Meet IO Scheffer
My hearts, I am delighted to introduce you to IO Scheffer, a powerhouse of imagination who blends fantasy, sci-fi, and a dash of horror into character-driven stories that don’t shy away from big questions. A proud parent (to two tiny humans and one one-eyed pup named Mr. Rogers), IO creates worlds full of flawed, fascinating characters who wrestle with identity, destiny, and belonging. If you love speculative fiction with rich world-building, complex relationships, and LGBTQ+ representation, you’ll want to dive headfirst into the Fearghus Academy series.
JEN: Welcome, IO! Let’s start with the basics: does your book have a Happily Ever After?
IO: Happy for some, others not so much. I should probably mention that while my fantasy series isn't categorically romance there are elements of it throughout (as a coming of age).
JEN: Ha! I love it. We’ll have to read to find out who’s who.
What’s your favorite genre—to read and to write?
IO: To read? Nonfiction science stuff. I like astronomy and healthcare research. As for writing, I love to write fantasy / sci-fi, especially incorporating horror elements. I'm always down for action / adventure.
JEN: Who are some of your favorites—in authors, narrators, artists, or influences?
IO: L.A. Meyer (author of the Bloody Jack series). My favorite voice actor is Todd Haberkorn, who voices my all-time favorite anime character. I am my own cover artist because I am poor and can kind of do art. As for my biggest influence, natural environments. Whenever I go to a national park or just a local metropark, I'm thinking about how I could make a scene here or there. The same goes for cities, though, where there are a lot of industrial buildings. I have no friendly rivals, honestly.
JEN: Do you have other indie creators you collaborate with?
IO: Caroline Sophia Hamel, the author of the To Hold A Flower series and a few other books. I've been doing edits for her for a few years. She's a big supporter of my ongoing series, Fearghus Academy, and her reviews and thoughts about my works can be really helpful and insightful.
JEN: Music while writing—yes or no?
IO: I love a variety of music, but it totally depends on the scene I'm writing. But as of this year I have repeatedly played the Arcane soundtrack, Labour by Paris Paloma, Walpurgisnacht by Faun (to be fair, I've been blasting that for the last three years), and an assortment of random stuff that's usually wordless or in another language so I don't get distracted by the lyrics as I'm writing. I find it more fun to write while listening to music, but I can write without music just the same.
JEN: Go-to snacks or must-haves when creating?
IO: Water and Malley’s Milk Chocolate Crunch Bars. I suppose I should have something I can write or type with if I'm to work on my stories, but I also tend to chew on my finger during the thinking process while I'm at my computer, so I'll add my finger to the list of things I need within reach.
JEN: Tell us about home—where you’re from, where you live, and how it shapes your work.
IO: Berea, Ohio. I'm living in my childhood home due to circumstances I cannot discuss for legal reasons. I really love living here because it's very practically located (everything one could possibly need to live is obtainable in a <25 minute drive). I'm close to the Cleveland metroparks and there's a big pond and library within walking distance. I like that I'm familiar with the environment and relatively safe here. This place is very calm most of the time, but there's novelty too as there are various events held locally throughout the year. I think my time in Northeast Ohio does come out in a bit of my writing, but none of my characters are from here geographically, so I'm not sure how that would come out in my works published under this pen name.
JEN: Morning bird or night owl?
IO: I'm an always-on parrot. But I try to be a morning bird for my health.
JEN: I’ve never heard that before, but I love it! I may have to add it to the question.
When you’re not writing, how do you recharge?
IO: I go on nature walks and try to catch up on shows.
JEN: What path have you taken to publishing?
IO: I'm self-published as it comes to Fearghus Academy, as I have more creative controls. I have other works in the making that I would like to traditionally publish, as I feel like I can be more flexible with those characters and plots.
JEN: What’s your “origin story” as a creator?
