Yay For Middle Grade Books! Interview With Esme Symes-Smith!

Hi, everyone! Today I'm happy to present an interview with Esme Symes-Smith, the author of Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston, which releases in November!

Would you please tell us a little about your book, Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston? 

SIR CALLIE AND THE CHAMPIONS OF HELSTON is the first in my Queer MG Fantasy series, and a love letter to the fantasy adventures of my childhood, specifically Tamora Pierce’s PROTECTOR OF THE SMALL and SONG OF THE LIONESS quartets. It is also a call to arms to protect the queer kids being targeted by those in power. 

I wrote SIR CALLIE during 2020 when my rage at the cruelty being directed specifically at the vulnerable was at its peak. I had hoped by the time it published that it would be reflective, but unfortunately its themes have only become more and more applicable, especially with the constant waves of anti-Trans and TERF rhetoric. 

My greatest hope is that kids will find a little bit of power within Callie’s story that they can keep for themselves, and know they are not alone in this world. 

Did you always want to be a writer?

I have always written, but I didn’t plan on being a writer. I didn’t really plan on being anything! But writing has always been the one thing I’ve been pretty okay at and found enormous pleasure in. I started writing ‘seriously’ when I was twelve and discovered fanfiction, but I didn’t start writing original fiction outside of school until I was twenty-one and freshly graduated from university with a degree in literature and creative writing. 

I started pursuing publication in 2014 after I finished my first novel, and since then it’s been all I’ve wanted 

Random Question! What’s your favorite time of year?

I love Fall when the trees start to turn, the air gets a little colder, and the smell of pumpkin spice infiltrates everything.

If you're able to talk about it, what are you currently working on?

I am currently working on SIR CALLIE 2! It’s been so cool to keep working with these characters and give them the space to grow from where they all end up in Book 1. The first book is satisfying on its own, but as far as character arcs go, it truly is only the beginning for our heroes!

What are some of your favorite MG books you've read recently? And what are some that you're looking forward to reading?

I just inhaled SMALL TOWN PRIDE by Phil Stamper and ANSWERS IN THE PAGES by David Levithan, and I’m currently reading THE CIVIL WAR OF AMOS ABERNATHY by Michael Leali. They are all absolutely marvelous contemporary Queer MGs that sucked me in and wouldn’t let me go until the last page. I recommend them to everyone!

I can’t wait until HEROES OF HAVENSONG: DRAGON BOY by Megan Reyes, which is coming out Winter 2023 with Labyrinth Road. It’s a true classic fantasy of epic proportions, heart and dragons! 

Thank you to Esme Symes-Smith for participating in this event! :)

Photo by Corey Boyles

Author Bio: After cutting their teeth on a steady diet of fanfiction in the South-West of England, Esme Symes-Smith wandered north to Wales for their degree in Literature and Creative Writing then promptly migrated to Missouri after meeting their wife on Tumblr.

Esme has been a ghostwriter, an editor, a frozen-yogurt seller, a caffeine dealer, and now wrangles preschoolers for a living.

They have a severe tea problem.

Here are a few links:

Their Website

Their Twitter

Their Instagram