Michelle Rene

mIC h ELLE RE n E

Michelle Rene is a creative advocate and the author of a number of published works of historical fiction and speculative fiction.

She has won multiple indie awards. Her novel, Hour Glass, won Chanticleer Review’s “Best Book of the Year” award in 2018. Her historical fantasy novel, Manufactured Witches, won the OZMA award for fantasy, the Discovery Award from the Writer’s League of Texas, and was honored by the Indie Author Project as Texas’s best Young Adult novel in 2019.

When not writing, she is a professional artist, museum lover, belly dancer, and autism mom. She lives as the only female with her husband, son, and ungrateful cat in Dallas, Texas.

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Uncaged welcomes Michelle Rene

Uncaged” Welcome to Uncaged! Your newest release, The Canyon Cathedral will release Dec. 10, and is the second book in The Witches of Tanglewood series. Can you tell readers more about this series?

Thank you for having me!

The Witches of Tanglewood Series sort of came out of nowhere. I wrote it for me and without really thinking it would get published. I had no idea it would get such a following. I am so happy it did. My main genres are historical fiction and fantasy. Manufactured Witches (the first in this series) was the first time I really combined the two genres. The story just came to me one day, and I decided to jot it down.

Loneliness and the search for one’s own family is often a theme in my work. That’s one reason I was drawn to the idea of lost children in the Dust Bowl. It’s also why I tackled the LGBT+ themes in the 1930’s. You don’t see them represented in history very often.

Writing for Nat and the other people in the series came so easily for me. It’s like I knew them. They hung out with me, talked to me. I adored inventing new magic and a unique folklore for them. I mean, when else can a person get away with talking to imaginary people and not be considered crazy?

A story about a teacher taking in children and teaching them magic is not original. What I wanted to accomplish was a different version where every person had the capability of magic. You didn’t have to be special. No waiting for your letter from Hogwarts, so to speak. If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish amazing things with the gifts you already have. I think it’s a notion that anyone can relate to.

The idea of using magic to deal with complicated things like gender identity, sexuality, and mental illness came along for the ride. Originally, I had no plans to incorporate those ideas, but now, the books would not be same without them. I hope that every reader can see a little piece of themselves in the books, and it makes them feel less alone.

Uncaged: What are you working on next that you can tell us about?

I’ve been working on a middle grade series for my agent that is about a young boy who hunts monsters to earn enough money to bring his mother back from the dead. Lately, I’ve been having the most fun writing for teens and young adults, so why not something kind of frightening?

Some people have asked if there will be a third book in the Witches of Tanglewood series. I would love to do another one. It all depends on how many people want it. I had such an outpowering of support for this sequel, I couldn’t possibly refuse the fans.

Uncaged: How has the coronavirus pandemic changed your lifestyle? Have you had to change any book promotion plans because of it?

Ah, the coronavirus. What a beast.

I’m a mom and a writer, so I’m used to working at home. That part did not change much. Having my son at home all the time made it harder. Seven-yearolds, what can you do?

Unlike a lot of authors, I’m an extreme extrovert. The fact that I can’t go to conferences or events is killing me. Writing is such a solitary profession. There’s nothing better than being around your tribe. As an author, it is imperative to find others who get you. Virtual is okay, but I miss hugging my friends and meeting new people.

Uncaged: Past or present, which authors would you love to sit and have lunch with and why?

That’s a hard question! My reading list is so eclectic. I’d love to meet Neil Gaiman, if nothing else than to listen to him read the menu. I’ve met David Sedaris once briefly, and I’d love to pick his brain over burgers. My first literary love was To Kill a Mockingbird, so having lunch with Harper Lee would be a dream come true.

Uncaged: Have any of your characters ever done something that you didn’t intend when you began?

All the time… constantly. Just yesterday, I was writing a minor character. My first idea was to have him be snobby and elitist. I got two paragraphs in, and suddenly, he was a jittery, nerdy mess. Apparently, my first inclination of his character was dead

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It’s fine with me, of course. If you are writing and the character changes, go with it. They know themselves better than you do.

Uncaged: What are some things you like to do to relax when you aren’t writing or working?

I listen to audiobooks. I play with my son. I watch The Great British Baking Show with my husband. Probably my most interesting past time is belly dancing. I dance at festivals and renaissance fairs. Nothing better than a sparkly costume!

Uncaged: What does success as an author look like to you?

My vision of author success has changed over the years. At first, I just wanted to get published. After I was published, I just hoped someone other than my family would read my books. Now that I have that, and some awards under my belt, success looks like doubling my readers by next year.

