1. What do you find is the hardest part of writing a story like this: the setting, the culture, the characters,
etc?
I think for me the most difficult part of writing Quest of Fire books, Resurgence of Dawn included, is
keeping all of the character's reactions to events and developments in the story authentic. Making
sure they don't overlook something that would be startling to them, because I know what's
happening next or I know what it means in the long-term. Allowing them to process emotions,
particularly negative ones in a way that is realistic is also tricky. The characters are facing things that
are truly heartbreaking at times and experience disappointments and doubts and just letting those
things play out without trying to cut them off too early because I care about the characters is difficult
some times. There's a conflict between two characters in Resurgence of Dawn that I desperately
wanted to end or avoid but knew I couldn't. There’s also another character who makes choices that
put him on a path to destruction that I kept trying to find a way out of for him, but altering things in
either situation would've been too intrusive and diminished the story. Portraying every emotion
rightly and accepting them as they need to be for the story and series is definitely the roughest part
for me and what I stress over most.
2. What's your process of including a thread of faith into your stories? Do you pull from Scripture or do
you decide on a faith topic and let it work its way into your story?
There have been a few times where I started with a passage of Scripture and wrote a story from there,
my first published novel Destitutio Quod Remissio is 100% a meditation on Colossians 3:12-13. Almost
all of the others have been more along the lines of getting a general idea of the plot and then
following the path from point to point I see certain themes naturally weave in. Characters experience
things that lend themselves to introducing a particular scriptural truth. Though overall, the entire
Quest of Fire series features a consistent exhortation to keep true to what the Apostle Paul said: “I
have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up
for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day,
and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”*
Seeing the Lord Jesus as King of Kings and Lord of Lords is so key too. And “For the word of God is
living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of
joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”**
Not to mention, “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus
let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”***
* 2 Timothy 4:7-9, ESV
** Hebrews 4:12, ESV
*** Hebrews 12:28, ESV
3. Do you read your story to your wife before it's published or do you let her read it during the process?
Early in my publishing career she read my manuscripts before they were published, but I tend to write
in genres that aren't my wife's favorites (or even on the same map as her favorites). She doesn’t tend to read them anymore. Though somewhat recently she did read and enjoy my novella in The Near Distant collection. More often when something is particularly tricky, I'll pass the premise of a scene or story by her to get her feelings on it. She's also a big help with reviewing cover art and I basically can't
do my social media without her. But until I finish the contemporary romance I have squirreled away in
my story folders, I don't know that I'm going to pique her interest.
4. Where do you find the names for your characters such as Monarch and Anargen? Is there a book with
made up fantasy names?
I get ideas for names from a pretty diverse array of sources. Anargen is one I made up (heavily
influenced by the name Aragorn from Lord of the Rings). There are a few names out there that come
from the phonetic sounds evoking a particular feel that I want based on who the character is as well.
Others are real-world names that carry some significance to the respective character like Cinaed and
Seren. Some are composites of words in other languages that carry a particular meaning, like Monarch
Maldes Ilyron. Though he's a special case, because I actually put his name out to a vote for readers to
pick from a list of options the best name for the Middle Era villain. Among my favorites are some I've
gotten from my son while we're playing together like Professor Goulder and in place names the town
of Cattingsford. Anytime I'm picking names for people and places in stories it's a really personal
experience, because that name becomes a part of who the character is and starts to shape how they
fit in the story world.
5. When you begin a series, do you typically know how many books will be in it or do you let it play out
naturally and you allow it to be as long as needed?
Most of the time I have an idea at the start and then revise my expectations as I go. For Quest of Fire, I
started very early on thinking it would be three books and then four. Then I got the idea to intersperse
the more personal and smaller scale supporting stories in the three novellas/short novels. That way I
could add more depth to the cultures and some of the characters that I couldn't put into the main arc
novels because of word count and pacing concerns. Quest of Fire has been a seven-book series in my
mind (and with my publisher) since at least 2018 and I've had the names for every release and a
general arc (including the final chapter of the series) since 2019. I’m currently writing the final book in
the series and seeing what I’ve been imagining for years coming to its conclusion is so surreal.
6. Do you find inspiration for your stories in your day-to-day life? If you have a conversation with
someone or see a situation, do you ever think, "Oh, that would fit great into my story"
Oh, definitely. It was more so for my Tomorrow's Edge series than Quest of Fire. In Quest of Fire I try
to capture some normal moments or a facsimile of them in the stories to ground them some. The
more fantastical a setting and plot is the more the reader needs some moments that remind us of the
real world and day-to-day life. So, there;s a dinner date scene of sorts in Resurgence of Dawn and a
scene where a character goes through a marketplace low key looking for a gift for another character.
In Tomorrow's Edge, which is a near future dystopian story, everything was fair game in that series,
from mall trips to ordering fast food to a hospital stay. All with a slight futuristic twist. The first book
in that series is probably the best example of me pulling real life into fiction, because the opening
scene and the entire premise for the series came from me standing alone on the steps to the English
hall at my undergrad university and looking across the campus in the rain at the library in the
distance. That moment and the motifs it inspired and questions of what would happen to that library
if all the books were digital only all came together to launch that series for me.
