I have a special surprise today–an interview with Rachel Leitch, author of the upcoming novella The Odd Duck Society! Rachel and I had a great interview over email about writing, faith, and the importance of friendship, and I can’t wait to share it with you all today! 

1. Give a little background about yourself, your family, and your writing.

I’m Rachel Leitch. I’m the oldest of six siblings and live with my family in northern Indiana. I am a homeschool graduate and work as an elementary school paraprofessional as I build my writing career.

I write young adult historical fiction with a dash of adventure, a spark of magic, or a dusting of both. I’ve been writing the first grade, but when I was fourteen and figuring out what I would study in high school, my momma pointed out that people do write books for a living. I started out writing YA contemporary suspense, but I branched out to write a historical novel for a school project and fell in love with all there was to learn.

2. I know you developed a love for reading and writing at a young age (just as I did!). Who has inspired you along your path to publication?

So many people!

For people that I personally know and who have inspired me along my pathway, my momma has always been my biggest supporter. She reminded me time and again that my writing will go exactly where God wants it to go and cheered for me no matter what I tried. My siblings all support me in their own special ways, and it means so much that they care. My mentors, Amy Lynn Green and Rebekah Tussing, endure my endless barrage of questions patiently and never fail to encourage me. My instructors and community on the Young Writer’s Workshop has been a game-changer for me, I absolutely could not be here without them.

As for people that I read and that inspired my writing, Nadine Brandes was my number one. Her book Fawkes is my all-time favorite and is what I hope to write one day. Roseanna M. White reminded me history can be exciting and Kara Swanson encouraged me to write about the hard things. Jocelyn Green, Sara Ella, and Kristy Cambron have all had their influence as well.

3. You’ve focused primarily on young-adult historical fiction in the past. What inspired you to delve into this new genre?

I wish I had a neatly thought-out answer, but it boiled down to that’s what I was feeling at the time.

I was largely influenced by the vintage contemporary feel of Dearest Josephine by Caroline George (which if you’ve never read and want Odd Duck vibes ahead of time, go check that out, you won’t regret it). When I create a story, I come up with the premise first, and then sort through my mental drawers looking for a locale that fits. So I already had the premise of The Odd Duck Society, and I tried out all these historical settings I had stored away, but none of them were working. Then I thought of Dearest Josephine. When I placed The Odd Duck Society in the contemporary locale, it just fit.

I needed a change of pace, also. The novel I’d just finished writing had NOT come smoothly and I’d struggled with the worldbuilding. Taking a step back has helped me return to my beloved young adult historicals with a new eye. I picked up good skills, too, since I got to play with character a lot more in this story—in a contemporary women’s fiction, I can’t really just set off an explosion whenever things get boring.

4. What do you think readers will most enjoy about The Odd Duck Society?

There are a lot of elements that I’m excited to share. But my central cast takes center stage. I love all these ladies, love their diverse backgrounds and personalities. I got to represent backgrounds that don’t get screen time in fiction. Not only was that an enlightening experience for myself, but I hope everyone will be able to see themselves in this story. I wanted to write a female-empowering story that didn’t put others down to get there. They’ll also love the tea and literature, the vintage vibes, the light/chaotic academia vibes, and the hint of mystery.

5. A lot of the things we experience, places we visit, or people we encounter ultimately find their way into our stories. Are any of the elements of TODS inspired by real life?

Oh goodness, yes. I’d be hard pressed to find an Odd Duck character who wasn’t originally inspired by someone I know, sometimes a couple someones.

The barista Imogen was inspired by the barista who always knows my order at my favorite coffee shop (the coffee shop that inspired The Muses, by the way). Honora was based on the lady who buys books to keep our church library running (and who I truly believe has read every book in our fiction section). Lula was inspired by the many Latino students I work with every day. Florence was inspired by someone I know who has autism. Countless traits that found their way into various characters came from my circle of friends.

