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A Heavy Theme
Weun Academy: The Shadow Maker follows a teenager caught between two worlds—Earth-born and Mars-raised—who suddenly discovers he possesses incredible powers and is whisked away to a secretive academy in a sprawling alien space station. I find the world you created in this novel brimming with possibilities. Where did the inspiration for the setting come from, and how did it change as you were writing?
The original locations of New Eden space station, Rinow City, and Weun Academy first appeared in my D’mok Revival series, but Weun Academy is the first book (and now side-series) to focus on the students and faculty at the academy. While a few existing characters made appearances—or even became permanent faculty—the majority were brand new. To bring these places and people to life, I dove deep into research: conducting “interviews” with each character (my journalism background helped here) and writing numerous backstories about life on the station, Rinow City’s districts, and every building and feature of the school.
The core inspiration came from my son’s experiences in school, my parents’ backgrounds as educators, and my own views on effective teaching strategies. Those influences shaped how the academy operates, the dynamics between faculty and students, and even how superhuman aliens approach learning.
As a “pantser,” I let the world grow through the characters’ actions. Sometimes they wandered into places I hadn’t planned, or a moment in the story demanded more history for a location or alien race. When that happened, I’d pause to explore—often by writing a new short story—so that by the time readers visit these settings, they feel authentic, layered, and full of possibilities.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
The core theme of the book is gun violence, inspired by real incidents in U.S. schools. My own son experienced three lockdowns during his school years, the most recent just this past year. I saw firsthand how parents, kids, and educators felt—scared, powerless, and unprepared.
I wanted to make that reality tangible for adult readers, while also giving young readers something they could relate to—validating their feelings and showing them they’re not alone. Most of all, I wanted to offer hope: to show how we can support one another, and how fear, depression, and even trauma can be channeled into something that helps us move forward. It’s a heavy theme, but one I believe is deeply important.
Where does the story go in the next book, and where do you see it going in the future?
Weun Academy will absolutely continue, with Eisah and his crew remaining at the heart of the story. Future books will explore the lasting impact of the first book’s events—on the school, its staff, the students, and their families.
I’m already halfway through writing a novella that bridges the first and second books. A full trilogy is planned, along with a prequel that reveals how the academy was founded. And there’s room for even more.
Each book connects to the greater D’mok Revival literary universe—deepening readers’ understanding of events that shape a much larger storyline, while giving the academy its own unique and memorable place within that world.
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Website | Dmok Revival | Amazon
As an Earther on the fringes of a Martian colony, he keeps to the shadows, evading bullies who stalk his kind for sport. But when their cruelty explodes into violence, a dangerous power ignites within him—one that can’t be hidden—drawing unwanted, extra-terrestrial attention.
Torn from Mars, Eisah is conscripted into Weun Academy, an alien school for gifted outcasts. With an uneasy start, he struggles to master his superhuman powers—and finally belong. This alien realm proves just as treacherous.
When a brutal strike shatters the academy, shifting loyalties and hidden agendas drive Eisah and his friends into a fight for answers. Learning who to trust is the deadliest lesson.
As enemies close in, they must untangle a web of lies, betrayal, and something far darker—before shadow consumes them all.
Step into Weun Academy—where mettle is tested, chosen family secures, and the fight to step into your power begins.
The Family Story
Terra Nova follows a father and daughter surviving the unknown as they navigate life across planets and face impossible decisions when he becomes gravely ill. Where did the idea for this book come from?
I wanted to explore the emotions and trials inherent with someone you love facing serious illness. I also wanted to allow Sev to grow into herself as a young woman, her father’s illness being a catalyst for making some tough decisions to keep her family together. I also wanted to showcase everyone’s role in the family story…everyone’s importance. Even Phoenix, despite being ill, undertakes significant emotional work to maintain the family unit. I was a caretaker for my grandmother during her illness, and a lot of Sev’s plight stems from my experiences.
What is the most challenging part of writing a series?
I’ve found that keeping the details straight over the series, as well as crafting the larger story outside of each installment, where everything is cohesive and engaging, is the most challenging aspect of writing a series. It’s also rewarding, though. I enjoy planning these adventures as much as I enjoy writing them.
What was your inspiration for the characters and their relationship?
The Terra series is an exploration of the purest form of love in all its designs…parental, familial, and romantic. I also wanted to explore the strength and flaws in people and their resilience through adversity.
Can we look forward to seeing Book 3 soon? Where will it take readers?
Yes! Terra Lux, the third installment in the Terra series, will come out in the Spring of 2026. You can expect new worlds, new adventures, as well as a few twists along the way.
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Website | Amazon
Three years after the events of Terra Firma, Phoenix, Sev, and Pearla are thrust into a new battle—
one that will test them in ways they never imagined.
But time is running out.
With enemies closing in and impossible choices ahead, the family must once again fight for their
future—this time, against a fate far worse than those on Terra Firma.
Will they find their way home, or will they be lost to the stars forever?
For fans of The Divergent Series and The Hunger Games… when the future crumbles, it’s who you hold on to that matters most.
Are you ready to uncover buried secrets, face impossible choices, and defy a broken galaxy? Get your copy of Terra Nova today and be part of a journey where loyalty is tested and destiny rewritten.
