Michelle Isenhoff was born and raised in a not-so-busy corner of Michigan. After graduating from college she worked in elementary education. Michelle has published four children's novels, a couple short stories and has two more novels in the works. When not writing, she can still be found with book-in-hand.

BRIAN: I’m pleased to welcome Michelle Isenhoff, author of The Quill Pen, to the Underground. 

Okay, Michelle, your website says you write children’s novels. After reading The Quill Pen I have to ask... why just for kids?

MICHELLE: Lol, it’s not!  I’m one of the many, many adults who still enjoy the children’s genre.  In fact, I think more adults have read The Quill Pen than kids so far.  


BRIAN: What was your inspiration for The Quill Pen?

MICHELLE: Believe it or not, it was a dream.  But the story evolved and changed so much during its many rewrites that very little of my original idea remains.  Once I latched onto the idea of the feather (at first the story contained a magic vial), the rest followed naturally.  

Many people have compared The Quill Pen to Tuck Everlasting, because of their similar treatment of life and death, and asked if that book was the inspiration for my own.  While I’m a huge fan of Natalie Babbitt, The Quill Pen had a starting point entirely separate from her outstanding novel.  Life and death make up Tuck’s central theme, but the idea of consequences is more important in mine.


BRIAN: I read and review a lot of self-published novels. More often than not, I find they are riddled with grammatical mistakes. Your book was very clean and well edited. Did you do this yourself? If not, did you hire a professional editor?

MICHELLE: I did not hire a professional.  I graduated with an English/lit major, so I have a very strong background in language and grammar.  When I sent the manuscript off to my proofreading friends (all writers), it didn’t require a great deal of clean-up.  But a few things always seem to slip through, and I’ve definitely learned that more eyes are better.  Six proofreaders seems to be a magic number.


BRIAN: In your blog you write a two-part series on indie-publishing, of which you are obviously a strong proponent. Do you think it’s possible to make a living as an indie-author? 

MICHELLE: (That series will be ongoing for several more weeks.)  Yes, I think it’s possible – eventually.  I’m not there yet.  It’s a lot of hard work getting a product “out there,” but I think if a writer produces quality, it will spread, and readers will come back.  That means producing multiple titles is a must.  It’s a slow-starting snowball effect, but the more material you produce, the bigger that snowball is going to become.  At least, I hope my theory proves correct.


BRIAN: On your blog you talk at length about your attempts at mainstream publishing and your rejection letters. Were you querying agents, editors or both? Did any of them tell why they rejected your work?  

MICHELLE: I queried editors for the most part.  Usually, I received form letters that said my book didn’t fit their list.  But I did have a few editors with guts who, in essence, told me my ideas were good, but I needed to work on my writing skills.  So I did.  And I did.  And I did.  

Looking back now, I can see how right they were!  When I picked up The Color of Freedom - my first manuscript from eight years ago - to self-publish it last spring, I was appalled at what I had written.  Training and conferences have played a part in my improvement, but practice has been my best teacher.  That wouldn’t have happened without rejection.


BRIAN: You also mention in your blog you chose to forgo the Christian market to write novels “mainstream” students could enjoy. Religious books comprise 11% of all US trade sales, with over 60% of those being Christian. Would you ever consider venturing into Christian fiction?  

MICHELLE:  Perhaps someday, but I have no plans to at the moment, apart from publishing a collection of shorts that I wrote years ago.  I have a strong Christian faith, but the Christian market seems very narrow to me, especially the juvenile Christian market.  And I hate books that preach.  

My first love in literature is the wide-open children’s genre that has historically included books like Little House, Old Yeller and Ramona and is still producing wonderful titles.  Everyone can enjoy them, Christian and non-Christian alike.  But that doesn’t mean I have to divide myself from my worldview.  A book can be non-religious yet still have positive themes and clean language.  In fact, I’m sort of making that my brand, and I’ve heard from lots of parents that it’s appreciated.  


BRIAN: I was impressed at how well your book appealed to me as an adult. Any thoughts on writing fiction with an eye toward the grown-ups?

MICHELLE: A good story is a good story.  Write it with skill, and use your imagination.  Grown-ups don’t outgrow imagination.  

I think the biggest difference between kids’ books and adult books is simply the age of the protagonist.  Of course, age-appropriate content figures in there, and perhaps length.  But if a story is well-executed, imaginative and connects with a reader’s experience or emotion, I think it will appeal to young and old.  


BRIAN: Tell us about your upcoming novels and when can we expect them?

MICHELLE: Currently, I’m finishing the last book in my Divided Decade series, featuring the Civil War.  Beneath The Slashings takes place immediately after the war’s end.  Twelve-year-old Grace hopes life will return to normal, but her returning veteran father drags her family to a Michigan lumber camp.  There, a string of accidents seems suspiciously purposeful.  Have old resentments simply found a new battlefield?  Though Grace finds adventure in the north woods, the overarching themes are of family and of moving past tragedy.  It should launch in June or July.  

My second work-in-progress actually debuted as an ebook for a short time last fall, but I had the nagging feeling that it just wasn’t finished yet.  So, Song of The Mountain will be getting a final makeover this summer and will reemerge next fall.  It takes place in ancient China.  Within, young Song has always listened to Grandfather’s old stories, never imagining they hide real secrets until an heirloom links him to an age-old prophecy.  Song, it seems, is destined to follow the path that killed his father.
Readers can sign up for my newsletter (either of my websites) for specific release dates and special offers.


BRIAN: Thank you for joining us in the Underground. A review of Michelle’s Isenhoff’s latest book, The Quill Pen, can be found on Underground Book Reviews. 


99 Cents worth of Michelle Isenhoff links:

60% off coupon for THE QUILL PEN on Smashswords just for UBR readers!

Michelle's website
Michelle's blog
The Quill Pen on Amazon.com


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