WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Grammar Minute SPECIAL EPISODE: Interview with Samantha Mendell, Author & Editor

Episode Date: May 1, 2025

Samantha Mendell is an author and editor at Mendell Studios. Learn more about common writing mistakes, incorporating faith into writing, and more in today's special episode of Grammar Minute!

You're listening to a special episode of The Grammar Minute with Lauren Smith on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. With me today is Samantha Mendel, fantasy author and editor at Mendel Studios. Welcome to the podcast and thank you so much for joining me. Thank you so much. I'm so glad to be here. So for these podcasts, I do pretty much the same thing every start. I like to go all the way back to the beginning of your writing and editing journey and just ask you, how did you get interested in it for the first time? And what got you started? Oh, goodness. So I have been a voracious reader my entire life. I was the kid that was staying up

way too late under the covers with a flashlight reading anything and everything that I could get my hands on. When I was six, I remember we went to a local garage sale and I saw this typewriter that was tucked away in the back and happened to have a little allowance money. So I bought this typewriter. I set it up in my closet and made my own very moody little writer's nook and started working on just my first short stories. So that was kind of my little start. I really don't remember a time when I wasn't writing. I am also musicians. So just songwriting and poetry and just writing in general has been such a key part of my life. And yeah, it's hard to remember time without it. Out of curiosity, were you able to actually write on the typewriter?

Yes, it was a working typewriter. Oh, that's so cool. That's so exciting. I bet that just the sound kind of got you in the mood for writing. Oh, gosh, absolutely. And, I mean, yes, I am old enough to remember the time that we didn't have a family computer in the house. So this was pre-computer. So if I was going to write anything, it was going to be by hand or it was going to be on my typewriter.

Oh, that's so fun. Yes, I remember growing up writing things in notebooks and my hands would get so sore, but I didn't want to stop because I was so into it. Yes. So what were some of the books, movies, maybe music, you mentioned songwriting that inspired you growing up? I was very, very influenced by the Harry Potter series. It actually came over to the States when I was in kindergarten. We love to joke because, yeah, the first book came to America when I was in kindergarten and the final movie was released just after I graduated high school. So that series literally carried me through my childhood. Between Harry Potter mixed with Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, all of the classic fantasy stories just so shaped my life. And honestly, yeah, I couldn't get enough. I also love country music, but very classic country music because so much of the music is storytelling. It's why I loved Johnny Cash and Loretta

Lynn and Lisa McIntyre's music just because so much of it was just sharing life experiences. And especially as I started really becoming serious about my face later, I just realized how pivotal storytelling really is and just how much of a bridge it can be to so many different people. And yeah, I just love it. I love storytelling in every, in any medium. That's really cool that you mentioned you can tell stories in so many different ways, through music and through writing. And what are some other mediums of storytelling that maybe have interested you along the way?

I don't know, I'm trying to think now, video games, movies, TV shows, anything like that. Yes, oh, absolutely. So my husband is an audio engineer and a huge nerd in every way, probably even more than me, if that's possible. But he, I feel like since we have been married, I feel like he has really delved my interest into more of, like, the video game and the film world. He gets to do a lot of recording in different films.

So I have gotten to really explore that a little bit more than I had. One of the entry points for me that kind of shifted and kind of just shifted my interest, I think in a little bit different way was the first time we had watched Ready Player 1. I hadn't even, it was before I read the novel, but just that concept of tying together what pieces in technology and advancement that we're seeing in the real world tied with, wow, wait, what could this actually become and what are the implications that it could become later on? So that was one for me that I've kind of shifted into like really exploring more of this type

genre, which then has influenced my writing, which is very fun. What would you say are some of the differences between storytelling through, say, songwriting and short story writing or fiction writing? I would say songwriting very similar to poetry. I think there's such a beautiful nuance to figuring out how to communicate while with maintaining the technical prowess that you need. and making sure that it makes sense. But I think you have a little bit more liberty of, you know,

making it sound a little bit more flowery. But I think the beauty for me is that songwriting and poetry both use so much with rhythm and melody and getting to have those melodic structures. I think people are able to, I think, resonate with it in a little bit of a different way. And I say that because, again, talking with friends, talking with my husband, people who are a little bit more drawn to music and the musicality side versus maybe the lyrics. You can tell a story without words by using different structures in songs. Like you can elicit different emotions from how you do a build with strings, how you're going to set the baseline.

And I just think it's really cool that you can play off of and really tell a story. even without using words. Going back to your story and your early sources of inspiration, can you describe your very first writing project, whether that was a short story, a book, or a song, and whether it was published or not, what kind of inspired you to start that project? And what was it about?

Ooh, okay. So going back, let's see, well, we won't go back too far because Lord knows there are too many short stories that just never need to see the light of day. But Little Samantha did a great job. I remember when I was probably, I would say, maybe a freshman or sophomore in high school, I started just really loving the idea of how I could play off of the concept of the stars.

