Brett Armstrong's Blog

Hello, there!

Thank you for stopping by to join me for the cover reveal of the final book in the Quest of Fire saga! I’ve been looking forward to sharing this story and completing the greater saga for so long. It’s impossible to convey what this moment means to me. Suffice it to say, it’s a big deal and I hope if you haven’t tried Quest of Fire, you’ll do so. The series has been a blessing and privilege and an enormous pleasure to write. Being biased as the first to tread its literary pathways, I think it’s such a rewarding journey to embark on. So, if you would like to check it out, here is a link to the series.

CHECK OUT THE QUEST OF FIRE SAGA

Books 1, 3, and 4 should be especially fun reads for those looking for some mild spookiness and stories where the light overcomes the dark. I find those stories especially meaningful, because we’re told in one of my personal favorite passages of John’s Gospel:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created. Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it.”

If you ever want to talk about joining that light and experiencing that victory over the dark, you can always feel free to message me directly about it.

That all being said, here is the final Ques to Of Fire saga cover, one cover to finish them all:

War has consumed the Lowlands in both Jason and Anargen’s eras. Each teen struggles to keep true to the Quest as the armies led by the dark powers of the Lowlands edge closer to victory.

A secret buried in Ordumair can guarantee that evil Monarch Ilyron destroys the Tower of Light Anargen has striven to defend. And Jason’s brother, Dorian, has found an equally powerful weapon in the mysterious land of Jhi. The ancient threat of dragons returning to the Lowlands threatens to plunge the Lowlands into ruin.

Losses that leave both teens grieving deeply and an ever-diminishing list of allies means they must be willing to give everything to rescue their world from the looming desolation. But they must face the truth that it is still far too little to win, unless they can hold on till the King’s Day arrives.

The final story in the Quest of Fire saga releases December 30, 2025! I’ll be sharing soon how to join its launch team along with other fun things. Check back here in the coming weeks for more reveals around the book and let me know what you think of the final cover in the series!

Thank you again for joining me for the reveal and may the Lord bless and be with you always.

Hello, there!

       Today is a major Quest of Fire Friday. This is the last time I’ll be posting here…before the final cover in the Quest of Fire series is revealed. Book 7’s cover reveal is planned for next Friday, October 10th. With it I’ll finally be able to complete the graphic I’ve shared for every Quest of Fire Friday for years now. It will also be the title reveal and the first time I’ll be posting the back cover details from the book along with the release date.

So, is that it for today? Well, not quite. I thought I would share that this book’s cover and title have been enormously difficult for me to settle on.

Normally a couple titles will come to mind for me and then one just stands out and I have to choose it. For years now, I’ve had the title for the last entry in the series firmly fixed in my mind. It was supposed to be called The King’s Day. I thought that was the perfect title, the one that defined what the final entry was all about. Until I was finishing up writing the manuscript earlier this year. You would think a series I’ve been dreaming, drafting, and exploring for going on twenty years would be pretty well sorted out for me. But no. The Lord had more to show me, a better title that encompasses so much more, including the formerly titular King’s Day which has been mentioned dozens of times across the Quest of Fire series. Per usual for me unfortunately, I resisted and agonized over what title to use. I dug trenches with the circles I ran around in. Eventually I asked for advice from others and then prayed a lot about it (notice I did last what should’ve come first). Sometimes it’s really hard to let go of what we imagine is best. In particular, when what I’ve got in mind has been my plan for a long time.

After my struggle with the title, I fully expected the cover would still be a breeze. Usually, I work with the publisher to fine-tune a particular cover from a selection they offer. I had six to choose from for Resurgence of Dawn and knew which cover was the choice pretty much from the start. This time…I had three incredible covers to pick from. So good that I wanted to write books just to keep all three! If multi-covered books were a thing, then I totally would’ve taken all of them. But as neither of those are realistic options, I started pondering. What makes for a good book cover and more importantly a good Quest of Fire book cover? As I was pondering this, my heart was there steadily prodding me, reminding me Whom I serve and which would best highlight the themes of the book and series. The one that belonged as the cover. I’m really good at ignoring wisdom’s gentle summons.

So, here were some criteria I had for a good cover:

1. Vibrant color palette – good for catching the eye of a passerby and getting a closer look. Also, we by nature appreciate bright colors because God has made a world filled with bright colors.

2. Clear indicator of genre – at a glance you want the reader to know what sort of book they’re picking up. Reader expectations being met is a good way to avoid angry one-star reviews. Or at least not misrepresenting the book diminishes the likelihood of reader backlash.

