Q&A: Jenny Birch, Author of ‘Woven From Clay’

We chat with author Jenny Birch about Woven From Clay, which is a fresh and imaginative contemporary fantasy, where a golem must master the magic that binds her together and finds an unexpected ally in the mysterious boy sent to ensure her demise.

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

Hi! I’m Jenny Birch! I live in Pittsburgh with my husband (Adam), my three kids (Jackson, Caden, and Patience), and our puppy (Cookie)! I teach middle school – a little bit of everything over the past 20 years, including ELA, French, history, mythology, and theatre – and direct my district’s high school musical. I’m an adoptee, and my husband and I were foster parents before we adopted our daughter in 2023!

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

I’ve loved stories as long as I can remember. Second grade is the year I first remember getting in trouble for reading under my desk in class. Then, in third grade, we were given our first creative writing assignment (our own Beezus and Ramona vignette). I voluntarily stayed in from recess for an entire week to finish my story!

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: The first book I ever fully read independently was The Berenstain Bears Learn About Colors in kindergarten. But the first book that made me really love reading was Nancy Drew. I read the entire original series, then read the Nancy Drew Files, too. I loved trying to solve the mysteries, but most of all, I loved Nancy. She was a fearless, independent, no-holds-barred heroine written in a time when women weren’t necessarily supposed to be those things.
• The one that made you want to become an author: I always wrote short stories for fun and thought it would be cool to be an author, but in a very abstract way. Once I discovered Sarah Dessen, though, I realized how much I wanted to be able to do what she does: make people feel seen and cared for through compelling stories.
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: The Giver by Lois Lowry. It’s been my favorite book since fifth grade. I taught it as part of my curriculum when I taught 7^th grade ELA, so I’ve probably read it 60 or 70 times in my lifetime. And even after all that time, all those re-reads, I still always find something new and thrilling in the novel.

Your debut novel, Woven From Clay, is out August 12^th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Messy, fierce, unlikely, enduring hope.

What can readers expect?

An unexpected twist on golem mythology! There’s a little bit of romance, a lot of pushing back against established expectations, and a healthy dose of anxiety. Which – now that I’ve written that out – seems a lot like how my husband would probably describe me as a human being, ha!

Where did the inspiration for Woven From Clay come from?

Honestly, growing up as an adopted person, there were a lot of times I found myself wondering why I was the way I was (the way I am still!). Sometimes physically: where did my blue eyes come from and why is my chin so pointy? But also emotionally and psychologically: what’s inside me and where did it come from? It felt good and right and easy to write about those things, from the vantage point of adulthood, in a very literal way. Terra Slater has mud inside her, and her journey is all about discovering where that mud came from and what she can do with it.

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

Yes! The scene when Thorne sends Terra into the school in the evening to retrieve his homework! It was a scene that popped into my head nearly fully formed almost as soon as I started my very first draft. It’s part messy delight, part love letter to a show I watched in middle school, The Secret World of Alex Mack. It was so much fun to write. I laughed the whole time.

As far as characters are concerned, I really enjoyed writing Cyrus Quill, Willow, and Jett. The concept – and perception – of good and evil is so interesting to me. Is it better to do a bad thing for a good reason? Or to do a good thing for a bad reason? How do we balance (and justify) our intentions, actions, and the resulting consequences?

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

I’m a mom to three very active kids and a full-time teacher! Finding time to do things my “me things” – including writing – is always a challenge. I do most of my writing in the car in between my kids’ activities (a lot of Woven from Clay was written in the parking lot of my younger son’s dance studio!) and on my lunch breaks.

I also have ADHD, so I’m particularly susceptible to distractibility and frequently plagued by imposter syndrome. I spend a lot of my writing time re-reading what I’ve written and letting my brain convince me that it’s terrible. Fortunately, I’ve found an unbelievable circle of family, friends, and fellow writers who lift me up. We’re all so honestly invested in each other’s happiness and success.

This is your debut novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?

Long! As I think is true of a lot of writers. Becoming a writer certainly requires skill and dedication to the craft. But, more than that, it requires persistence, resilience, and patience. I started to get more serious about writing and storytelling in my mid-twenties. I joined writing associations, went to conferences, made friends, and found my critique group. I brainstormed and wrote and edited and rewrote, over and over again. I listened and learned and worked really, really hard at this art form I have loved for three quarters of my life. And it still took me over fifteen years to get from that point to my debut publication. I’m incredibly lucky and endlessly grateful that the stars aligned and I met the right agent (Amanda Orozco!) at the right time (at a virtual conference on my birthday during early COVID!) with the right manuscript. And that manuscript is now A BOOK! I still sometimes can’t believe it’s happening. But it is happening, and it’s happening in part because I never gave up. I was never going to give up, and I’ll still never give up.

What’s next for you?

Oh, more of my normal life, probably! I’ll keep teaching middle school ELA and directing high school theatre, I’ll keep driving my kids to baseball and soccer and dance and gymnastics and acting, and I’ll keep finding cracks in the day to write the stories that build up in my brain and refuse to leave me alone. Woven from Clay is my first book – but I certainly hope it won’t be my only! See above re: never giving up!

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

Oh my gosh, I love to read and I love to share the books I love with the people I love! I feel like I read so much and have such raging ADHD that every time someone asks me that question, I answer differently! But here are the books that are on my mind today (that I know for sure I read this year, haha):

How many am I allowed to list? I can go on for hours! Books are such a necessary, beautiful part of my life.

As far as what I’m looking forward to picking up – Sarah Dessen just announced she has a new book coming out next year! I can’t wait to read it!

Will you be picking up Woven From Clay? Tell us in the comments below!