Episode #101 Jill K. Sayre – On Wings of Stone and Light, Gargoyles, Cyrano Vibes & Found Family

In this spooky-season episode of Miles Beyond the Page, host Michelle Miles welcomes author, visual artist, and educator Jill K. Sayre to discuss On Wings of Stone and Light, a YA reality-based fantasy filled with gargoyles, angels, unlikely allies, and questions about what truly makes someone a monster.

Jill shares the creative path that eventually led her from visual art and education into fiction, including her desire to write a “bridge” middle-grade novel with The Fairies of Turtle Creek. She also reveals the wonderfully unexpected inspirations behind On Wings of Stone and Light: a 1970s gargoyle movie and Cyrano de Bergerac, which helped shape Ryan, a formerly stone gargoyle who is part human, part dragon, and part condor.

Michelle and Jill dive into the deeper themes beneath the fantasy, including feelings of unworthiness, free will, self-reflection, found family, and the power to choose your own path. They explore the assumptions we make about characters who look like monsters, Madeline’s role as an angel medium, and the intriguing contrast created by bringing angels and gargoyles into the same story.

Jill also discusses restructuring the novel around a 30-day timeline to create a full-moon ticking clock, writing unlikely alliances, and using her background as a visual artist to design fantastical creatures through collages. While On Wings of Stone and Light currently stands alone, Jill shares her interest in returning to the world and continuing the story.

🎧 Join Michelle and Jill for a Spooky Season conversation about gargoyles, angels, unlikely heroes, found family, and why sometimes the characters who look like monsters have the most humanity to reveal.

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe for more author interviews and creative conversations on Miles Beyond the Page!

ABOUT JILL SAYRE:

Jill K. Sayre is an award-winning author of Middle Grade, with a new Young Adult fantasy and a Women's Fiction novel released in October 2025.

With a passion for weaving the wonder of the unseen world into grounded, emotionally rich stories, she creates tales that inspire both curiosity and courage. Her debut MG novel, The Fairies of Turtle Creek, received the Reader’s Favorite Silver Medal for Children’s Fiction and explores the delicate balance between science and belief as a young girl navigates the absence of her brother during the Iraq War.

Her latest YA book, On Wings of Stone and Light, is a mythic, loose retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac, centered on a part-human, part-condor, part-dragon gargoyle who must battle darkness to save his home—and his heart.

Also newly released, In the Wake of Broken Hearts is a Women's Fiction novel based on a true story. Co-written with author Helen Martin Ippolito, it explores three generations of fatal heartbreak, and only the bond between two female friends can help them both find their way.

In addition to writing, Jill is a dedicated Pre-K, elementary and middle school teacher, and visual artist. Whether in the classroom or on the page, she is passionate about nurturing imagination and resilience in people of all ages.

WHERE TO FIND HER:

Website | Instagram | Facebook

WHERE TO FIND HER BOOKS:

Amazon