3. Compelling – the action or image of the cover’s art needs to be compelling, either in generating questions, capturing a mood and (or scene), or giving the reader a moment of pause (literally wowing them).

4. Good thumbnail – the image needs to look good at full size, but also at smaller sizes, because of catching the attention of online shoppers, which is usually where sales are derived, necessitates it.

5. Does it match? – this is for series but can also be rolled up into your author branding. Does this cover look like it visually belongs with your other titles?

6. Will it flatten/drop resolution well? – most cover images are created in software that supports layers, but the printers at both Amazon and Ingram flatten images and/or down sample significantly for matte paperbacks, so if you plan to go with that finish, bear in mind it might distort (usually softens) the image and its lines.

7. Good contrast – contrast can really take a hit from flattening. You want darks and lights against each other and not overlapping like colors. Pale yellow on creamy white isn’t going to stand out well normally and even less after flattening and image resolution loss.

8. Pick your finish – the finish you want on the book (if you have a say) should comport with the genre standards you see in the marketplace and fit with the artwork. Does it look better in glossy or matte?

9. Does it convey deeper things about the story world and/or characters? – Um, yeah, it should. But to sell the book…this one seems less important on the surface. It should matter to authors though and will to the most loyal readers.

There was one cover that really met all of those considerations, except it wasn’t the best at #5 and #9. And I agonized over this one because all of the things I learned about effective marketing through a cover said pick that cover. But that wasn’t the one the Lord impressed on my heart. I was too divided to make the final call, but I laid out all my conflicted thoughts to the publisher and prayed some more. I was really relieved when the publisher picked the cover I was impressed deep within to choose. I regret not being bold enough to choose it outright but learned an important lesson in my struggling and failings.

Why am I talking about my struggles with these? Because they were my struggles and they didn’t have to be. Ultimately, my purpose as a writer and as a person is to guide people along the “good roads and walk therein.”* To point them to “the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”** The Master Artist is free to alter what He makes using me and when I resist, I’m only making it harder for others to see His fingerprints within the art and within me. You would be fair to say the title of this book and its cover are likely small things in the grand scheme of all His works, but I want to be sensitive to His leading and faithful in the small things. When we’re faithful in the small things He can use us in the bigger and when He does entrust me with more, I want to be a brush that’s ready for the art the Master would make.

* Jeremiah 6:16

** John 14:6

Hello there!

I started writing this while on my way back from being a part of the Realm Makers Expo in Grand Rapids, Michigan. For anyone who has been to a conference it’s like being in another world—charged with a special kind of energy. At least till it ends. Then you find yourself back in your normal day-to-day life as though it was all a dream. Since this year’s Realm Makers was a good dream, before daily life displaces too much of the residual charge from it, I wanted to capture a few thoughts.

It was a first for my family and I in a lot of ways. None of us had been to Michigan. We’ve done a modest amount of travel and this was by no means the longest trip for us, but it was a trip. More than nine hours of driving each way. Though I met a fellow author and exhibitor, D.E. Carlson and her husband who drove twenty hours from North Dakota. I think there was a gentleman from New Zealand who had us all beat in terms of travel. I mention this, because it was the first time I really considered the degree of effort my fellow writers and I were making to be in this one place for this event and by extension to further our writing. Which is somewhat silly on my part, but talking about distances traveled and knowing how the trip wore on my family just brought the depth of the commitment everyone was making into focus.

It was also the first time I chose to have a booth at Realm Makers and to borrow Tolkien’s words, I “exposed my heart to be shot at” by my fellow authors. I had consigned books to the Realm Makers conference store before, but that was easy. I just dropped them off and left. This time I got to see, in real time, people judging the merit of whether the books I wrote were worth giving a try. For most, the answer was no. Which did not sting as much as I expected. Perhaps because of all the book festivals I’ve attended, Realm Makers was different. The people there were far friendlier than I’d met in other venues. Not to say I’ve never met kind people at the festivals. In fact, a huge highlight of Realm Makers was getting to see the incredibly talented Christy McCulfor and her husband again. I met them a few years ago while they by chance were traveling through West Virginia and stopped at the WV Book Festival while I had a booth. This time, I was in their home state and it was so great seeing them again! I also thoroughly enjoyed seeing and getting to talk to so many people I knew already including Sophia Henson and Scott Thomas who helped me discover Realm Makers years ago. I had the pleasure of meeting the publisher of Clean Fiction Magazine, Amy Lynn McConahy, who is such a cool person. There were still others I had only known through social media like Caylah Coffeen, Jenelle Schmidt, and Gabriella Lee. There’s a degree of wonderment to seeing and hearing someone you had only ever known digitally.

