Hi, Rachel! Welcome back! How has the past year been since we last spoke?

Hello!! Great to be back. This year has been busy in the best possible way! The second book in my YA fantasy series, Shadow and Tide published in March, and I’ve been working away on the second book in The Ordeals duology…

I’ve also been to Croatia, Mauritius and travelled within the UK, so basically it’s been the most wonderful time.

Your latest novel, The Ordeals, is out October 7^th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Mayhem, romance and found family

What can readers expect?

A chaotic blend of a gothic, atmospheric college for magic wielders, characters with all the banter, a love interest who is a bundle of green flags, a cut throat college entrance exam and an FMC with more determination and grit in her little finger than most have in their entire skeleton. Oh, plus a few supernatural twists!

Where did the inspiration for The Ordeals come from?

So many places, but the very first glint was inspired by the gothic, atmospheric depictions of Cornwall, UK where I grew up in Daphne DuMaurier’s novels.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

I absolutely LOVED writing Greg as a character, one of the hopeful scholars who you meet fairly early on. He is a massive dork and I adore him. I also just loved writing the ordeals themselves and designing them as puzzles for the reader and characters to figure out.

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

The biggest challenge came in the editorial stages of this book. I have the most dedicated editors that really saw the vision for this duology and wanted the very best. The standard was high and I fought to reach it, and I’m so very glad I have such passionate editors, because the outcome is a book I’m very proud of.

What’s next for you?

Next up is the third and final installment in my YA fantasy series, Starlight and Storm which is slated for publication in April 2026 and then the second book in The Ordeals duology, which is tentatively slated for autumn 2026. But I have just so many ideas, this really feels like the beginning and I’m excited to explore new worlds and characters.

Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year? Are there any you’re looking forward to picking up?

I read across all sorts of different genres and age categories, and I cannot pin down exactly what it is, but for me some books really have that elusive ‘it’. This year I have loved This is How We Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, Thorn Season by Kiera Azar, The Bookbinder’s Secret by A.D. Bell, Direbound by Sable Sorenson, The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clark and The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel. I am very much looking forward to reading my copy of Katabasis by RF Kuang and also the copy I purchased of House of the Beast by Michelle Wong.

Will you be picking up The Ordeals? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Rachel Greenlaw, Author of ‘The Ordeals’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Hi, Rachel! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Hello! I’m a full time author living on a tiny island off the south coast of the UK. My books included One Christmas Morning, the Compass and Blade series and now, The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells. I live on the island with my husband and two wildlings, and when I’m not writing I love taking long clifftop walks, sea swimming and reading.

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

When I was very little, I used to make books out of pieces of folded up paper, write out a story on all the little folded up pages and draw pictures to go with the story!

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: a really spooky ghost story that I made myself read from cover to cover because I was determined to finish a full length book.
• The one that made you want to become an author: Northern Lights by Phillip Pullman – something about the adventure, scope of the world and feisty female main character inspired me to imagine my own stories being actual published books one day.
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Our Infinite Fates by Laura Steven – it’s out in 2025, and I had the privilege of reading an early copy. It’s magnificent and epic in scope – a truly beautiful love story.

Your latest novel, The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells, is out October 22^nd! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Witchy, mystery, small town, romance

What can readers expect?

A story set in a town that feels like Stars Hollow in Gilmore Girls, for fans of Practical Magic and Spells for Forgetting, perfect for the autumn and winter months!

Where did the inspiration for The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells come from?

After a trip to the snowy mountains in Colorado, I pictured a woman staring out at a vast, snow covered mountain sipping tea in a house she had renovated. I wanted to know more about her, why she was there, and why she seemed so at peace. It turned out that was the main character, Carrie Morgan, and this is her story of returning to her small hometown of Woodsmoke after ten years drifting around Europe.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

Cora Morgan was an absolute delight to write – she’s eighty years old, says exactly what she thinks and is a true meddler! I loved writing such a feisty character who has lived a long life exactly on her terms.

What was your process in bringing the story to life?

I began writing the story more as a contemporary without the speculative element and realised it wasn’t Carrie’s story at all! So I went back to the setting itself, the characters surrounding her, and slowly peeled back the layers of secrets to reveal a generations deep history of the Morgan women and their relationship to the mountains surrounding Woodsmoke. From there, three main points of view emerged to tell this story; Carrie, Cora and Jess.

What’s next for you?

Next up for me is the second installment in my YA fantasy series, Shadow and Tide, which is out in March 2025. After that I have more books, but for now I’m afraid they’re a secret…

Lastly, what books have you enjoyed so far this year and are there any that you can’t wait to get your hands on?

I really enjoyed Cecelia Ahern’s latest novel, Into the Storm, M L Wang’s Blood Over Bright Haven, as well as The Temptation of Magic by Megan Scott. I’m very much looking forward to Gillian McAllister’s next novel, Famous Last Words and Katabasis by R F Kuang.

Will you be picking up The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells? Tell us in the comments below!

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Intrigued? Well read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from Rachel Greenlaw’s Compass and Blade, which releases on February 27th 2024.

