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I have a lot of problems with social media, but one thing I do love is the way it’s helped me connect with other writers. One of those authors is R.J. (Rebecca) Anderson, who writes fantasy and science fiction for older children and teens.
R.J.’s books are mind-bending, thrilling, and impossible to put down. The first book of hers I read was a YA science fiction novel called Ultraviolet (Amazon Affiliate Link), and it starts with these words: “Once upon a time there was a girl who was special. This is not her story. Unless you count the part where I killed her.”
How can you stop reading a book that starts like that?
Here’s the blurb for her most recent book, Torch (Amazon Affiliate Link), the third in the Flight and Flame Trilogy (Enclave Escape, Feb. 2021):
“How do you fight fire without fire?
When a freak storm uncovers the entrance to a mysterious underground chamber, Ivy and Martin expect to find treasure. But what they discover is even more valuable: a barrow full of sleeping spriggans, magically preserved for centuries. With the vengeful piskey queen Betony determined to capture Ivy and her allies, the secret hideaway could be key to both their peoples’ survival.
But the piskeys and spriggans are ancient enemies, and when Ivy tries to make peace her own followers threaten to turn against her. Plagued by treachery, betrayal and desertion on every side, Ivy must find a way to unite the magical folk of Cornwall—or doom herself and everyone she loves to death at Betony’s hand.
Yet without the legendary fire-wielding power that marks a true piskey queen, can Ivy convince her people to believe?”
In the interview below, R.J. talks about trusting the Lord’s timing, what it means to be a true leader, and how no one is too small or too ordinary to make a difference.
Read on to learn more about R.J. and her writing!
What inspired you to begin your writing journey?
R.J.: “I learned to read at a very early age, and I daydreamed constantly to escape the bullying I faced in school. So when I got an idea for a story about meeting a group of talking cats and going on a magical adventure, it felt only natural to start writing it down.
At first I wrote just for my own pleasure. But around the age of twelve I realized I wanted to write stories that other people could enjoy as well, and determined to work at getting published. It took twenty-five years and a heap of rejections to get there, and for a while I despaired that it would never happen. But the Lord’s timing was better than anything I could have planned on my own.”
What inspired your most recent story?
R.J.: “Torch, the last book of the Flight and Flame trilogy, is about what it means to be a true leader—not to wield power over others and exploit them for selfish gain, but to be a humble, selfless servant who shows love to people even when they least seem to deserve it. In a world where authority is often coupled with arrogance and abuse, the example Christ set by washing His disciples’ feet, bearing patiently with their petty squabbles, and even being willing to die for ungrateful sinners can never be imitated, or illustrated, enough.
Also, my readers have been waiting for the resolution to Ivy’s story for years, and I was so glad to finally be able to share it with them!”
What is a message you’re particularly passionate about sharing with your readers?
R.J.: “One of the main things I want readers to take away from my books is that being human is glorious, no matter how insignificant we might feel or how ordinary our lives seem to us. In my debut novel Knife, for instance, the faery heroine becomes entranced by the humans who live at the top of the garden, because their lives seem to have a purpose and meaning that she and her fellow faeries lack. I was thinking of the verse in 1 Peter that says ‘even angels long to look into these things,’ referring to Christ’s saving work for humanity; and how sad it is when we take our lives for granted or even despise them, forgetting that God made us in His image and for His glory.
So while I write books about fantastic creatures and supernatural powers, I always come back to the idea that no one is too small or too ordinary to make a difference, and that God uses the weak things of this world to shame the strong.”
What have you learned about God, our Creator, through your personal creative process?
R.J.: “As someone who mostly works without an outline and has to feel my way into every new story I write, every book is an exercise in patience, faith, and praying for wisdom. I often struggle to come up with new ideas, so it makes me all the more awed at the breadth, complexity and infinite diversity of God’s creation.”
When it comes to your writing, have you ever followed God into something that made you feel scared or uncomfortable? What was the outcome?
R.J.: “When I came up with the premise of my second book Rebel, I’d seen plenty of YA stories about young people questioning and ultimately rejecting Christianity, but none about working through doubt to a deeper commitment instead. I wasn’t sure if a book like that would be welcome in the general market, and I feared that my editors might tell me to tone down the faith aspect or cut it out.
But not only did both my UK and US editors not mind the Christian elements, my US editor even asked me to clarify that the “Great Gardener” of the faeries and the God of the Bible were the same Person! I can’t say Rebel ended up being my most popular book, and I did get some pushback from a couple of reviewers who disliked the spiritual content. But a few years later, the Enclave reprint of Rebel was shortlisted for the Christy Award, so I’m even more glad now that I didn’t water it down.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
R.J. (Rebecca) Anderson is a preacher’s daughter, a women’s Bible teacher, and the author of ten published fantasy novels for older children and teens. When not writing, she can be found taking long walks in the forest, having feelings about k-dramas, and yelling at other writers about how much she loves their books.
You can follow her on Instagram or Twitter, connect with her through her website at www.rj-anderson.com.
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