Almost as jarring as trying to get back into “normal” life after a conference. This time, however, it’s something more. I’ve tried for days to pull together my thoughts on the @RealmMakersExpo as a whole (the short of it was it was great, but I’m a writer so I have to be more verbose than that). What was it about the expo that resonated with me, that pushed it beyond the usual conference/festival for me? In combing through the event, there were a few other standout moments added to the reunions and meetings I already mentioned.

The first goes with the opening picture. I got my copy of Star Wars: The Truce at Bakura from when I was ten-years-old signed by Kathy Tyers! I looked forward to that moment since I found out she would be doing a signing at the expo. Standing in line I went over all the clever and grateful things I would say. Then I got up to her and she was so kind and warm and….I COULDN’T SAY ANYTHING. I just stood there like a goof. I mean I should be living at Disney Studios and practicing saying, “Hyuck” and “Gawrsh” after that. The worst part –I could tell she was looking at me like I was missing a few bolts. So, if you had an embarrassing moment at the expo, I empathize, deeply. DEEPLY.

There were two other significant signings that went markedly better. I was privileged to get to speak with the fantastic SD Smith and humbled to have him sign a set of the four main Green Ember books for my son. That was so incredibly cool and a treasured part of the expo for me. And there were only bearable amounts of Goofy-me peeking through during that encounter… I hope.

One of my favorite memories of the expo was when my friends Eric Landfried and CM Button gave me a draft copy of their children’s book they were planning to pitch and they each signed it. The art, the story, all of it is SO good! Its coolness was sufficient to drown out any silliness I could have brought to the moment. I can’t wait to see what the Lord does through and with their book.

Each picture represents other moments to talk about and great people to mention, but even being a long-winded author, I know I can’t tell about all of them. Though I am tagging all of the authors and 100% think you should go and check out their work and follow them if you haven’t.

I met fellow Scrivenings Press and Expanse Book authors Erin Howard, Amber Gabriel, and Brent Golembiewski. I had great booth neighbors: AG Bjornstedt, Joe Bragg of the CGDC, LE Richmond, and Ezra Kessler. Along with a host of fellow lovers of story, but even more importantly those who love the Lord. I had several people pray with and for me during the event and listened to stories that revealed the beautiful faith of those with whom I spoke. Which is where the greatest treasure of the expo lies. Between the worship service on the Sunday of the expo and the vibrant faith of those attending the event, it deeply touched my heart and if all else of the event was stripped away that would have been worth the trip with its costs innumerable times over.

In mentioning costs though, there were some in both time and money. They were significant and I cannot bear those without my family doing it with me. My incredible wife did so with smiles and grace. My son, even young as he is, not only supported me but ecstatically contributed his own items to the booth—3D printed crosses for anyone who got my historical fiction book, Destitutio Quod Remissio.

As a writer, words are supposed to be my provenance, but I’m struggling to articulate what all of these things mean to me. I tried to convey them to my co-workers as I still attempt to find the familiar rhythm I left on the Wednesday before the trip to the expo. I failed miserably at capturing it then. I’m failing now. I think the most crystalline of comments I can make that most fully encompasses the expo is that it stirred my faith and encouraged me as a writer. And I don’t want to relinquish hold on either, no matter how much time and “normalcy” wear at either.

So, I owe many thanks to my family, those who came to speak with me at my booth, my writer friends, the Realm Makers team who put the expo together, and above all the Lord. We take for granted those moments when we feel Him working in our hearts, or at least I have, but He truly is a magnificent God, Who, as one conversation I had at the expo brought up: He is the same God Whose fiery presence thundered from Sinai and rendered that mountain untouchably holy and the very God Who sent His Son longing to gather Jerusalem like a hen her chicks. CS Lewis was well in saying of his Narnian Christ figure Aslan: “…he isn’t safe, but he is good. He’s the King I tell you!” And that appropriately enough is the most precious piece of the Realm Makers Expo I carry with me.

Hello there!

Welcome to another Quest of Fire Friday! This is the first in a series in which I would like to share with you some extended details on some of the more recently revealed localities in Quest of Fire. First up is the somewhat ignominious Uldiquim.