So I wrote this little short story just talking about a girl who, you know, her and her tribe were, you know, the smallest and the least powerful in the land, but they, you know, got their power. and their source from the stars. And in doing so, like, you know, it's very much tied to the scripture of, you know, the smallest and the least of these were able to overcome giants and whatnot. But from that short story, the idea of drawing power from the stars and from the very, I would say, I guess, the least expected places kind of became a theme to me. And that story never was published.

It's been one that I have kept with me on hard drive for well over a decade now. But from that, that is what has inspired one of my current work and projects, work in progress that I'm finishing right now. That is my YA fantasy of that concept of how do we really tie in stories from the most unexpected places and how do we find and develop heroes in ways that maybe culture wouldn't expect. Oh, that's such an interesting concept. I really want to talk more about that project. But first, you mentioned how faith has really inspired your writing.

Can you talk a little bit more about that journey? Absolutely. So I will preface by saying, you know, while I don't typically write very explicitly Christian materials, I kind of like to borrow Andrew Peterson and Madeline Langel's lines of saying, like, I am a Christian who writes stories. I think that there's a need for, there is definitely a need for both, and I have been disciples in my own journey through explicitly Christian fiction works. I tend to lean a little bit more toward the CS Lewis and Tolkien lens of how do I use the themes of Christianity, lack of better word. how do I use that implicit seeming in my stories that would just

stir curiosity? For me, I didn't become a Christian until I was about 16, 17. But a lot of my face was kind of peaked by the stories I was reading. Again, I grew up reading

G.S. Lewis, Tolkien, and the way that they could write characters who chose to do the right thing, even when it was the hard thing, or they chose to stay loyal to their values no matter what they faced. I was always intrigued by that. And their storytelling was a big part of my own exploration into faith.

So I felt like my calling, if you will, as a writer of what the Lord had and has assigned me to do is to use, how do I use the themes through scripture that would peak an interest in somebody who, you know, wouldn't normally set foot in a church or maybe wouldn't pick up. up the Bible on their own. What are some ways in which your past projects have done that? Ooh, that's a great question. I have been really drawing on the lens of Sound Family in particular. I love, obviously, I mean, I love having strong familial ties in general, but I love that idea of Sound Family because I think especially through the New Testament, we see that consistent call toward not just unity, but toward remembering that the people in the community of faith that they're in, they are your brothers and sisters, like they are your new family. And I think that idea of found family can really reiterate that of, you know, it's not just those that were related to by blood,

but those that were related to and connected with by something else, by something even more powerful in a certain way. I think that that can really reflect the beauty of faith and this beautiful family that the Lord has brought together. That's such a cool connection with those themes. I love that. Found Family is one of my favorite tropes as well. Yes. What are some other tropes like that that you just really love putting into your writing

or maybe really love seeing in other people's writing? Oh, okay. I think my top favorite is probably the mentor-mentee relationship. Oh, such a good one. I love that probe so, so much. Oh, my goodness. Whether it's in like Brandon Sand, Anderson's Missborn because Kelsey and Vin, that is one of my favorite mentor-mentary

relationships on. But that's been something that I have used in most of my novella or novel-length projects. So, oh, I love it. You're listening to a special episode of The Grammar Minute by Lauren Smith. With me today is Samantha Mendel, author and editor at Mendel Studios. What's some advice you wish you had been given as a younger writer? I think as far as maybe more novel novella lengths, because I feel like songwriting in that community as a whole is typically pretty collaborative.

And I felt like as a young songwriter, I didn't really have a problem sharing songs in that kind of, in that kind of space. but it took me longer than I wish had happened to have been able to find found community that I could have actually shared my stories with. I think that it can, and I understand like it can be, it can be difficult. I think with songwriting, especially like you can get connected with people that you're playing with, whether even if it's just at a local church or whatever that looks like.

But I think sometimes it can be hard to find people that you can trust with stories who don't just love reading them but also just loves writing them. And I think that's probably, that's something that I probably would have encouraged myself. So, like, be willing to, and be proactive to look for people to share your writing with to help you grow. I want to switch at some point from talking so much about the writing and go more into the editing side of what you do. But before we leave the writing topic, what projects are you working on now? So right now I am finishing a novella that is coming out at the end of this year. It is part of a multi-author, multi-genre retelling series featuring seven different stories, all telling different

veins of Beauty and the Beast. So mine is a fantasy novella, and we have more information coming up on that. But my biggest project, aside from that right now, is completing and preparing to self-publish my new adult science fantasy that I'm affectionately calling Project Docking Bay. Oh, that sounds cool. I might have to add that to my list. Science Fantasy. Yes. That sounds so cool. Okay, where can readers go to find more information about these projects? You can go to my Instagram. The handle is at Storyteller Samantha. That will take you to all the different links as far as my newsletter and website, which has both writing and my editing information. Perfect. Okay. And that's a great segue into the next topic, which is editing. I know that you are