Your finish line should never stay put, in my opinion. It’s easy to give up or become complacent in this industry. I marked myself with ever increasing achievable goals. Beyond that, I don’t know, world domination?

The truth is I never feel more successful than when someone tells me they read one of my books, and it touched them. When I found out a teenage boy used my book for a book report, I was ecstatic. That’s fame right there. If I can keep getting that response, I won’t fail.

Uncaged: Do you prefer ebooks, audiobooks or physical books? Are you reading anything now?

I prefer audiobooks. It fits my busy lifestyle. Right now, I have nearly three hundred audiobooks in my library. Audible tells me that I read an average of eleven to fifteen days worth of audiobooks a year. I love paperbacks too. Ebooks are practical but probably my least favorite.

I hope you love magic. Whether literal or metaphorical, my writing always includes something magical. Also, I’m sorry if I make you cry. A lot of my books do that too. Overall, I would love my fans to see something in my writing that speaks to them personally. After all, stories are how we all connect with one another.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter or like my Facebook page. I regularly post book updates, belly dance costumes, and stupid cat videos.

Enjoy an excerpt from The Canyon Cathedral

The Canyon Cathedral Michelle Rene Young Adult Fantasy/ LGBTQ Releases Dec. 10

This sequel to the awardwinning novel, Manufactured Witches, picks up the story of Nat after he’s been gifted with the limitless power of the goddess. Magic this dangerous is difficult for Nat to control, and he finds himself alone, ostracized from the people he loves. When a witch goes missing from a magical cathedral, Nat decides to work with his mentor, Camille, to save the lost girl from an unknown evil.

The Canyon Cathedral is a fantastic underground school for magic. Nat finds himself in a world of amazing things. Enchanted boats, magical nuns, and books that tell your history. Despite the wonders of the place, kidnappings and vicious attacks plague the school. Nat must learn to control his emotional powers to help the witches around him and find his place in the world. The house was quiet as I made my way through its halls. I tried to get a feel for the time, but my stint floating in the void left me confused and uneducated. All I knew was that it was dark. The deep evening type of darkness. Somewhere between dusk and dawn. Of course, that didn’t narrow things down at all. As I drifted through the house, I listened for others. The night held a gentle, breathy cadence to the place, as if everyone was asleep. If not asleep, they were turned in for the night. That idea alone made me slow down and calm my racing heart.

Had the others known she tried to kill me? Did no one check on me when I was absent from dinner? How long had I been out? Then, another terrible idea occurred to me. What if none of them cared? What if they wanted me dead? The deadly beast best slain before it could hurt anyone else.

Before I made it to the long corridor of bedrooms, I heard the slightest murmuring from the winter study where Buck stood vigilant. I ducked my head inside to see deer looking back at me with an expectant scowl. Well, as much a scowl as a reanimated, taxidermized buck mount was able to produce.

“Did you say something?” I asked.

“Of course, I did, and you’d would be wise to listen as I am wise in all things,” Buck said in his arrogant way.

“What was it?”

“Well, it is very important I should think. And particularly important for you,” he said with a flip of his antlers. “But you haven’t complimented me in weeks. Did you realize that? You can be so selfish sometimes.”

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“I’ll accept compliments about my antlers and my eyes, thank you very much. Not my nose though, for alas, I have a small insecurity there. You see,

I fell the other day and scuffed my nose. Crow promises to repair me, so that I shall be my perfect self again.”

“Buck, look… I will…”

“It’s caused me so much distress, Nat. I know you can’t understand this, because of your many many physical defects, but I am not perfect for the first time in my life. It’s made me quite sad. A true friend would make me feel better.”

If a deer could look emotionally vulnerable, Buck did in that moment. He looked like he might cry. Buck couldn’t make tears, but he almost pulled off the affect. My heart melted a touch. For better or worse, he was what I considered a friend, vain though he was. The poor creature couldn’t travel anywhere. Just stay in one place preening. I sighed to calm my nerves.

“You have lovely eyes, and the most exquisite antlers I’ve ever seen. Even if Crow takes a year to fix your nose, it wouldn’t matter. All the most beautiful creatures have a handsome flaw. Gives you character.”

“Nat, do you really mean that?” Buck asked.

“Yes, I do. Now, what were you going to tell me?”

“Oh, that. Camille is in the library,” he said.

“She is?”

“I figured that’s where you were going. She’s in here waiting for you.” Without another word, I crossed the chilly study and through the door leading to the library. I barely registered Buck’s voice in the background. “A thank you would be nice!”