OVERVIEW

Uldiquim was first mentioned in Resurgence of Dawn. It’s a relatively large country that came to exist in the Modern Era through the conquest of Quimethra by Uldi. Uldiquim or the Uldiqui Confederacy are the monikers Ecthelish merchants labeled it with but to the ruling Uldi class the nation is the Grand Khanate of Uldi. It’s a landlocked nation bordered by Centros to the West and south, Keraxlaco to the east and south, and Shanfara and Mbisai to the north. It is mountainous in the southern Quimethran area with the Cokachik River, the sweeping plateaus and table land across the north central country with the Elbanon Forest as a buffer with Shanfara and the Endochora Sea an effectively separating it from Centros’s heartlands. There is a semi-arid region located around Zunri. The country is divided into satrapies and as a whole belongs to the Far Southern Realm.

ANCIENT ERA:

Some of the earliest cities of the Lowlands were built in the lands now comprising Uldiquim. During the Ancient Era, a collection of tribes united under a warlord named Reznal to create the city state of Lugaluk. Over the centuries Lugaluk exerted enormous influence over the area that eventually became Uldi. Centuries of rule came to an end after a series of famines and palace coups as the eponymous Uldi people group came to dominate the region and overtook Lugaluk shortly before the start of the Middle Era.

To the south, Quimethra followed a similar path early on, except that it faced waves of invasions from the sea as colonists from Theratos continuously clashed with the local Quidar population. Eventually a Theraton conqueror, Methra, invaded and overtook all of the Quidar’s lands and claimed nearly half of the Uldi lands, placing the initial stressors on Lugaluk that led to its fall centuries later, before his death. His top general succeeded him and renamed the land Quimethra in honor of his wanax (ruler). Thereafter the Quidar and Theraton colonists intermarried and by the end of the Ancient Era there was only one discernible people.

MIDDLE ERA:

Uldi in its more arid lands developed a nomadic modality and a harsh outlook on life. Slavery was quickly introduced into Lugaluk and it persisted into Uldi’s establishment. They did have the peculiar breed of goats native to the Elbnon Forest to shear for trade and for their horns, which were considered a rare and valued prize for their size and unique notes they could produce. Sounding like a strong breeze on a mountain slope or a mewling kitten depending on how it was used.

By contrast, the better soil of Quimethra allowed them to thrive and with the Theraton influences they pursued art, music, poetry, and led gentler, quieter lives. By the end of the Middle Era, Quimethra had adopted a direct democracy with each major civic center in its lands casting votes from the land holding population.

Uldi saw the wealth and ease of Quimethra and being in the throes of yet another famine, launched a brutal war against Quimethra. Though more prosperous, Uldi was more experienced in war and brought to bear trebuchets imported from Jhi that tore apart the impressive stone strongholds of Quimethra. The war ended at the Battle of Cokachik River with the armies of Quimethra suing for peace with the Uldi and willingly surrendering all of the Knights of Light and other undesirables to the Uldi. Though outsiders view them as one people and the Quimethran descendants have thoroughly integrated and attempted to ingratiate themselves to their more powerful Uldi allies. Even so, the Uldi were quick from the outset to establish themselves as the ruling class and Quimethrans as servants.

MODERN ERA:

Through trade established with Rehalcy during the closing years of the Middle Era, Uldiquim became aware of Monarch Ilyron and the forbidden legends of Tislatna. Especially in the northern lands that belonged to the Uldi, filtered through the sympathetic tales of the Rehalcy, Monarch Ilyron became a tragic antihero figure and was celebrated as a model leader. Cults of Tislatnean practice rose up, which stood at odds with the Quimethra people’s largely Knight of Light population. This led to a brutal campaign to cleanse Knights of Light from Quimethra and eventually the Uldi preferring to enslave Knights of Light from neighboring countries like Shanfara, Mbisai, and nearby Yusbilsi. Growing fat and cruel off the backs of slaves and the fruits of Quimethra, the Uldiqui were eager to join the Rehalcyon Empire’s Confederacy, especially when the Wernstrum crime family insinuated that Monarch Ilyron had returned thanks to dark incantations and that he would lead the Confederacy of Nations to conquer the Lowlands and reestablish Tisltana, bringing with it untold powers and wealth.

NOTABLE LOCATIONS:

Uthtar – featured in Resurgence of Dawn, the mansion located at Uthtarf was once a manor house of a local contingent of Quimethran Knights of Light. However, an Uldi warlord turned it into his personal residence and there conducted all manner of torturous executions and purges filling a cistern adjacent to the mansion with the bodies of his victims. With such a dark past, the location eventually became a place of meeting for members of Tislatnean cults eager to see Monarch Ilyron return and oblivious to the dark powers they were opening themselves to be influenced by.