Terra Nova
Jessahme Wren’s TERRA NOVA is a beautifully imagined and emotionally charged story about a father and daughter navigating life across planets, love, grief, and the sheer grit it takes to survive the unknown. At its core, it’s a tale of devotion. Sev, a whip-smart teen growing into herself, and her father, Phoenix, a loving and resilient man with a painful past, live on a world called Dobani. Their peaceful life is upended when Phoenix becomes gravely ill, and Sev must make an impossible decision to try and save him. What follows is a journey across stars to the snowy, distant planet of Ocarro, where medicine is cutting-edge but answers are scarce. Alongside them is Pearla, Phoenix’s partner, and Sev’s steadying force, as they face medical mysteries, bureaucratic red tape, and the shadows of old trauma.
Wren writes with an intensity that sneaks up on you. Her pacing is smooth and measured, letting the emotion build naturally. The world-building is sharp without being showy. Every planet feels lived in, not just imagined. What stood out most to me was the tenderness between Sev and Phoenix. Their relationship isn’t perfect, but it’s thick with love and care. Wren doesn’t rush the drama or the science fiction, she lets her characters breathe. And in those breaths, the humanity shines. I found myself rooting for Sev not because she was heroic in the usual way, but because she felt real. Smart, a little stubborn, and so brave.
The emotional punches land hard. Watching Phoenix deteriorate is gutting, especially because he’s portrayed so vividly in the beginning. I did wish, at moments, that the story pulled back a little to explore more of the broader universe. The political backdrop and the mystery of Terra Firma are ripe for digging into, but they take a backseat to the personal arc. That isn’t a flaw exactly, just a choice that trades scale for intimacy. And maybe that’s what this book is really about: not saving the galaxy, but saving the person you love most. That trade-off feels worth it.
TERRA NOVA is a warm but gut-wrenching story. It’s a sci-fi story for anyone who’s loved someone through illness, who’s had to grow up too fast, or who just needs a reminder that love is its own kind of gravity. I’d recommend it to fans of Becky Chambers, Martha Wells, or even folks who normally steer clear of sci-fi but love a strong emotional hook.
Pages: 234 | ASIN : B0FD48SQJS
Paranormal Gifts
Utcan’s Talisman follows a woman helping her friend escape a manipulative ruler trying to exploit his healing abilities who winds up in a small fishing village where they rekindle past connections and make new allies. What was your inspiration for the wild journey you take readers on in this novel?
I’m glad that you see Bybiis the scholar as the protagonist. She’s the narrator of two sections of the book (with five sections). Bybiis had no tutor or role model for how to develop her paranormal gifts. Trial and error can be painful and doesn’t expand her potential, plus she’s resentful that others are indifferent to her need to serve her growing powers.
This theme resonates with isolated gifted persons — like artists or athletes — who are not in step with siblings or school friends, and who must leave the family situation to explore a higher calling. The struggle is extra difficult for a woman with no family and discounted by the powers that be.
One inspiration was from Gene Wolfe’s Executioner series where the protagonist was an executioner! The reader saw him as a whole person with flaws and hopes and setbacks and betraying his friends even.
The twist I added is that Bybiis is female and not able to trade on her looks. Male readers often read past the story action for the women, waiting for a hero to make his entrance. Only Bybiis can save Bybiis.
What are some things that you find interesting about the human condition that you think makes for great fiction?
Wow, the human condition. A broad question. I can give a broad answer, I suppose. Science fiction stories are often about a hero who solves a problem that sets a specific situation right and protects the innocent. He wins the day!
My worldview was more about a community of people who need the skills of the group to succeed. People of the same tradition may not like each other, but over the decades, they discover the rewards of working together into progress for the nation or city-state, or duchy. Leaders are often just men or women who are thrust into positions that demand character and integrity – like Zelensky in Ukraine. Those who lack the needed moral fiber find other routes to political rewards.
What advice would you give to a writer working on their first book?
Count the cost. It’s about the story, not about being famous. I teach young writers in online courses. I’m always amazed when they talk about a publishing career and what celebrity will play the book’s hero in the movie.
Writing has many stages, and the first few can seem overwhelming for how time-consuming and reiterative is the process. Can you devote the hours to developing a distinctive writer’s style and a plot that’s fresh and compelling?
I’ve seen many writers with talent drop out. Even though they may have control of language and a strong narrative voice, they may not have found a life-long theme to pursue. What do you want the world to know? Not about you the writer, but about the human condition, that’s so compelling that you devote your life to exploring the dynamics of the struggle?
For me, it was presenting multi-dimensional female characters. What is your essential need to write?
I hope the series continues in other books. If so, where will the story take readers?
You ask good questions. Book 6 is titled THE MATRIX OPAL and may come out in 2025. The writer’s style takes a turn in that narrators are multiple and not restricted to one section. I figure that if the reader has made it to Book 6, then she knows the characters. So we can mix it up for character voices and POV.
Bybiis is joined by more young gifted characters. A powerful enemy emerges with child kidnappings and assassinations. The demands to grow paranormal powers are more than how to live well. The gifted group must put their skills into service for strengthening group defenses.
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | BookBub | Website | Amazon
Bybiis el Putuki and her friend Opin the healer must navigate the demands of the khalif in Utica who would turn Opin’s gift to serve him. Jesse Hartley and Hershel Henry find each other, but each is very changed from recent events. Can they reawaken the currents of feeling between them?
When Bybiis is able to force a release from the khalif’s control, she and Opin land at a small fishing village from where Mrs. Shaw is exploring the ruins of a lost city. Jesse Hartley joins them, but the conflicts that grew in Utica get more intense. Jesse is distracted when Hershel Henry invites her to rejoin her father the Consortium General at the rainbow bridge construction site.
LITERARY TITAN 