alone or sharing with family, this series promises to captivate readers of all ages.
“I still think about my brothers… What would keep them entertained… but then I also think, okay, but my dad’s reading this… my mom’s listening. And you know, so it’s this huge range of ages.”
For more updates and insights into clean young adult fiction, stay tuned to Read Clean YA with C.J.!
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Jenelle Leanne Schmidt
Author
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 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.
About Your Host
Award-winning author CJ Milacci writes stories for teens and young adults with heart-pounding action and hope. As the podcast host for Read Clean YA with CJ, she loves talking about books and the deeper themes woven into the pages of each novel. She’s passionate about crafting stories of good overcoming evil, finding hope in the midst of seemingly hopeless circumstances, and true acceptance.
Always willing to get real about hard issues, C.J. also enjoys the cheesiest of puns. She chats about writing, her faith, bubble tea, and other fun adventures online (@cjmilacci) and at cjmilacci.com.
CJ Milacci is the award-winning author of The Talionis Series, and she writes stories for teens and young adults with heart-pounding action and hope. As a referee, she’s always relearning the hard lesson that it’s impossible to make everyone happy, and she’s discovered that stories can be found anywhere, even on a lacrosse field. She’s passionate about crafting stories of good overcoming evil, finding hope in the midst of seemingly hopeless circumstances, and true acceptance.
Recruit of Talionis, Book 1
A teen with a dark past. A secret military force that kidnaps new soldiers. Can she survive as a Recruit of Talionis?
Fugitive of Talionis, Book 2
They kidnapped her. Trained her. And now they’re hunting her.
Want to know as soon as an episode drops?
Thanks so much for having me, CJ! I’m sharing the link to this episode on my blog tomorrow!