Dragone Petra – a monumental statue that stands sixty-five feet tall. It was cut from the basalt of the Dark Hollow Formation near Zunri. Over 250 slaves were used to haul it from the site of its quarry and sculpting to Sol Uldim. The enormous statue was placed atop a square platform with elevated chevron pointing in the four cardinal directions. Each chevron has a fiery pit of flames within kept burning constantly. Looming over the city for nearly two hundred fifty years, it was utterly destroyed in an earthquake that took place soon after a sheep with a crown and wig was sacrificed before it, an effigy representing the High King of All Realms and his Knights of Light.

Afterwards no one could approach the square, because the quake exposed an underground seam of coal or oil. The fire from the burning chevrons ignited it and no one has been able to extinguish the flames for the centuries since its destruction.

The Ziggurat of Lugaluk  – Ruins of an ancient era structure believed to have been Reznal’s palace before it was converted into a tomb for him, the harem of wives he kept, and one hundred slaves and servants. A small honor guard were all also embalmed and placed within the structure. Old myths tell of subsequent rulers of Lugaluk traveling to its top to receive from it the power to rule all they could see in every direction. In later years, the myths appeared to be taken seriously as a series of additions not part of the original were built onto it to raise it ever higher for a broader vantage point. A few smaller ziggurats of similar design dot the cliffs of Uldiquim’s Avonchauk region.

Quimethran Tunnels- In order to escape the vicious purges and wars of the Uldi, Quimethran Knights of Light built tunnels beneath the great civic centers of Quimethra that lead out into the wilderness. Some simply dug into soft stone of Quimethra others formed from elaborately stone worked passageways that included secret safe rooms to help with funneling Knights to safety elsewhere, such as in neighboring Keraxlaco and Vov Hilan. Which had a strong impact on both nation’s cultures and ethos for centuries.

Hello there!

It has definitely been a bit. For those of you wondering to where I disappeared, it was to do some serious writing (while not pausing my family and work life). The first of the year I finished a sci-fi Christmas novella (yeah, that’s not a typo, just ambitious and, um, unique project), titled Asunder. It’s part of a collection called The Wonders Within The Starlit Inn. It’s due out this September! Lord willing I’ll be talking more about that very soon (and check out its super cool cover below).

BUT and it is a big one, because the other writing project I worked on was the final book in the Quest of Fire series. Book 7 (title coming soon) was a challenge. It is enormous and fraught and sweeping and took more rewrites than any book I’ve written since The Gathering Dark.  At the same time, it is poignant and filled with some beautiful moments of the series and brings everything to an ending that I’ve dreamed about since before The Gathering Dark was published. Even more so than Resurgence of Dawn, the Lord brought me through the writing process and my publisher was immensely gracious as I whizzed past my manuscript deadline. Even with the added time, again, it was a miracle the story came together and was poured out like it was. Soli Deo gloria!

What does this all mean for those of you who have been on the Quest of Fire with me? We’ll, it means December 16, 2025 you’ll get to hold in your hands the culmination of twenty years of dreaming, drafting, and seeking the Lord’s will and wisdom. I first started Quest of Fire in a high school creative writing class. It was supposed to be a fairy tale short story and became a Lord of the Rings-esque high fantasy novella length story (that my teacher graciously accepted and didn’t skewer me over). Since then, the story grew and developed and deepened beyond anything I had ever hoped. It has maps and music and artwork and lore, so much lore. I’ve met characters and seen places and events that make every writing trip to the Lowlands a treasure. I cannot begin to tell you how I feel about this, one because we haven’t yet reached that official finish line, and two because I’m feeling so many disparate things it’s hard to sort it all out. It’s like when I finished Silent Stars only an order of magnitude more potent. I’ve been writing Quest of Fire in some way for most of my life. And now, the finish is visible ahead. 

In coming days, I hope to give you more sneak peeks into some of the important places and people you’ll meet in the book. As well as get back to sharing exclusive insights into places and cultures within the other six books.

As a quick plug, it’s a great time to catch up on or start Quest of Fire. In celebration of its birthday, Expanse Books has a sale on the first six books (and all of my sci-fi/fantasy books) from today through July 4th! They’ll each be only 99 cents apiece which is a crazy good deal. If you start now, it should give plenty of time to read everything that came before at an enjoyable pace and get really ensconced in the Lowlands in advance of Book 7’s release.

If you’d like to take advantage of the sale, you can jump straight to my books or check out the other great stories by other Scrivenings/Expanse authors.

FIND MY BOOKS HERE SCRIVENINGS BOOK SALE

Thank you for checking in with me and for being patient through all of my radio silence. I’m looking forward to getting to share more of the Quest of Fire journey with you, so check back soon and may the Lord bless and be with you always.

