About the Book
Book: Quest of Fire: Resurgence of Dawn
Author: Brett Armstrong
Genre: Christian, Epic Fantasy
Release Date: December 19, 2023
Hope returns with the dawn…
Haunted by tragedies and failures, Anargen and Jason each struggle to find their way. Night has fallen in the Lowlands and neither teen has an easy road ahead. In Anargen’s Era, Monarch Ilyron’s powers and influence grow, forcing Anargen and his dwindling list of allies to travel the length of the Lowlands in a desperate attempt to keep the Quest and all they hold dear from falling into ruin.
Jason meanwhile must find Aria and her grandfather to help unite the Knights of Light from across the Lowlands against his brother, Dorian. But agents of darkness and painful vestiges of his past mix with vindictive new enemies to make the hope of seeing the dawn of the longed-for King’s Day ever so faint. If either teen gives in and surrenders, doom will come swiftly on their world.
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About the Author
Brett Armstrong has been exploring other worlds as a writer since age nine. Years later, he still writes, but now invites others along on his excursions. He’s shown readers haunting, deep historical fiction (Destitutio Quod Remissio), scary-real dystopian sci-fi (Day Moon and Veiled Sun), and dark, sweeping epic fantasy (Quest of Fire). Every story is a journey of discovery and an attempt to be a brush in the Master Artist’s hand. Through dark, despair, light, joy, and everything in between, the end is always meant to leave his fellow literary explorers with wonder and hope. Always busy with a new story, he also enjoys drawing, gardening, and spending time with his wife and son.
More from Brett
Resurgence of Dawn takes the main characters, Anargen and Jason, and those they care deepest about through some intense trials. Everything seems to be falling apart around them and each character has a mountain of guilt weighing down on top of them. They know that their mistakes in Shadows at Nightfall enabled the forces of darkness to advance their evil campaign. The lives of others they cared about were lost or endangered and the Quest is overlooking the precipice of failure and ruin. They have repented of their errors and turned back onto the path of light but these consequences still haunt them. And in that haunting lies a continuingly heinous fear that they will falter again. Things are only complicated further when trusted allies abandon and betray them.
Epic fantasy stories are often filled with darkness, but the best of these stories show that the light is never so far away as we imagine. When I write the entries in this series, I’m acutely aware that in our world too it seems as if darkness is winning the war. It’s my sincere hope that as readers encounter the perseverance and surrender to the High King’s will that Anargen, Jason, and so many other characters choose to pursue, they will be encouraged to do the same in our world. I have watched friends fall away from the faith, been buffeted by the storms of life, and been battered by the continual assault on my faith that come from living in our fallen world. I know others have endured the same and often far worse. So, if these stories of Knights and valor and steadfastness as the world crumbles can encourage one person to pursue the Light and hold fast to the Way, the Truth, and the Life; then every hour spent in dreaming and drafting and agonizing over edits is worth it to me. Stories can and should entertain, but they should also inspire and encourage readers to face the real world when the story ends. All the more, because “the night is far gone; the day is at hand.” *
* Romans 13:12a, ESV
Interview with the Author
How do you select the names of your characters?
That varies pretty drastically depending on the series, but for Quest of Fire, it’s been a blend of methods. Some are inspired by the names of people I know (Terrillian, Jason), some are derived from the name’s meaning reflecting an aspect of the character (Seren, Eidolon), some are because I like the name (Aria), and a precious few are given to me by my wonderfully creative little boy (Professor Goulder). Overall, I tend towards names that mean something or that I like for one reason or another, and they also usually are from the cultures that inspired the civilization the character is from (Tirzah, Sadiq, Kaveed).
What was your hardest scene to write?
There were a couple of difficult ones, though, for very different reasons. One was difficult to write, because of the emotions/content of the scene. I don’t like taking characters into dark places emotionally or by equivalent spiritually, but there was one scene that was both. The preceding scene was the other sort of difficult—technically difficult. It was a battle scene between Jason and some Uldiqui werebeasts in a spooky mansion. Which I’m sure to some sounds like a really cool set up for a battle and others pretty much horrid.
What made it rough was the number of moving parts involved and by the time I was writing it I had been under deadline pressure for quite some time so I really didn’t enjoy it like I expected. It had potential as far as uniqueness goes, but it was just so tricky to get the battle to start and end locationally where I wanted it to while still being believable and I was concerned it read too long and blunted the pacing of the story. Battles need to have some kind of payoff to the story, either emotionally, psychologically, or for plot purposes. With this scene, I struggled some in getting it to sync up with the rest of the story the way I wanted.
What comes first, the plot or characters?
They usually come together in a scene package for me. I usually get a very strong impression of a particular scene or situation and then start asking all sorts of questions about who the characters in the scene are, what are they doing, what do they want, and why? I feel like all good stories have an organic balance and system of relation between the characters, setting, and plot. The characters shape and are shaped by the plot, the plot and characters must fit the setting but over time begin to influence the setting, which further shapes the plot which shapes the characters and so on.
Who is the author you most admire in your genre?
Overall, that has to be CS Lewis. I can read and re-read all of The Chronicles of Narnia books and his Space Trilogy and never get tired of them. The way he wove in spiritual concepts, philosophical observations, and even unique ways of looking at often mundane things is incredible. I also enjoy his descriptive style and voice, though I realize it’s not generally permissible to write in the style he did anymore.
Among living writers that’s really tough. I feel like Nadine Brandes has such an admirable heart and way of viewing life and really enjoy her author newsletters as much as her fiction because of it. I think Morgan Busse’s themes she tackles and they way she does each is pretty fantastic. Paul Regnier’s humor and ease he can introduce even in charged and challenging scenes is pretty enviable. And Patrick Carr does really great world-building.
I know that was way more than one, and I could keep going on! I think there’s something to learn from every author, so it’s hard to stick to just one.
What do you like to do when you are not writing?
I enjoy reading of course, and really like watching movies as well. I draw (you can see some Quest of Fire sketches by scrolling my Instagram feed). Each year we raise a garden and this year’s big success were the blue pumpkins my son requested we grow.
Those are all a lot of fun though I don’t do them nearly as often or much as I would like. The lion’s share of my awake time when not working though doesn’t even really go to writing. I try not to let any of my personal passions keep me from being there with my wife and little boy as much as possible. We have fun playing games, reading books, making up adventures with his toys, running around the yard…pretty much everything is great when it’s done with them. It means lots of late nights writing, but it’s hard to complain about being drowsy when I’ve been blessed to have them both and the chance to treasure these family moments together.
Thank you for letting us get to know you better!
Blog Stops
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 5
Artistic Nobody, December 6 (Author Interview)
Locks, Hooks and Books, December 7
Simple Harvest Reads, December 8 (Author Interview)
The Lofty Pages, December 8
Texas Book-aholic, December 9
Through the Fire Blogs, December 10 (Author Interview)
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, December 11
Library Lady’s Kid Lit, December 12
For the Love of Literature, December 13 (Author Interview)
Blogging With Carol, December 14
Tell Tale Book Reviews, December 15 (Author Interview)
Splashes of Joy, December 16 (Author Interview)
Holly’s Book Corner, December 16
Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, December 17 (Author Interview)
Guild Master, December 18
Giveaway
To celebrate his tour, Brett is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card, copy of Resurgence of Dawn, and digital extras (exclusive map and music)!!
To celebrate her tour, Terrie is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 gift card and paperback copy of book!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/29247/resurgence-of-dawn-celebration-tour-giveaway