Today I have the privilege of interviewing Rachel Newhouse, a fellow YA Christian sci-fi author! Rachel and I released the first books in our respective series’ around the same time over a decade ago, and we are both currently working on revamping our series’. I’ve been able to test read her books and have enjoyed them immensely. If you like Firmament, you will probably enjoy her series as well because there are many similarities!

So all that said, let’s get started on the interview.

Welcome, Rachel! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions today!

Thank you for having me! I always like hanging out with you.

You published your first book, Red Rain, several years ago and just recently started publishing again and sharing more about the series. Can you tell us more about that journey?

Listen, if anyone reading this is considering giving up on their writing… well, you won’t by the time you’re done listening to my story. When I first published Red Rain, I had absolutely no intention of making it a series. It was a standalone, that’s it, that’s all you get, stop asking me. But my readers had other plans, and a dude named David took it upon himself to write a full-length fanfiction sequel just to prove that there was story left to be told.

Well, I couldn’t let him one-up me like that, and his fanfiction introduced some amazing new characters, so I got his permission to rewrite it. That story eventually became Book 2 of the series, and it ended on a cliffhanger, so of course I couldn’t stop there!

Unfortunately, life had other plans. I went through one personal tragedy after another: my brother committed suicide, I experienced a betrayal that ended in divorce, and I suffered through crippling depression and anxiety. Unsurprisingly, my writing got put on hold for several years. And I don’t mean a soft “I’m just taking a break” type of hold—no, I quit. I unpublished my books and deleted my website. You couldn’t even find me online.

But I knew God still wanted me to be a writer, and after my church helped me put my life back together, I picked the series back up again. Picking up after so long a break was hard. I had to reinvent myself entirely and find new readers. But it was absolutely worth it, and now I’m taking the series in directions I never thought possible. So if God wants you to write, don’t give up. When it’s time, you’ll be able to do it, no matter what’s happened in the past.

Wow, what an amazing story! Thank you so much for sharing it with us.

So, what is it that draws you to the sci-fi genre?

Uh, EVERYTHING. I love everything about the sci-fi genre. Fantastical tech? Exploring the expanse of space? Grungy, neon-lit cityscapes? Aliens? Robots? Lightsabers? Mechas? Campy 80s movies featuring Sylvester Stallone? Yes to all of the above!

I love all of the aesthetics and themes of sci-fi, but I also love how much potential there is in the genre to glorify God. Space exploration is literally the dominion mandate in space, and what better way to exemplify the God-given qualities of humanity than to contrast them with an alien race or near-future dystopian society? I love it all!

Sounds like we feel much the same about sci-fi! Do you know how many books will be in this series? If so, do you have them planned out?

If everyone behaves (pfft), there will be 9 main-series books, 8 supplemental short stories, and 3 omnibuses. I have some loose over-arcing themes planned out, and I know who dies in the end, but I’m definitely “pantsing” this whole thing.

What does your publishing schedule look like for this year?

*dry, maniacal laughter* If all goes well, I’m publishing a book almost every month until January of 2023.

Do you have any other books or series in mind other than this one?

I do, but I haven’t decided yet which one I’ll focus on after Red Rain. If my Patrons have my say, though, it should probably be Peter’s Angel, an alternate history-fantasy set after a lost War for Independence.

I will add my vote to those asking for Peter’s Angel! What are some of your interests other than writing?

I love makeup, especially if it’s LOUD and GLITTERY! I also love cooking Asian food, and every summer I grow a ton of chili peppers that are too hot for even me to eat.

And just for fun, would you rather have to survive alone in the wilderness for 30 days, or have to live undetected in Walmart for a week?

You say “for fun,” but neither of those things sound fun! But at least if I’m in the wilderness, no one will be giving me weird looks…

Thank you so much for chatting with us today!

Rachel Newhouse is an author, wife, secretary, and Sunday school teacher from Kansas City, Missouri. Her obsessions are sci-fi, dystopian, and kid lit. When she’s not writing, she’s cooking Asian food, growing chilis that are too spicy to eat, and watching wildly age-inappropriate shows like My Little Pony and Gravity Falls with her husband, Joe. She also really likes glitter. You’ve been warned.

Start the series with Red Rain, and then continue on through all the other exciting books, including the newest installment, Blue Fire!