Hello there!

Today is a quick #QuestOfFireFriday. I’ve been busy working on the last Quest of Fire book (though of course never so busy or undistracted as I need to be) and kind of low key. But I had some good news recently and I thought it would be a good idea to quickly drop in and let everyone know that Quest of Fire: Resurgence of Dawn won 3rd place in the Angel Awards and Quest of Fire: Succession was a finalist for 2020 Book of the Year with its publisher Scrivenings Press/Expanse Books! I don’t tend to talk a lot about awards or how my books do in contests, but especially with these two books it seemed worth taking a moment just say, “Soli Deo gloria.”

Quest of Fire: Succession was the first book I had published by Expanse Books after Scrivenings Press bought Mantle Rock Publishing (Quest of Fire’s original publisher). I was only one book into a seven-book series and Succession was already finished, but I was super nervous about how it and the series as a whole would be received. I prayed about it, a lot, especially as the publisher chose to be the editor for that particular book. I felt like a lot was hanging on its success and I was worried that if it wasn’t well received Expanse Books might change the decision to continue with the seven-book contract Mantle Rock had for Quest of Fire. But the publisher really liked Succession and has been incredibly supportive of the Quest of Fire series as a whole.

Which I desperately needed because as I’ve written about before (see this previous post), writing Resurgence of Dawn required more of me and from me than I could do on my own. That book five in the series won an award (it’s increasingly rare the further you get into a series to see a book win) is just another reminder that when I needed the Lord’s strength, His words and wisdom—imperfectly as I ever am able to transcribe them—He blessed me with it. “I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 isn’t about how a believer is now a super soldier, but a soldier of the cross standing in its shadow and witnessing how His “power is made perfect in weakness.” * My weakness in this case. It’s impossible to convey how it feels to have very much come to the metaphorical edge of the Red Sea and then see it parted, cross over, and then look back. I can imagine the Israelites wonder must have only doubled having seen the waters close behind them, safe on the other shore. There’s a reason why Scripture is filled with recalling that moment. Once you’ve lived through something that undeniably resonates with the Lord’s hand upon it and upon you, it will never ever leave you. Which seems obvious in saying that, because He has said, “He will never leave you nor forsake you.” **

So, I had to stop today for a beat and just share about these two honors, because ultimately all the honor belongs to God and these rightly belong laid at His feet. Thank you for stopping by to read this and I hope it’s evoked memories of times when you’ve seen the Lord working in your own life. In all things and ever more, may the Lord bless and be with you.

* 2 Corinthians 12:9

** Hebrews 13:5

Hello there!

It’s been a while since I posted for something that wasn’t a Tomorrow’s Edge Tuesday or a Quest of Fire Friday. Yesterday was something extra special. Besides it being Reformation Day and Halloween, yesterday marked a HUGE anniversary for me. Ten years ago today, my first novel, Destitutio Quod Remissio, was published! It’s a story about a Roman Senator who is secretly a Christian during Emperor Diocletian’s persecutions in AD 303. His secret is betrayed, and he loses everything. In the midst of putting together a new life, he has to face the conflict of whether to pursue revenge or emulate Christ’s forgiveness for those who wronged him. All the more when he discovers how deep the betrayal went and that his decision will impact all the believers in Rome. If you would like to check it out, there’s a link at the end of this post, otherwise, fair warning this is a pretty long post.

October 31, 2014 was a huge day for a boy who had aspired to been writing stories since nine years-old and been through the querying trenches about four years when DQR—as I call it—won The Crossbooks Writing Contest Grand Prize. The prize included having the book published by CrossBooks which billed itself as a hybrid subsidiary publisher of LifeWay. Growing up attending a Southern Baptist Church, that was a pretty big deal to me. Not to mention, the book was supposed to get a huge amount of marketing materials pitched in for it.

If you go to Amazon or any other retailer though you won’t find CrossBooks listed as the publisher nor my 10/31/2014 publication date (though you can if you root around on its GoodReads page). That’s because DQR wasn’t even out a full year before LifeWay closed down CrossBooks. That was the first major blow I had as a writer and my first reminder that nothing, not even a book being published is forever. How did I handle this you might ask? Well, to be blunt, I panicked. DQR had been featured by my state’s largest newspaper in a full color article and chosen for review by the Historical Novel Society and I was supposed to be checking off another box on my dream list by having a booth at the WV Book Festival. I had dreamed of doing that ever since I was in fourth grade and went there to get a book about the Civil War from school signed by its author–which I thought as a kid meant you had made it as an author.

