The Quest for Freedom follows a human slave whose escape ignites a rebellion that transforms a scattered people into an army and forces a world built on slavery to fear the humans it once chained. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

There wasn’t really one thing that inspired Conquest. I love fantasy, and LOTR and The Inheritance Cycle are some of my favorite books, but I only took small bits from them as motivation. The actual story of Conquest just popped into my head, and I’ve been building up the world of Affer ever since I started writing the first book.

Fletcher is driven by both justice and revenge. How did you approach writing a hero who is inspiring but also frighteningly ruthless?​

In order to write Fletcher and how I created him in the first place, I first asked myself what a great leader is. To me, that’s someone who can rally his people but also strike fear into his enemies. A great leader needs to understand when to step back, when to attack, when to show mercy, and that he needs to stand strong even against impossible odds. Another defining part of Fletcher is that I don’t really think of him as the hero. He most certainly isn’t the villain, but at the same time, he’s willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his species’ freedom. Which sometimes teeters on a gray line of right and wrong.

Ji, Crystal, Tor, and Leon each bring a different energy to Fletcher’s rebellion. Which character surprised you most while writing?​

Easily Ji. In the beginning, I didn’t even intend for Ji to come with Fletcher, and then it quickly hit me how big a mistake that would be.

Unlike Fletcher, Ji hasn’t been training to be a leader. He’s great with a sword and learns faster than Fletcher, but where he differs from the main character is that you see him grow and become stronger. Fletcher’s already resilient and hellbent on doing whatever it takes to achieve freedom, and rightfully so; he’s dedicated his life to the goal. However, Ji is a much different story. While Ji isn’t weak, he didn’t dedicate over half his life to changing the course of history like Fletcher.

As the first book in The Conquest Trilogy, how much of the larger war did you already have planned before writing this opening installment?​

When I started writing Conquest, I didn’t have anything planned. I just wrote what came to mind, but that changed very quickly, and by the time the first book was done, I had basically planned out every bit of the story. Now, I’m just putting pen to paper, or words to a blank document, and changing up bits as I see fit.

The story of Conquest has just begun, and the scale of the world and battle grows much larger.

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From slave, to soldier, to king…that is Fletcher Rush. The man who craves more than just his freedom; he wants to see the cities of his enemies stained in blood. It won’t be enough until every last human is free, and those who shackled them in chains have been brought to their knees.
For centuries, humans have been enslaved, and hope has long since vanished. But that all changes. The fire that has lain dormant is rekindled, and humans quickly rally behind Fletcher. Finding a purpose greater than their lives, no battle is impossible. Humans will reclaim their former glory, and the planet Affer shall once again fear them.
Fear can keep a species enslaved…but it can also bring a planet to its knees.