An Interview With H.B. Reneau
Thank you so much for sharing your book with me and agreeing to do a Q&A for my readers.
Absolutely! Thank you for having me! I’m so happy to be able to discuss Chaos Looming and share my journey to publication.
Give us a quick summary of Chaos Looming!
For centuries, the Legion of Pneumos has lurked behind the seat of power in Loren. To preserve order across worlds, they are charged with battling chaos in all its forms, no matter the cost.
Keira Altman, the newest Legionnaire, has spent years perfecting the art of wielding pneuma and channeling order out of chaos. Ripped from her own world and into one she barely understands, the only thing Keira knows for certain is that she has a purpose. Now, if only she knew what it was.
A YA fantasy adventure, Chaos Looming features a strong female protagonist coming of age amidst the turmoil of revolution and political intrigue, all with a cross-worlds twist! Chaos Looming is a great fit for anyone with a love for fantasy, twisty-turny adventure, and just a hint of simmering romance . . .
You’ve had a unique journey to publishing your first book, including going through Med School. Can you tell us more about that?
I wrote this book in the midst of the COVID-19 lockdown, when I and the rest of my medical school cohort were recalled back to Washington DC. Yanked out of the hospitals, we were left with no clue if or when we were going back. Along with just about everybody else in the world, this was a really difficult time for me. There was an air of uncertainty, not just about my own life but about the fate of the world as a whole. Amidst a global pandemic, here I was 50% of the way through medical school and still feeling 100% useless. Any sense of purpose I had had about the path I was on seemed to vanish in an instant.
So looking back, I suppose it's really not that surprising that I wrote a book about a girl dropped into a world that she didn't understand, convinced that she had some higher purpose in it...but with absolutely no clue what it was. Then as the world crumbles around her, Keira has to figure out what it means to be a leader in times of uncertainly. What does it mean to pursue goodness, order, and justice when there’s no clear path before you? Chaos Looming is about a lot of things. But most of all, it’s about trust and the power of vulnerability in the face of things we just can’t understand.
Your “About Me” page says you have “a particular love for strong female characters who face up to adversity”. Was that something that you kept in mind when writing this novel?
Definitely! I’m absolutely a sucker for strong female characters, especially in the genres of epic fantasy and adventure, where I often feel they’ve been neglected historically. I’m so excited to see a whole slew of new authors coming forward with stories filled with multi-dimensional heroines whose strength comes not just from crazy superpowers or magical abilities, but rather often borne out of their weaknesses and failings.
One of my favorite things about the character of Keira is that she is an incredibly flawed person. She didn’t have the best childhood and the circumstances she found herself in required a level of strength that many of us never have to find, especially that young. The way she channeled that was to rely firmly on herself. In many ways, this makes her a powerful character, very opinionated and confident, while at the same time creating a lot of flaws. Keira has an unwillingness to rely on other people and a conviction that she doesn’t need to. This self-reliance also makes it hard for her to let other people in. I think the relationship between her and Danny in particular, really speaks to the people that we choose to let into our lives, those we allow to see us as we truly are. That’s something that’s really hard for Keira and I think it very much betrays this underlying fear of vulnerability—something she’ll continue to confront throughout the series.
This was your first published novel. Did you have any major hurdles in getting this book out into the world?
Oh, so many! Beyond just trying to figure out how to tell a story in novel form (which I was an absolute newbie at), there’s a huge learning curve when it comes to the actual publishing process. Between what to look for in an editor, where to find a cover designer, and how to build an author platform to surround a book, there were so many unexpected hoops and hurdles along the way to getting this story out into the world. Amidst it all, I did end up returning to the hospital for my clinical rotations this past summer. Between seeing patients, dealing with the COVID craziness, and continuing to study for exams, it’s been quite the balancing act to keep up with my writing and publishing goals this year.
How long did it take you to finish your book, from first draft to publication?