So, when CrossBooks offered the chance to just push the book over to West Bow Press (a vanity press) to keep the book in print, I took it. It was free for me based on the terms with CrossBooks and I hadn’t learned any of the hard lessons I have since. But that’s for another post that I’ll probably title “What Not to Do In Publishing”. I could probably write a book on all the mistakes I’ve made over the years, but I don’t think I can totally count this one as a mistake, either for going with CrossBooks or for doing the quick emergency raft of West Bow Press, because DQR out of all the books I’ve been privileged to write is pretty special.

It started as a short story for a creative writing course in college. I don’t remember how it came to me except that I felt very strongly about writing a story about a person living out Colossians 3:12-13:

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”

So, I did, and I was super nervous about having a very faith-filled story critiqued by my secular university peers and professor. But an amazing thing happened. They loved it. There were suggestions for improvements, but it was received shockingly well. In fact, one girl who was also a turned out to be a believer told me I should make it into a novel. Which quickly gained assent from multiple other students who also offered help in various ways to make that happen. I left class that day in shock. For context, by this point I had given up my dreams of being a writer for a more “realistic” career in computer engineering. I’d also not seriously considered that this story could be more than just an assignment for that class. Soon after I realized something that changed my life. 1924 Olympic gold medal sprinter Eric Liddell is credited as saying, “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast! And when I run I feel his pleasure.” That is what I came to recognize was happening when I wrote. I felt His pleasure. It was like the movie Pleasantville when its world of black and white suddenly begins having vibrant colors increasingly appear.

Fast forward to my final year as an undergrad and I applied and was accepted to a capstone writing course in which I wanted to use DQR as my final project. That whole semester (during which I also had the inspiration to write Day Moon) was beautiful to me. I wrote way more of the book than I was required to complete the course and soaked up all of the advice the TA for the course offered as she read my chapter drafts and gave me one-on-one feedback. That course culminated in me having to give a reading from DQR to English program faculty and family and friends of my classmates. My parents also drove three hours just to hear me do my reading as well. That was important for me because it was the first time I did public speaking and didn’t just tolerate it or muddle through it or wing it and hope for the best. I was thrilled by it. Ever since, I’ve felt that if it’s about writing I can get up and talk to whomever I need to and do it happily. I get nervous in the lead up, but I’ve been blessed every time that I’ve done it since that day to just be at genuine ease when it’s time to talk storytelling.

After that was a whirlwind of rejected query letters and life moving on without me being an author for two more years. All of that, I hope, makes clear why when DQR won that contest I was over the moon and didn’t hesitate, couldn’t hesitate, to have it published.

And then the other shoe dropped, but after it lifted again, my dream wasn’t crushed. I went to the WV Book Festival as an author for the first time in October 2015 (see the pic of my booth back then!) And in spite of having a super low-budget display and not knowing anything I was doing in terms of being an author, DQR did great and I made some friends and readers who still check in on my writing all these years later. Having DQR in print but with West Bow Press meant I needed to learn the ins and outs of being an indie author and fast. Which got me on the path to seeking reviews, writing better queries, better back cover copy, and so on. It also meant that I started getting exposed to feedback for DQR that I hadn’t expected but treasure to this day. There are some reviews snippets that mean a lot to me in the images, but one of the biggest things that I got in terms of feedback was people telling me that the story made a difference in their heart. That it made them see things differently, encouraged and challenged them. Which is absolutely what I always want from the things I get to write. So, what is the next chapter for me? I don’t know, but always, 100%, I want to be a brush in the Master Artist’s hand. And now and for all the days the Lord blesses me to write, I want it all to be for soli Deo gloria.

Thank you for sticking with me to finish of this extra-long post and for all the readers who have supported me these past ten years, thank you so much! Lord willing, there are just as many and more stories He has placed on my heart to tell and I can’t wait to share them with you. Now and evermore, may the Lord bless and be with you.

Hello there!

    Today is a Tomorrow’s Edge Tuesday and I’m going to keep it short. October 4th is this week and that means that I’ll be holding the Day Moon Day celebrations for 2024 on Friday! For those not familiar with Day Moon Day or just needing a refresher, book one in the dystopian, sci-fi Tomorrow’s Edge series is called Day Moon. The first chapter starts on Tuesday, October 4, 2039 (technically at 11:25 AM). That means Friday we’ll be 15 years out from the true Day Moon Day and to celebrate I’ll be posting on social media (Facebook, Instagram, and X/Twitter) some fun games themed around the Tomorrow’s Edge series, sharing favorite quotes, and talking about some plans for the future…and everyone who comes and comments will get an entry in a drawing for a gift card. Those who win the games will get extra entries in the drawing. So, the short of it is, stop by my social media accounts starting at 6 PM, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4TH to join in the fun!

