Author Interview with Rebecca Fernfield, Author of BURNING
Hi Rebecca! I’m so excited to have you here, especially as we both write in the dystopian genre and I’ve seen your books popping up in the Also Bought sections for my books!
MD: So, what was it that initially drew you to the dystopian genre?
RF: What really drew me to the dystopian genre is the world in which we live today! All around us different powers are rising and falling, battling for supremacy, and ruthlessly dominating the people unfortunate enough to be under their control.
Looking out across the world, seeing the appalling tragedies unfold in the middle east, was shocking to me. I naively thought that such cruelty was a thing of the past, but quickly came to realise that what was happening there has happened throughout history and could so easily re-emerge in our own societies given the right circumstances.
Foremost in my mind, was the experiences of the girls and women who were disempowered and reduced to chattel by these dark and evil powers. I was appalled that one human could reduce another to nothing more than an object to be used—to disregard their unique and beautiful humanity and their rights as a human being. That these women’s freedom of thought, and voice, and body, that their very life, was being stolen from them outraged me. I wanted to reach out and rescue each one of them and became very frustrated that I could do nothing more than sign online petitions. In the end I had to give them a voice, and stake a claim for their rights, through my writing and so began my first novel Primitive (now Book 2 in the series).
MD: Did you always set out to write a trilogy?
RF: I set out to write a story I wanted to tell, but the more I wrote the deeper and wider the story became and so it developed into books rather than a single book. I’ve realised I love writing sprawling stories that extend over years, exploring the impact on a character over time.
MD: How long did it take you to write the trilogy, from start to finish?
RF: The first three books of Dark Powers Rising (Burning, Primitive, and Chosen) have taken me almost 2 years to get to the point where I can publish them. I started writing Primitive in May 2015 and once I’d finished I realised I needed to write the prequel as there was so much that happened to the characters in their earlier lives that it had to be told.
MD: Which of the books is your favourite?
RF: Hmm! Good question. I’ve loved writing all of the books and weaving the stories together. There are certain parts within each that I’ve enjoyed writing more than others, so I’m not sure I can say I have a favourite. However, I’ve written Primitive and Chosen from one particular character’s point of view (she appears as a young girl in Burning) and I think I really connected with her spirituality as well as her anger and frustration and enjoy writing through her more.
MD: What are your future writing plans?
RF: My immediate plans are to write the next books in the Dark Powers Rising series. Their working titles are Fletchers (Book 4) and Warlord (Book 5). I really can’t wait to continue writing about the characters – I have some intriguing twists and turns to weave into their lives – and I’m certainly not finished with the Primitives. I have other projects that I’m itching to write, but they’re too underdeveloped to talk about right now.
MD: Thank you so much for stopping by!
Readers, you can learn more about Rebecca Fernfield and her books below:
BURNING (Book 1 in the Dark Powers Rising series)
In a broken world will their love survive?
Will they?
2081 and England is broken.
Civil society has collapsed and in the place of government, wannabe warlords and criminal gangs are taking control.
Among the few survivors, Edie and Robin live within a tiny community at the edges of a dying town, struggling to survive, desperate to stay hidden from prying eyes.
Edie’s determination to provide for her family takes her deep inside the forbidden parts of town where disease still lingers and the Snatchers sit in wait.
What she discovers there is a threat far worse. One that will rob her of freedom and the man she loves.
Their only hope of escape is a treacherous journey to the higher lands where tiny communities sit hidden among the hills. But what waits for them there? Food? A home? Love? Or something else entirely?
If you like to lose yourself in dangerous new worlds with thrilling suspense and heart-rending emotion then you’ll love Burning, the first book in Rebecca Fernfield’s new dystopian series Dark Powers Rising.
Find BURNING on Amazon.
Find out more about Rebecca Fernfield via her Facebook page or Goodreads.