This world of sea and storm runs deep with bargains and blood.

On the remote isle of Rosevear, Mira, like her mother before her, is a wrecker, one of the seven on the rope who swim out to shipwrecks to plunder them. Mira’s job is to rescue survivors, if there are any. After all, she never feels the cold of the frigid ocean waters and the waves seem to sing to her soul. But the people of Rosevear never admit the truth: that they set the beacons themselves to lure ships into the rocks.

When the Council watch lays a trap to put an end to the wrecking, they arrest Mira’s father. Desperate to save him from the noose, Mira strikes a deal with an enigmatic wreck survivor guarding layers of secrets behind his captivating eyes, and sets off to find something her mother has left her, a family secret buried deep in the sea.

With just nine days to find what she needs to rescue her father, all Mira knows for certain is this: The sea gives. The sea takes. And it’s up to her to do what she must to save the ones she loves.

The thunder sends me running. As lightning cleaves the sky, casting a flash across the sand, I see the ship. An outline. A struggling beast in the water. Its carcass is spilling cargo, wood splintered and swollen. I gasp, pulling in a breath as I stumble over the rocks. The wind whips the rain against my skin, a sharp spray of cold dashing across my cheekbones.

“Am I too late?” I ask as I reach the group on the beach. A hand reaches for mine, callused fingers gripping my own. “You’re cold, Mira,” my father says, blue eyes hidden under the folds of his hood. “Take my gloves when you go in.”

I nod, avoiding the fact that we both know I don’t need them. That as soon as I hit the water, I will no longer feel the cold. Moving toward the line, I find my place along the length of slick rope. Six others are with me. Six other islanders who have the song of the sea in their blood, and can last in the ocean and not succumb to her ways so easily. But none of them can last as long as I can. None of them can find warmth beneath the waves.

I touch the rope, the rasp of the twine biting into my palms. Waking me. Igniting the fire in my blood. I look out at the ship, imagine the dying gasps of the sailors. My heart lurches, prickles of heat shivering through my veins. I was born for this, the tide and the foam and the cold. I am ready.

I will save as many as I can. We all will.

But we will never tell them the truth. That we light the fires along the cliffs. That we are the beacon their helmsman followed. That we wrecked their ship on our rocks to plunder all they have, to take any cargo we can eat or trade.

This is how we survive.

Agnes is just ahead of me, her fist gripped around the rope like a promise. It’s her job to cut the cargo from the ship so it floats toward the crew on the shore. I look behind me, catching Kai’s wink. He’ll be with me, saving as many as we can. The roar of the sea echoes in my chest and I beat my feet against the sand, in step with the others. We work as one and I match my rhythm to theirs. We haven’t lost any of us, any of the seven who swim out to the wrecks, this season. Or last.

“On three! All together!”

The answering call goes up all around as we shout back his words. All together. My father appears beside me as we walk, tugging his gloves over my hands, gripping my shoulder.

“I’ll be fine,” I say, turning back to the tide. He says nothing, but I feel his love, the ghost of it lingering as he disappears into the night. It wraps around me, a little too stifling. The first lash of sea batters against my thighs, reaching for my chest. I take a deep breath, keeping the rope tangled in my fist, then in a rush of fire and ice, I dive under. Agnes surfaces first, just ahead of me. Her red hair flashes, floating like a beacon. I keep her in sight as I work through the waves, feeling out their song. Feeling for their pull and beat. The sea is a fickle creature and on a night like this, she can be wicked and cruel.

I fall into a rhythm, keeping the rope tucked in on my right, feeling the knot of the spliced twine, which is tied around my waist and attached to the main rope, digging into my middle. Wood floats past, cargo released from the hold. Perhaps they were already sinking before we lured them in. The rocks are like teeth, hidden in the gums of the ocean. And surrounding our islands there are rows and rows of them, far more than we can chart on our maps.

I dive once more, catching my rib against something heavy. A thumping ache dulled by the water flares across my side. I bite my lip, stilling the hiss behind my teeth as my body instinctively curls inward, losing the rhythm of the others. I stretch out, hauling my arm overhead to cut through the water, bubbles escaping my lungs as the dull ache sharpens to a point. I surface, panting, my legs tangling with the rope. Letting the others carry me for half a breath. I consider hanging on to the rope in my hands, allowing myself to be pulled to the wreck—there’s no way of binding my side until we reach the shore again—but I can’t throw the others off. We’re a team, I have to pull my weight. I carry on, sipping the air before diving down to push more flotsam away. My side grates angrily, pain roaring up my arm. I hope my ribs aren’t broken. That I’ll still be able to haul in any survivors.

“Mira!” calls Bryn from near the front. “Mira and Kai, you’re with me!”

I look up, finding the ship looming above me. She’s keeled right over, a gaping hole in the starboard side, the ocean roaring as the waves claw at her. Wood and crates float past us and I scan them for bodies. For eyes and limbs and hearts, anyone that I can save. But there’s no one gripping the crates, clinging to their floating backs.

I hope we aren’t too late.

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