JOIN ON:

Facebook: BrettArmstrongWV

X/Twitter: BArmstrongWV

Instagram: BrettArmstrongAuthor

I’m kind of in stealth mode on social media most of the year. So, this Friday will be a special chance to get any questions about Tomorrow’s Edge or other of my books answered and just have some fun chatting about books, movies, etc. in general. I hope you’ll join me Friday.

Thank you for reading and may the Lord bless and be with you always!

Hello there!

       I hope you’re well and doing well as we close in on the Autumnal Equinox (Sept. 22nd) and the release of the next entry in the Quest of Fire series (Sept. 17th)! It’s probably fitting that Quest of Fire books tend to release this time of year, because book 1, The Gathering Dark actually takes place largely in the months of late August to early November. Or in the calendar of the Lowlands, late Gladiol to early Fómhar. September is known as Aurigids as well, though fall is, well, fall in the Lowlands. It’s one of those balances I struck with the world-building of Quest of Fire. Since most of our western month names are derived from Roman deities or an early Roman numbering scheme, it didn’t make sense in a story world where Rome technically never existed to use those names. But fall, well we inherited that term from Old Germanic and it has always been associated with the falling of leaves or falling of the year into its end. Technically autumn comes to us from Latin, but it’s not tied to anything intrinsically culturally Roman. At least that’s what felt best for Quest of Fire. I did a more extensive post on this a little over two years ago if you want to check it out: Quest of Fire Friday: It’s About Time

Now, that bit of world-building insight aside, the big news for today is that since Devastation is coming out this coming Tuesday, my publisher is doing a really cool special offer where you can read each of the first three chapters in the book for free on their website. If you’ve been on the fence about whether to try it or are just eager to get an early peek at what’s in store, you can access the chapters via the link below with the following breakdown:

https://scrivenings.link/devastationpreview

Saturday – Chapter 1

Sunday – Chapter 2

Monday – Chapter 3

In honesty, I’m biased, but those are some really cool chapters from the book and Chapter 3 will leave you on a cliffhanger. Literally. The good thing is that the full book releases the next day on Tuesday, September 17th, so the wait to find out what happens in Chapter 4 will be pretty short! Though you’ll probably want to read straight to the end after that, because things don’t really let up from there.

If you’re a fan of The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and/or Star Wars, then I think this will definitely fit well with you. If you’re a returning fan of the series, definitely let me know what your favorite moment series-wise has been so far and what you’re looking forward to seeing most in Devastation.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy the first chapters of Quest of Fire: Devastation, and may the Lord bless and be with you always.

Hello, there!

The blog tour for Silent Stars concluded last week and I’m super grateful to CelebrateLit for hosting it. Silent Stars is one of my top favorites and if you haven’t had a chance to catch some of the really cool interviews I had for it, I’m highlighting my favorite questions each interviewer asked and linking to them below! The tour definitely got me excited for this year’s Day Moon Day on October 4th, so I’m going to try to make it all the more memorable. Till then check out the questions below

Stories By Gina

How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?

Vicky Sluiter

Have you ever read a book that made you cry?

Library Lady’s Kid Lit

How does your faith play out in your writing?

For The Love of Literature

If you could live inside a book, which one would it be?

Tell Tale Book Reviews

Share with us a thought, Bible verse, whatever is on your mind/heart.

Through The Fire

Did you have an “aha” moment where everything came together?

Artistic Nobody

What was your hardest scene to write?

Beauty In The Binding

Do you have a favorite quote from this book?

Guild Master

Where do you find your greatest inspiration?Do you remember the first book you read? What sort of impact did it make on you?

Thanks for stopping by and checking out the interviews and reviews for Silent Stars!

UP NEXT

Without switching gears too much, my next release, Quest of Fire: Devastation comes out next Tuesday, September 17th! If you want to learn more about it, you can check out my post from last Friday that covered a bit about it HERE or if you already know that an epic fantasy series that:

has echoes of The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Star Warshas adventure, mystery, and romancehas deep world-building and poignant character driven storytellinghas thoughtful examinations of hard realities of lifeis meant to bolster and strengthen and encourage faith in Christ

Then you can see all of the entries in the Quest of Fire series at the link below and snag the latest release for pre-order.

QUEST OF FIRE SERIES

As ever, thank you for joining me on my literary expeditions and may the Lord bless and be with you always.