IO: I don't know specifically, because I've wanted to write since I was, like, 5 years old. I would draw comics while in Elementary school and make little stories that my mom would type up and I would illustrate. I think my love for writing really started with a love for reading (even though I struggled with it for a few years, probably because I needed glasses and did not have any), and my love for art came before that because my dad would make amazing art and his uncle was an astonishingly great painter. I was probably a bit inspired by an early exposure to manga (mainly Naruto). I also used writing as a way to understand social interactions that usually confused me. Kind of like when a kid makes scenes for their dolls / action figures to play through.
JEN: What themes show up most in your work?
IO: Nature vs. Nurture, and predestination vs. free will. Regarding the latter, I mean assigned social outcomes as opposed to freely choosing your future. And for nature vs. nurture, it's just fun to see how expectations can be far from reality. I suppose "expectations" would be a good way to sum that up. Otherwise, I love to promote self-acceptance and empathy. I've found that a few characters in Fearghus Academy have some form of chronic pain / disability after a certain point early on in the series, and many of them are LGBTQ. I do like to address discrimination.
JEN: For readers new to your work, what should they pick up first?
IO: Fearghus Academy: October Jewels; Fearghus Academy: Crystal Shards; Fearghus Academy: Precarious Gems; (the next to come out) Fearghus Academy: Stone Forests; “Dmitry and Gennadiya” (a short horror story I published on Inkitt (@IOScheffer); Making Domhan: The Scottish Girl (also published on Inkitt, but incomplete. I'll have to finish it! But it's a Fearghus Academy spinoff that takes place before the events of the main series, centering on a secondary character, Marnie Sangster).
JEN: What’s next for you?
IO: Fearghus Academy: Stone Forests will be out by December of this year! At least on Ebook. I'm also upgrading books 1 through 3 of Fearghus Academy with improved illustrations and I'm fixing a formatting “issue” with the hardcovers (this will reduce the total page number and expand the internal text to fit the 6''x9'' size better). All other works are still in early draft states and not ready to edit / revise, and won't see the light of day very soon.
JEN: Where do you draw your inspiration?
IO: Nature, trauma, interpersonal conflicts ... With Fearghus Academy, it's kind of funny because that was loosely based off a partially written book I had made in middle school, very loosely based on my favorite anime / manga at the time (Soul Eater) as well as three books I'd types out before that on my mom's defunct laptop that were significantly inspired by the Avalon: Web of Magic series, which has beautiful illustrations.
JEN: What’s been your toughest criticism—and your biggest compliment?
IO: Oh, man. Toughest criticism was the least helpful, as a reviewer gave me a two star and called me (the author) arrogant without citing what made them feel that way. As for most frustrating criticism, I've had two people ask me why my series takes place in the 19th century given some of the sci-fi elements of my series, and I've gotta say in the same way I don't know why I was born in the 21st century, I can't give a specific reason other than I like Dark Shadows and "past person learns future stuff" entertains me greatly.
Biggest compliment(s) has been on my characterization, mainly that everyone is uniquely flawed and readers are bound to relate to at least one character. I've also gotten praise for my world-building via reviews.
JEN: What advice would you give your younger self?
IO: It's not even writing advice. I would have told my younger self not to go to college for English and to go straight to the medical field instead so I could have money while also having some downtime at home to write / draw. AI has made is very difficult to find decent editing jobs in the last few years, but I didn't foresee that happening when I started going to college in 2018.
JEN: How does your family support your creative work?
IO: My parents help me pay for ISBNs and I like to get my mom’s perspective on the stories while they are in the revision / editing stage. She’s my go-to beta reader.
JEN: Last question: who do you think would most enjoy your Fearghus Academy series?
IO: Readers who like speculative fiction and fantasy, and who feel kind of isolated or rejected socially and who long to be understood by peers or larger society. Big plus if they're into long novels and third-person POV.
My hearts, please follow IO on Instagram @i.o.scheffer or check out her site at ioschefferwriting.wixsite.com/makingdomhan.
Are you a human author? A human who narrates audiobooks? A human who designs book covers? Or a human who does PR and promotion for other authors? I'd love to interview you, too. Let me know when you’re ready!