None of these characters resemble their inspiration by the time story had its way, but they all had their start in women I know in real life.

Jessamy’s fear of constantly being a burden is based on a fear that I think hides somewhere in all of us in lots of different ways. I used this story as a way to process my own fears and I hope it will come alongside other women as well.

6. Who was your favorite character to write in TODS?

I have things that I love about all of them, but to pick one, I’d say Lula. She’s so upbeat and outgoing, which is opposite of my personality. She keeps things positive and doesn’t let anyone look down on her because she’s young. I love exploring characters that are different from me. Plus, she loves Spider-Man. Can’t imagine where that trait came from.

A close second is Florence. I can’t give a lot of background on her because spoilers, but I’ve wanted to write an autistic character for a while, and Florence fit the role perfectly. Personality wise, she’s a little closer to me, and I just fell in love with her from the moment she snuck onto the page. (She wasn’t in the original outline at all, so her appearance in the draft was a complete surprise. 

7. Speaking of characters…let’s talk character relationships for a moment. My Climbing Higher series focuses strongly on sister relationships and female friendships, and just from the description, I know that TODS has those same overtones. As an author, why do you find these kinds of character dynamics meaningful and inspiring to write?

I think they’re underrepresented. Romantic relationships have the edge, especially in Christian fiction. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good romance. (*cough cough* Dearest Josephine.) But what’s swept over fiction is largely a cheap, one-size-fits-all romantic subplot that doesn’t engage me. (Though I’m finding a lot of books that are changing that, which is cool.)

Give me family or friend relationships, though, and you might as well go ahead and take my money.

I really love to represent themes and struggles that aren’t finding their way in Christian fiction a lot yet. Female friendships have become extremely important in my life the past couple years. Ladies have stood by me through some truly hard times. I wanted a chance to honor them on the page.

8. What theme or message do you hope readers take away from TODS?

I hope they realize that they are beautiful and valued just the way they are, but most importantly, that they are not a burden. They can be all of who they are without fear or shame because God created them perfectly just the way they are. They matter and they are loved, both by God and by people in their lives.

9. I know that faith is important to your writing, as it is to mine as well. I also think that for Christian writers, faith and art often create a beautiful symbiotic relationship. How does your faith inform your writing, and how does your writing impact or contribute to your faith?

When I first draft a story, it usually has little to no theme. It’s a blank page. Literally. But if I wait long enough and just let it rest, I always find a theme naturally emerging. And those themes have consistently been tied to my struggles at the time or the encouragement I needed to hear. Stories seem to be God’s way of reminding me of the truth I need to hear, and it never fails to amaze me.

10. What’s one piece of advice you would give to aspiring writers?

When I was that fourteen-year-old trying to decide where to go with life, someone I trusted told me pushed me to submit to a niche publisher that served a very specific Christian denomination. In their words, they thought I would find a niche and that would where I would ultimately land. Little did they know I was already feeling called to pursue traditional publishing in a Christian/crossover market.  

There’s nothing wrong with niche markets, but I knew it wasn’t where I was being called at the time. I didn’t love the idea that they thought a niche market was all I was good for.

My momma reminded me then that God would take my book wherever He meant it to go. There was already a perfect plan for me and my writing, and my stories would go exactly where they were needed. To this day, it is still the best and most important advice I’ve ever received.

11. Anything else you’d like readers to know?

The Odd Duck Society doesn’t release until this summer, but if you want to be the first to know when the preorders go up, you’re going to want to follow me on Instagram (@racheljleitchauthor) as well as @wildbluewonderpress. (You’ll also get to see what’s up with the other authors in the anthology, which is super fun.) You’ll also want to sign up for my newsletter at racheljleitch.com.

Thank you all for reading! I’m so blessed and grateful to be able to chat with you all today and share a little bit about me and my writing. Thank you for having me!

Thank you, Rachel, for being here! 

If you want to stay updated on Rachel’s upcoming release, be sure to head to her website for more!