Growing Up in Magical Worlds
Meet Courtney Denelsbeck! A talented author known for her captivating Red Fairy & Fox Adventures fantasy novels. Courtney’s journey into the world of writing began with a deep-rooted passion for storytelling and a love for creating intricate, fantastical worlds. Her works are a reflection of her Christian faith, which adds a unique and profound dimension to her narratives.
Courtney's early life was marked by a fascination with books and a vivid imagination. This passion for reading and storytelling naturally evolved into a desire to write her own stories. Her Christian faith plays a significant role in her life and work, providing a foundation for the themes and messages in her books. Courtney's dedication to her craft and her faith have helped her carve out a niche in the fantasy genre, where she blends elements of magic, royalty, and epic battles with moral and spiritual lessons.
In 2024, Courtney released her first book, marking the beginning of her professional writing career. She is also a homeschooling mother of four daughters, a role that she balances with her writing. As an early riser, Courtney starts her day with a cup of coffee and often indulges in her love for chocolate, which fuels her creative process. Additionally, she is a proud dog owner, finding joy and companionship in her furry friend.
Recently, Courtney finished her final installment in her coming-of-age Red Fairy & Fox Adventures series. This series is celebrated for its rich world-building, complex characters, and engaging plots. The stories often revolve around themes of good versus evil, redemption, and self-discovery. Her ability to weave these elements into her narratives has earned her a loyal readership.
Courtney's writing is known for its vivid descriptions and dynamic characters. She excels at creating immersive worlds that draw readers in and keep them engaged. Her stories often feature strong, relatable protagonists who face significant challenges and grow through their experiences.
Continue below for a quick, exclusive Q&A session with Courtney, where we’ll delve into her creative process, inspirations, and what she is currently working on.
Q&A:
Can you explain your journey of being a self-published author? Are there any tips you would give an aspiring writer you wants to self-publish?
I’ve always loved creative endeavors and spent a lot of my childhood drawing, painting, reading, and writing. I think the idea of writing an entire novel felt intimidating for a long time, so I didn’t attempt it. My favorite childhood books included Chronicles of Narnia, Anne of Green Gables, and The Secret Garden. I spent a lot of time fantasizing about writing a novel, but I wasn’t sure how to start.
Several years ago my second oldest asked me to paint her a picture of a fairy with a fox. I’m not sure why, but that image stuck with me, and I began to imagine a whole world. Bits and pieces of a story about a young, unhappy queen following a fox into a puddle came to me over time. I jotted chapters and scenes down, on and off for three years before I finally got serious about it and started typing it up. When I started writing it, I intended it to be just for my family, but as I began to put so much work into it and gained confidence, I decided to self-publish. It took me another year to revise my debut with the help of beta readers to feel like it was the story I wanted to tell. While I waited for feedback, I went on to work on the next two books in the series. I never seriously considered trad publishing as I wanted to work on my timeline with my own final decisions about story direction.
My main piece of advice to aspiring writers is to persevere. There are ups and downs and giant learning curves, but anything worth doing is difficult. If you’re interested in writing, you don't have to be perfect. Just keep going. Success happens in slow, steady intervals. My second piece of advice is to write consistently and guard that time as you would anything truly important to you. As a mom of four, I understand how easy it is to let life get you distracted. There are times of illness or other commitments, but writing has a carved-out time that I *almost* always show up for. My third piece of advice is to reach out to other writers, they will help keep you motivated, give you great feedback, and help you reach more readers.
Could you share your process for world-building? How do you balance creating unique settings while ensuring they resonate with readers?
This one is really hard for me to answer because I am a discovery writer (or panster). I create a loose outline of my books for plot points, but let myself imagine and discover my characters and world as I write. I often don't even know where most of my ideas come from. They are a cumulation of my world and imagination. Usually, I've thought about the story for some time in the back of my head before I try to write it, but the details of the world get fleshed out as I go. I think about what I love in stories, what I loved as a kid, as well as what my children love. I expand on the ideas that spark something in me… usually, if it’s something that feels particularly fun or unique. I bounce some ideas off my husband and kids.
In my debut, Red Fairy & Fox, my kids helped me come up with ideas for the unusual creatures. Specifically, I remember a discussion about the catamoose, chickles, prappets, and crogs. I believe my youngest gave me that idea for the prappets (furry, serpentine, pig-like creatures). I sketched out the creatures and tweaked the descriptions. I used to design children’s toys, so I’ve always enjoyed inventing things and characters. Sketching ideas out helps me imagine it more fully.
My first series was written primarily for my children, so more than anything, I wanted it to be a heroic tale of a young, unhappy girl learning to do hard things and discovering her life has meaning and purpose. Settings are a backdrop for the story to make it a more immersive experience, but they aren’t the story itself. I ask myself if the world and details add to the story I’m trying to tell or if it takes away from it. Many of the aspects of my story are allegorical (like the idea of curses, and the fight between light and darkness.)
What do you wish people/readers knew about you?
I’m a reader first. Part of why I love books so much is because it allows me to experience a world outside myself, allowing me to face something much bigger than my situation. Storytelling has been used throughout history to teach us about the human condition and prepare for life’s unexpected challenges. I hope that my stories can do that for someone else too. I’ve never been an orphaned queen brought to a barren landscape and forced to work as a farmhand, but now I feel like I kinda have. (*insert wink face)
My Christian faith is extremely important to me, and it inspires my stories as well as the way I treat others. My worldview informs the stories I tell. I intentionally seek out beta readers who share and don’t share my faith to get objective feedback on my books. More than anything I want to be faithful even if my books are less popular because of the inclusion of Christian themes.
What future projects or ideas are you excited about? Can you give us a sneak peek into what you’re working on next?
I have a YA Coming of Age, Dark Academia, Fantasy series I'm hoping to release around March 2025, I call it my Samwise/Frodo story because I originally got the idea while re-watching Lord of the Rings. Their friendship always gets me all teary-eyed, and I can think of few stories where the subplot focuses on a close, male friendship. Almost immediately, (during credits maybe) I thought about where I wanted these teenage boys to meet and decided on a magic school (big Harry Potter nerd so no surprises there! I always knew I was destined to write a magic school story at some point.)
This story has been the easiest for me to write of all my books and has been so extremely positively received by beta readers that it's hard for me to hold it back! The working title is "Morlave's School of Magic," and I'm planning for it to be at least 2-3 books.
What kind of research do you do for your books, and how do you integrate real-world knowledge into your fantasy settings?
I like to immerse my readers into a fantasy world of magic, so my main goal with using real-world knowledge is to not have readers taken out of the story. For example, in my second book, The Lonely Prince, I researched a little bit about armor with YouTube and encyclopedia articles because at the beginning of the book, a character gets injured by a sword while wearing armor. I needed to find out if this was possible (it is) and what was the most likely way for it to happen. At no point do I want a reader to put the book down because I pulled them out of the story. I'm not overly concerned about the real world unless it detracts from my story. I think with world building there needs to be some sort of internal logic. I sketch out creatures, characters, and maps to help picture and test important details. But sometimes it takes the helpful insights of a beta reader to let you know when you've gone too far.
Start The Series:
Red Fairy & Fox
Quick Synopsis:
In "Red Fairy & Fox," Queen Red escapes her dull royal life and enters a magical, barren world guided by a talking fox. Faced with her destiny, she must make a crucial choice affecting two kingdoms. With her witty fox companion, she navigates threats to her kingdom and its magic, striving to become a hero.
Includes:
Dual Timelines
Mysterious Deaths
Portals to Other Worlds
Magic
My Facial Review
Click below to find my review for book one in the Red Fairy & Fox Adventures.
