Raquel Byrnes writes across several genres including YA Steampunk, Fantasy, and Gothic Mystery. Her current series is the Blackburn Chronicles. We talked with Raquel about the first book in the series, Tremblers (Pelican Book Group). In this interview, the author gives us the background on the series, explains the challenges of creating this world, and reveals how her faith is infused into her tales of adventure…
What can you tell us about the world of the Blackburn Chronicles?
We live in a broken world riddled with sin, but what would a world be if it was literally broken and getting worse? Just as our Lord has always used the most improbable people to showcase his power and love in the toughest of situations, The Blackburn Chronicles follows the Victorian debutante Charlotte on a tumultuous journey. The novels take place in 1885, ten years after a chain of earthquakes set off by a secret government project fractured the whole United States.
With the government broken into city-states surviving under protective electric domes, the seas unlivable, outlaws running the skies, and her mother’s death, Charlotte is struggling with her faith. Then things get complicated. In the absolute darkest of times, does God still have a plan?
What were the challenges in creating this world?
The hardest part was anticipating the technological advancement under the extreme survival conditions the country was experiencing. How might the inventions and discoveries by the brightest minds of that time been changed? What would society do if the entire country, so fresh out of the civil war, were threatening to fall to dissent again?
My favorite challenge by far was creating the weapons and wardrobe of a steampunk rebel. The heroine, Charlotte, became a tinkerer as a way of connecting with her otherwise emotionally distant scientist father.
After her world fell apart the weapons she made had power and feminine finesse. From the beautiful magenta explosions of her Screeching Violet grenades to the chainmail which lined her bodice to ward off electric shock from the massive dome that shielded the cities, imagining the New America was exciting.
What about Charlotte Blackburn and Ashton Wells made you want to tell their story?
Charlotte is an ordinary young woman in an impossible situation. She’s anyone who’s struggled with something they can’t escape. And she’s everyone who’s stepped out in faith despite feeling woefully unprepared. Her willingness to face terrifying challenges to help those she loves is what drew me to her.
Ashton is a true believer in the secret order who took him in as an orphan. His journey from blind obedience to the most feared warrior for right was a fascinating prospect to write. His heart follows two commands. He always does what’s morally right, and he loves Charlotte, but it tears him apart when his heart can’t have both.
How does your faith impact your approach to storytelling?
My stories may have harrowing airship battles, scary monsters, and ruthless villains but I always begin and end with hope. Faith is woven throughout Charlotte and Ashton’s journey.
The struggle to hold on to that thread of light when everything seems to be crumbling down around you was important for me to explore. Believing in what is good in a deeply broken world can seem impossible and it is through my stories that I hope I can point people to grace.
What do you hope readers come away with after reading The Tremblers?
It’s my hope that readers take away the idea that they are not alone when they have doubts or when they struggle with doing the right thing because they are afraid. We’re not called to be perfect, rather we are called to believe in a perfect God. Everything else is just one foot in front of the other as we step out in faith.
Visit Raquel Byrnes’ author page:
https://www.familyfiction.com/authors/raquel-byrnes
The Tremblers
Blackburn Chronicles #1
Pelican Book Group