It’s been a while … but that doesn’t mean the noblebright spotlights are gone for good, and here’s another one! (They’re like the rare plant growing here and there, that you come across at random intervals, lol).

Jenelle resides in a wintry tundra that she maintains is almost as good as Narnia – having opened many doors searching for a way into that storied land – and is the published author of multiple fantasy series. Her latest novel, The Orb and The Airship is the first in her Turrim Archive series and just came out on June 16th.

So let’s find out what Jenelle has to share with us, and then look at that book of hers!

What does the genre/word ‘Noblebright’ mean to you?

Heroic heroes. Characters worth rooting for. That goodness is not naive, and that integrity is not silly, and that a story can have these things and be deep and profound and relatable…. that “there is good in this world, and it’s worth fighting for”… these are the themes that stand out to me as being “noblebright” and tend to run through all my favorite books and movies.

100% 😀 – I can’t imagine how depressing I’d find a book that had the opposite message!

Give us a quote, a scene, or a theme from your book that feels ‘bright’ to you.

I’m going to edit this just a little bit to avoid spoilers, but I think this moment with Dalmir near the end of The Orb and the Airship really just hits the middle of the Noblebright target and everything I am always trying to do and convey in anything I write:

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Despair should have overwhelmed him. The sorrow that had nearly engulfed him for [so long] should have risen up and paralyzed him. And yet it didn’t. Instead, for the first time since his battle with Uun so long ago, Dalmir felt hopeful. Perhaps there was a point to his existence, after all.

Perhaps he was being given another chance to ameliorate the great wrong he helped perpetrate so many long years ago. With that hope welling up within his heart, Dalmir smiled. He did not know how things were going to end, but he now knew that even in the midst of the darkest night, there was always a shard of light.

Ooh, I love this kind of redemption!!

Why were you drawn to write noblebright, and what do you see that doing so offers to the world?

I write noblebright because I am a born again believer, saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and his work on the cross and his resurrection. Because of this, I believe that the threads of hope intrinsic to the noblebright genre reflect the true happy ending waiting for Christians in heaven. I want to write stories that point to this hope, that shine a light on the truth that this world is not all there is, but that something infinitely better and more beautiful awaits. Ultimately, the noblebright genre points me to heaven and reminds me in my darker moments that there is, as C.S. Lewis might have put it, a far greater country further up and further in, and I will see it one day. For now, I escape to glimmers of it when I read and when I write noblebright fantasy.

I also believe that reading about heroes who overcome darkness and trials in their worlds can give us the courage to face our own dragons here in ours. Stories speak to our hearts in a way that few other things can. The best teachers teach through story-telling. The lessons we remember the most tend to have stories behind them. When I write, I hope to also teach and inspire. I hope that people can come away from my stories with more courage, with more determination to overcome, with more perseverance, with more kindness than they had before.

Can you share a few books by other authors that you think really share the spirit of what it means to be nobleright, and that other noblebright lovers would be glad to discover?

How long do you have? *grins* Okay, I’ll try not to go on for pages and pages… but here are some of my favorite noblebright books and authors that I’m sure anyone else who enjoys this genre would fall in love with.

Truesilver by DJ Edwardson

Greywolf’s Heart by CM Banschbach

Through a Shattered Glass by Sarah Pennington

Seventh City by Emily Hayse

The Goblin and the Dancer by Allison Tebo

Hollow Star by Penny Kearney

Escape to Vindor by Emily Golus

The Thirteenth Princess by Nina Clare

Literally anything by H.L. Burke, but most notably her The Supervillain Rescue Project series

Ghostlight by Rabia Gale

After by Savannah Jezowski

Moonscript by HSJ Williams

Spindle by W.R. Gingell

Endlewood by Alissa J Zavalianos

Anything by Kyle Robert Shultz (recommend starting with The Beast of Talesend).

Fascinating! I don’t think I recognize a single one of those titles OR names!

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 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.

You’re invited to visit Jenelle’s Website, subscribe to her Newsletter, or find her on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

The Orb and the Airship

Turrim Archives, #1

THE ORB AND THE AIRSHIP

A rogue airship captain. An ambitious youth. A clash of powers beyond their imagination.

With scholarships to a prestigious military school, Grayden and Wynn are thirsty for adventure. But the night before they leave, they discover the mysterious Dalmir and his arcane orb in the forsaken tower outside of town. The old man, who seems to have a wealth of knowledge of what came before and yet so little of the now, insists on accompanying them as they travel to the academy.

Meanwhile, all pirate Captain Marik wants is to keep to the skies, take his due, and care for his crew. Then a straightforward pillaging mission on a ship of fresh academy students leads to betrayal from one of his own and an unlikely friendship forged by necessity.

Yet this new alliance stirs up ancient foes and a conflict too terrible to ignore. Despite Grayden’s inexperience and Marik’s skepticism, working together with Dalmir is their only option.

The fate of the world depends on it.

Check out on Goodreads.

Get The Orb and the Airship Today!

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f this intrigues you and you’re a reader, author, or otherwise interested in noblebright, you’re invited to the Noblebright Alliance Discord!

And, if you’d like to do a spotlight with me as an author, or provide feedback on what you’d like to see as a reader, check out this post and get in touch!

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Noblebright Spotlights/Interviews/Guest Posts