FUN FACTS FOR RELEASE DAY!

Resurgence of Dawn is here!

It’s hard to believe that the fifth story in a series I started imagining so many years ago is in my hands. I keep looking at it, it feels so surreal. I’m still processing that Silent Stars released earlier this year and finished the Tomorrow’s Edge series. It’s so wild that there’s only two more stories left to tell to complete the story for Jason, Anargen, and the other characters I’ve come to care so deeply about. I’m working on the next book for release in September 2024, but it’s still so wild.

Enough wistfulness from me. I thought it would be cool to give you some quick fun facts about Quest of Fire and Resurgence of Dawn to celebrate its release!

1. Resurgence of Dawn, like all of my books, is “….dedicated to the glory of God without Whom there

are no words worthy of writing…”But each book also has a dedication for those closest to me. This time was particularly poignant for me: “… to my son who tells fantastic stories of his own and whom I hope to inspire to dream boldly and follow God passionately.”

2. The name of a key city in Anargen’s story came from son— Cattingsford. Him talking about a town named that led to a fun origin story for the town’s name in the Lowlands (check it out HERE), which is in pretty sharp contrast to the tumultuous events that take place there.

3. It took months to sketch out the full breadth of the Lowlands. Every nation listed has a culture, national symbol, and most have their origin story and which side they’ll take in what’s to come mapped out. Pun intended.

4. Resurgence of Dawn covers a huge swath of the territory depicted on its six maps (a third of the Lowlands per map with Middle and Modern Era maps. The style they’re done is intentionally meant to look like something that has been sketched, because, as sort of an Easter Egg, they were done by Anargen (Middle Era maps) and Cinaed the Storyteller (Modern Era maps) respectively.

5. I had the first and last interlogues for Jason’s story written way before anything else.  I knew where it started and where it ended for a long time, but man were there some surprises along the way! As it happens, the last paragraph of the series is already largely written as well.

6. I struggled to name this book, because of book three in the series. I couldn’t decide between Shadows of Nightfall vs. Shadows at Nightfall and Resurgence of Dawn vs. Resurgence at Dawn. They couldn’t both be “at” or “of”! Yeah, I’m silly enough to get twisted around the minutiae like that. I’m glad the title ended up as it did.

6. This book has a major character “crossover” from the novellas. And it was one of my favorite parts to write!

7. I love that the book is the 12th publication with my writing in it and it released on 12/12, the 24th anniversary of the day I was baptized!

8. This is the third book to feature the mystical shadow assassins, the Sombra. And means that the only book in the series not to mention werebeasts is Succession…or is it? Am I just being mysterious to get everyone rush back and check through Succession or is there a secret reference in there?

9. It was a blast getting to show more of Jason’s Modern Era and having 1920’s technology show up alongside traditional sword and fantasy elements. I feel like that’s one of Quest of Fire‘s more unique features as a fantasy story.

10. The newly debuted civilizations of Uldiquim and Yusbilsi turned out a lot darker than I initially imagined. They had some secrets I wasn’t prepared for and had a lot of trepidation writing about.

11. A lot of this book is set in Misbyr (February) in both Eras. All four seasons appear in the series, but more importantly there’s now a pretty diverse range of backgrounds and places characters are at in terms of their “seasons of life” and spiritual journeys. Already readers are commenting on the Scriptural influences and parallels in the book and this one does feel more attuned to spiritual themes than Shadows at Nightfall. I know that will turn off some readers, and that really hurts, but the Lord really led me down this path and it felt like this book came out just as it should be. Exciting, fun, sweeping, adventurous, but most of all encouraging, earnest, and spiritually poignant. 

12. The Lord has really blessed me, beyond words. I can’t go into it in depth here, but 100% Soli Deo Gloria for this book and this crazy, wonderful author journey I’ve been privileged to be on and have so many join with me to enjoy.

Thank you for stopping by, reading, and sticking with me on these wild and wonderful literary adventures. I hope you enjoy exploring the Lowlands in Resurgence of Dawn as much as I did while writing it. Above all, may the Lord bless and be with you always.