Below, you'll find the full transcript of today’s episode, in case you prefer to read or want to reference something we talked about.

Adelina is content to be a humble librarian with no magic, organizing ordinary books and leaving the magical section of the library to the management of the mysterious creature called a cervara...until she finds a misshelved spellbook that refuses to stay in its proper place. Despite warnings from the College of Magic and her superiors, she decides to return the book to the magical section, where she befriends the mysterious creature. Contrary to what she's been told, the cervara is trying to protect humanity from dangerous magic by hoarding it in the library. But is it also hiding an even greater danger?

Leon is a mage in his final year at the college who needs to write something impressive for his final thesis. But when he meets the charming Adelina, and she confides her discovery to him, Leon’s world turns upside down. He’s forced to try to mediate between the mysterious creature and the power-hungry magi who surround him, all while trying to pursue his favorite librarian.

Can Adelina and Leon protect the cervara from the world—and the world from the dangers of the library? Or will both sides be destroyed by the secrets they hide and the greed that drives them to seek forbidden knowledge?

S. R. Crickard lives in Ohio with a husband, some children, a bunch of dying plants, and a collection of taxidermy and animal bones.

After a career as a caseworker specializing in senior care, she now specializes in collecting homeschool curricula and then making up her own worksheets anyway.

When she isn't running, reading, or searching for Lepidoptera in the woods, she is writing down characters who search for the good, true, and beautiful in unexpected places.

Her fiction was featured in the 2022 anthology, For the Good of the Realm, and her debut novel, Misshelved Magic, was released in November of 2024.

Find her as @srcrickard on social media.

Danielle Grandinetti: Welcome to a Spot of Story with Danielle Grandinetti, cozy up with your favorite beverage as we chat about sweet romance, thrilling suspense, and fascinating history. Perhaps you'll find your next read in one of these stories.

On this episode of a Spot of Story, I'm chatting with S. R. Crickard.

She lives in Ohio with her husband and children, a collection of taxidermy, and animal bones—sounds interesting! After a career as a caseworker specializing in senior care, she now specializes in collecting homeschool curricula and then making up her own worksheets anyway. When she isn't running, reading, or searching for Lepidoptera in the woods, she's writing down characters and research for the good, true, and beautiful in unexpected places. Her fiction was featured in the 2022 anthology For the Good of the Realm and her debut novel, Misshelved Magic, is the one we are talking about today. Sarah, welcome.

S. R. Crickard: Thank you. It's wonderful to be here. Thank you for having me.

Danielle Grandinetti: I'm excited to talk about Misshelved Magic. It's not our usual genre that we talk about here on the podcast, but your description of it completely intrigued me. But first, since this podcast unites us over a love of story, I'd love to learn more about what you are currently reading.

S. R. Crickard: I am currently reading a book called Between Two Worlds [affiliate link] by Cheyenne van Langeveld. It's a historical fiction about a young woman who's captured while Rome is taking over Britain. I just started it, so I can't say much more than that, but it's good so far.

Danielle Grandinetti: Let's turn to Misshelved Magic. Can you tell us a little bit about what it's about before we dive into more of the questions?

S. R. Crickard: It's about a young woman named Adelina who gets a job as a librarian at the main library near the College of Magic, but she's not allowed in the magic section because she doesn't have magic. She's working in the history section and is told on day one to pretend all that magic stuff is not there. Those books put themselves away anyway. She knows something is going on when she keeps finding a spellbook in her section that just won't stay where it belongs. She decides she's going to figure out how to return it because she's a librarian and her curiosity is peaked. That sets her on a path to start to discover things about magic and the world that have been ignored until that point.

Danielle Grandinetti: Sounds fun. Which actually leads perfectly into my first question: what does a day in the life of your character look like?

S. R. Crickard: She reminds me of a Miyazaki character. She likes to have her tea or her coffee with some sort of roll—just a very quaint, whimsical, quiet life. Nobody expects her to be this curious or to look into things. She likes to read the morning paper because her family likes to stay up on current events together. Her father is a gardener, so she spends time outdoors taking long walks before she heads to the library to sort books and help people. Then she just likes to go home and have a quiet life again.

Danielle Grandinetti: Until the book shows up.

S. R. Crickard: Yes!

Danielle Grandinetti: What was your favorite scene to write in this story and why?

S. R. Crickard: I don't want to give spoilers, but one of the characters gets a concussion. It's a really funny development because concussions make you act funny and can mess with your perception of things. I had a lot of fun researching exactly what kind of hijinks a good concussion could cause for somebody.

Danielle Grandinetti: Speaking of research, what was some unique research you needed to do for this story?

S. R. Crickard: I chose an alternate Edwardian time period. It’s funny in hindsight because I saw the Edwardian period was only about nine to fourteen years long and thought, "What really could there be to learn?" I was so wrong. It was a time of massive cultural change. I got about thirty books from the library on daily life, cookbooks, and newspapers. At this time, the telephone existed but wasn't in every home. Electricity was common in urban areas but not the country yet. There were both horse-drawn carriages and cars on the road at the same time. I loved the tension between old and modern, which mirrors my character’s tension between the old understanding of magic and new discoveries.

Danielle Grandinetti: I love that. My stories are 1930s, but that transition of old and new is so fascinating. What is a bit of research you wish you could have included that just didn't make the cut?

S. R. Crickard: I got a cookbook from the time with interesting foods, but since the story takes place in a library, they aren't walking around with food much. I also learned about King Edward, who liked rich foods and was known for gaining weight rapidly. Men traditionally buttoned the bottom button of their vests, but he started leaving his open for comfort. It caught on as a fashion trend where young men stopped buttoning their vests all the way down, claiming it was a "riding coat" style. It was like how we wear gym clothes everywhere now!

Danielle Grandinetti: I love these little details.

S. R. Crickard: The other fun fact was the "S-shaped silhouette." Large bust, large bottom, and thin everywhere else. Women achieved this with cotton pads or "pillows" stuffed in their clothes. I found a seamstress guide where the author wrote, "Cotton will provide what God has forgotten." I laughed out loud, but there was nowhere to put that line in the book!

Danielle Grandinetti: What was the inspiration behind writing this story?

S. R. Crickard: I was struggling with a different manuscript that had too much angst. I decided to write a short story to clear my head with a prompt to use none of my normal tropes. I picked a time period and setting—a library—that I had never used. I showed the "short story" to author friends and they told me, "This is not a short story, it's the first third of a novel. You have to finish it." That "short story" became the first third of Misshelved Magic. Going that far out of my comfort zone is part of what makes it so special.

Danielle Grandinetti: What encouragement do you hope your readers will take away from this story?

S. R. Crickard: That having virtue is always the right choice, even when the stakes are high. It can seem easier to go along to get along, but focusing on the right thing is always better than toning down your conscience to make others comfortable.

Danielle Grandinetti: Sarah, thank you so much for joining me. Where can readers find both you and your book online?

S. R. Crickard: I have a website, srcrickard.com, and I'm on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok as @srcrickard. I'm most active on Instagram.

Danielle Grandinetti: I'll link to that in the show notes. Thank you so much for joining me today, and I hope readers will enjoy finding your book.

S. R. Crickard: Thank you.

Danielle Grandinetti: Thank you for listening to a spot of story with Danielle Grandinetti. We hope you enjoy today's conversation. Let us know by leaving a comment below and be sure to subscribe so you don't miss an episode. Discover more information about today's book by visiting a spot of story online at daniellegrandinetti.com/podcast.

Happy reading.

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Until next time, may your reading bring both light and encouragement.

Happy reading!
~ Danielle.