I imagine the story behind Chaos Looming is like that of a lot of first novels. My first ideas for the world and the Legion actually came when I was about ten years old and wrote the first three chapters of a novel for a class project. While none of those chapters made it into the final story, I took those ideas and continued to develop my thoughts around the Legion and the world of Loren throughout high school and even into college. So by the time I sat down this past April to start writing, the whole first draft actually only took me about two months. Then came the editing process throughout the summer, which was honestly its own trial by fire. So many learning curves! After that I began collaborating with a wonderful designer on the cover and final formatting of the interior with final publication on October 1st. Honestly, the whole thing somehow felt both incredibly drawn out and at the same time lightning fast!
Did you always envision this story to be a series or did it happen unexpectedly?
I didn’t actually! I initially envisioned Chaos Looming as a standalone novel and my initial draft actually had a completely different ending! It was only after finishing the story that I just felt this real tug from the characters, either telling me that their stories didn’t actually end this way or insisting on having their backstories told. That was when I realized that this world was a lot bigger than I had originally planned!
Your book is self-published. Can you share with us why you chose this route and what about it has worked well for you?
Part of the beauty of self-publishing is in the amount of control that the author gets to have over the final creative product. It’s been so fun for me to collaborate with freelance editors and designers on this project, working to bring the vision I had for the story to the final pages. Self-publishing definitely involves more work up front, but it means a quicker turnaround time in terms of getting the story into readers’ hands and a final product that I find to be truer to the heart of the story.
Your story features a really unique magic called “pneuma”. How did you get the idea for this magic system?
Funnily enough, I actually had the idea back in a high school physics class many years ago. There’s a concept in physics called entropy, which basically describes the tendency of everything in the universe to move towards greater disorder, or “chaos,” a tendency which actually powers many of the natural processes we see in the universe. I just thought about what a cool idea that was to base a magic system around! Not only is it based in actual science (what can I say, I’m a sucker for a good STEM-humanities crossover ;)) but it also provides a really interesting tie-in with some of the recurring themes in the novel itself (chaos vs order, revolution vs reform, etc.).
The second component to pneuma is the requirement that it be wielded by two people—a cantor and a grounder. While similar in some ways to principles of electricity, what really drew me to this idea was the inevitable connection between the two wielders, their magic so intimately tied to their own relationship. In the character of Keira we find someone innately distrustful of others, prioritizing her own independence to the extreme with an absolute fear of over-reliance on anyone. This was incredible writer’s fodder to see exactly how far Keira could be pushed out of her comfort zone!
The concept of Chaos plays a large role in your character’s world. How do you battle chaos in your own life and writing?
Such a hard question! And the answer is honestly that I’m still figuring it out! I’m a little over halfway through medical school, and working day to day through all that entails (studying, clinical work, exams, crazy hours, etc.) while still trying to make the time to keep writing. How I manage this is actually a much longer discussion (and something I’ve written a number of blog posts on myself!) but my main strategy is to create separation between all my various responsibilities. When I’m in the hospital, my brain stays there—taking care of patients and studying for exams in the stolen moments between appointments and procedures. Then when I’m off for the day, I’m normally able to turn my medical brain off by creating rituals and routines that foster a transition to my more creative side, often involving tactile changes. Since my transition is to a more creative focus, I sometimes will dress in something that embodies that—maybe a fun top or flowing pant bottoms, just something cool and different from the scrubs I’ve had on all day. Then I’ll light a candle, brew some tea, cuddle up with my puppy, and settle into the change space I’ve made. These things may seem small and inconsequential, but they end up being important, tangible touchstones as I transition from the fast-paced hospital environment to a calming creative space.
Chaos Looming is available now. What are you working on next?
Since publishing Chaos Looming, I’ve written two companion novellas. The Cantor is actually a prequel and describes Keira’s initial arrival in Loren as she first learns about the Legion and pneumonancy. It’s actually available for free to subscribers of my newsletter at www.hbreneau.com!
The Centus (www.books2read.com/thecentus) is my second novella and is the backstory of one of my favorite characters in Chaos Looming—Gaius Flavius. This was a really exciting story for me to write. We only get a glimpse of his story in Chaos Looming and I was left wanting, well, more. So after a few long conversations with the grizzled old Millus, we finally got his story down on paper, and I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out!
Next up for me is the full-length sequel to Chaos Looming. I’m very excited to get back to Keira and Danny’s story with this sequel and can’t wait for fans to see where the Legion takes them!