actually a certified editor. And so I wanted to ask you, what was that process like? What kinds of things did you learn in the training for that? And what does that now enable you to do? Yes, great question. So I hold my certification through the Pointer Aces. standard editing forum. The Pointer Aces is just like the common standard editing certification program. I know people are able to, people can approach the editing process and a career in editing from many different angles. For me, I started my career working as a full-time copywriter and then segueed into freelance

copy editing. And then that was how I segued into doing more full-time copy-writer. doing more full-time freelance, full-service edits from developmental through final proofread, and then turn that into my full-time career profession. For me, my academic career as a writer and copy editor really started from seminary level. So I was pursuing my master's in divinity, which is a research and writing-focused degree program. So I had gotten my initial foot in the door through professional writing in that vein and then was hired as a full-time copywriter. And yeah, just kind of went from there. So is that what first got you interested in editing?

Was your time in seminary or was it more tied back to the stuff you had written as a kid? Oh, yes. So definitely, it definitely was earlier than that. I will say more from an undergrad perspective, I worked at the Writing Center through college and was a student tutor and a writing tutor and mentored through there. I loved, you know, I loved getting help people with more academic focused papers, but it would be always so fun whenever creative writing students would come in and getting to work on their stories. I think that that was kind of my first little, my first little interest was piqued that way. And then working as a copywriter and copy editor, I got to do a lot of script writing and podcast writing, which was super fun and got to kind of stretch a different creative vein a little bit. From that point was when I kind of, I would just get tapped from different friends that were freelance writers or looking to pursue indie publishing in that way.

So just kind of getting to help casually work on their, their story. stories was just the segue for me. So then I started looking into different certifications and organizations that I could be part of and take courses in and just learn from there. So at this point, you have probably seen a ton of both nonfiction and fiction and in all kinds of different formats. If you had to pick one mistake that you see super often that you would warn people against, what would that be? From a more general perspective, and I think this ties back to the advice that I wish I had been given. I would say the biggest mistake that I see with newer writers is not sharing their work with trusted sources even before they get to the

editing level. And of course, there's, you know, there's nothing wrong with pursuing, and I hope that people are able to find an editor that they feel comfortable sharing their work with. but having a critique partner or a writing group, either a person or a handful of trusted fellow writers that can read your work long before you even get to the editing stance is so, so helpful to, one, not only get used to and comfortable with sharing your writing before you kind of start pursuing that publishing route, but you're able to learn so much more, I think, as you let people come alongside you in your, writing and drafting process. I've always felt, and maybe this isn't true, but I do think a lot of

writers feel this, that writing is a very solo activity. You know, it's kind of just you and your computer and your Pinterest board, and sometimes your cats and your cup of coffee. But typically writers don't really tend to write in groups. And so where are some places for writers who are seeking that community to find it? A great resource that I would highly recommend is. It's a is the rabbit room is a fantastic collective for creatives in general. They have a local place that if you're in the Tennessee area, I know people that come in, even just from out of town to come and get to kind of create in their spaces.

But there is from that other branches of writing groups that you can join. Like, for example, the habit, which is Jonathan Rogers. He has mentorship programs and writing collectives and groups that you can be part of. Another great way, if you're not looking for necessarily a paid group per se, really can be in the Instagram community. I have seen and even myself just connected with so many writers and authors from Instagram that I just happen to connect with that either love their book or happen to stumble upon a post of theirs and just kind of building relationships in that avenue. and then taking that step to go, hey, you know, I really like, I really like your work. Would you be willing to beta read something for me and vice versa? But just having those online, even just online spaces where if you are somebody that is like me and is very introverted and it can be hard to do those things in person, those spaces can be a safer and sometimes less invasive way to share your work.

So since we're in that reading vein, there is one last question that I ask every guest on this podcast. I prepare everyone and it stumps everyone. But it is quite simple. What is your all-time favorite book? Okay. Am I allowed to kind of cheat and say a recent favorite that probably goes on the favorite list? Yes, yes, that's fine. Okay.

Beautiful. We'll take that. As of the last couple of years, one of my new favorites has been. been a river enchanted that Rebecca Roth. I absolutely love hers. I would highly, highly recommend. Well, thank you so much for joining me today. This has been a fantastic conversation, and I have really enjoyed it. Thank you so much. It was wonderful getting to be on and talk with you. This has been a special episode of The Grammar Minute by Lauren Smith. With me today was Samantha Mendel, fantasy and sci-fi author and editor at Mendel Studios. You can learn more about her work

at storyteller Samantha on Instagram or at her website, Mendelst Studios.com. And if you're looking for more writing advice or more conversations like this one, you can visit thegrammerminit.com for more tips and tricks.