Renegade Skyfarer Blog Tour and Interview

I am thrilled to be participating in another blog tour this month. This book looks amazing, and I can’t wait to read it. I mean, how can you go wrong with an airship? Let’s jump right in and learn about Renegade Skyfarer and its amazing author, RJ Metcalf!

1. Hello, RJ! What inspired you to write this fantastical story? Are any of the characters in your story inspired by real people? 

The true inspiration for this story came from my husband, Mike. He’s the one that dreamt of this amazing world, and he knew the general plot points, from start to finish.

We’re a team, and while he knew the plot points, he didn’t know how the characters would get from place to place, or the details in between.

It could be said that he created the bones, and I fleshed it out, adding the heart and soul. (sounds kind of like we’re making a chimera here. Maybe I should think of a different analogy…)

There’s some supporting characters that are inspired by real people, but no main characters. All the main characters are uniquely themselves. But there’s one secondary character who I literally took her real-life counterpart, tweaked her a bit to fit into the world, then plopped her in. Granted, that character has grown much since she was first introduced in the prequel (which will be out Winter 2019), and she’s become her own unique character now, but she originated from a friend here. And I had tossed myself in there as a point of amusement, and then panicked a bit when she became a bigger role in book two. That’s not what I had planned! But, as any writer will tell you, sometimes the characters revolt and inform you that the plans have changed, deal with it.

2. Tell us about your writing space: what does it look like? 

**sheepish laugh** Organized chaos? I got a large desk from Goodwill last summer, and at the time I thought it’d be bigger than I needed. Now I’m contemplating how I can get a bigger desk to fit in our room, as it feels like I’m always running out of space! I have a laptop and a second monitor, my speakers, a crystal salt lamp, a mug of pens and pencils, a desk lamp, two candles, a stack of character notes, dinosaur references, and my calendar on my left, and a pile of editing notes to my right. (As well as my chai. That’s a very important item on my desk.)

And then there’s my sticky notes. I have sticky notes on my desk by my speakers and on my second monitor. Sticky notes on the wall to my left (and maps. I have many maps), and sticky notes lining the window in front of me. Airship pictures to the right of the window, and more sticky notes on the side of the bookshelf that’s also to my right.

…I like my sticky notes.

3. Do your characters talk back to you?

Yes! And sometimes they’ll do something completely unplanned that just fits, and then I have to change all I’d had planned in my outline to accommodate for whatever foolish decision they’ve just made. **rubs forehead** These guys sometimes cause me great vexation. I love them.

4. Tell us about the next book in this series: have you started writing it yet? Will it follow the same set of characters? 

Oh, yes. Book two, Void Born, will be coming out this fall, and it will pick up soon after where Renegade Skyfarer leaves off. There’ll be four books in this series (plus a prequel, anthology, and a stand-alone book), and they’ll all be taking place in the same world, with many of the same characters.

It’s going to be a wild ride. And I’m looking forward to sharing it with everyone so soon!

5. And, finally, a dragon asks to borrow your car: what do you say?

Well, I can only assume it’s not a dragon from my world, so I’d probably just back up and let it, as I don’t know what kind of dragon this is, and I’m rather fond of living. **laughs** If it’s a dragon from my world, then it’s not sentient, and if it wants my car, that’s fair, because I’ll want its hide for selling on the market, let alone the nutrients of dragon meat, so I’d probably battle it.

…Unless it’s a stalker. In which case, I’m out of there. Nopedy nope nope.

I was asked about a snippet, so here’s something fun from an early Jade chapter for y’all:

While peaceful, if spooked, a plodder could kill a man with a single swipe of its plated tail. And if they used their ability to manipulate heat and make the spikes on their tails burning hot? As a girl on the Sapphire, she’d seen a crewmember return from a mission, mangled and burned beyond comprehension from an angry plodder. While it wasn’t the first grisly sight she’d witnessed, she’d never been able to get it out of her mind. There was no desire in her body to disagree with Victor’s wisdom.

The forest darkened around them as she waited for Victor to signal for them to continue moving. At this point, the guys were probably already back at the buggy. Would they be worried yet? Had they found something and forgotten to use the flares?

What about her father’s team? Had their years roaming southern Terrene, searching for clues to fix her father’s number one regret finally come to an end?

A boom thundered overhead, and pine needles rained down onto Jade and Victor. She looked up just long enough to see the streaks of an orange flare, and then a bleating roar ripped her attention to the plodders before them.

“Bleeding whales,” Jade swore, horror rippling through her skin.

Victor drew his sword. “Stay on your feet. Try not to be seen. And don’t let them hit you.”

Jade watched as the group of dragons spread into a star shape in the undergrowth, their heads in the center, tails thrashing the surrounding sparse vegetation. She slid her sword out of its sheath silently. Should they jump back behind the log? They’d be blind to the dragons then, and the plodders were huge—they’d likely just break right through it.

One turned its head from the center and looked back, its beady black eyes staring right at her. It roared and the others swiveled their heads to look at her.

Victor swore. “Run!”

About the Book

The airship crew saved Ben’s life from a dragon, of all things.

When Ben wakes up, he has no memory of his family, his home, or how he got to this strange world. All he knows is what his new crew members tell him: the magical Barrier that protects their land is weakening. Unless they find the artifact that can repair it, all of Terrene will be destroyed and enslaved by the enemies beyond.

But when Ben suspects that danger may lurk closer than dragons or sky pirates, he has to decide: stay and fight with the airship crew, or focus on regaining his lost memory? If he leaves, he risks losing his newfound friends–but if he stays, he might never return home.

Welcome to Terrene–where dragons exist, the past haunts, and magic is no myth.

Welcome aboard the Sapphire.

Amazon — Barnes & Noble

 

About the Author