Blog Tour- Bloodsworn by Scott Reintgen

Hello everyone and welcome to my stop Of Silver and Shadow by Jennifer Gruenke hosted through TBR and Beyond Tours.

You can find the full tour schedule here.

On my stop today I am sharing an exclusive Q&A with the author along with my review. So, without further ado, let’s get to it!

About the Book

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Three cultures clash in all out war--against each other and against the gods--in the second book of this fantasy duology that's sure to capture fans of The Hunger Games and An Ember in the Ashes.
The Races are over. War has begun.
Ashlord and Longhand armies battle for control of the Empire as Dividian rebels do their best to survive the crossfire. This is no longer a game. It's life or death.
Adrian, Pippa, and Imelda each came out of the Races with questions about their role in the ongoing feud. The deeper they dig, the clearer it is that the hatred between their peoples has an origin point: the gods.
Their secrets are long-buried, but one disgruntled deity is ready to unveil the truth. Every whisper leads back to the underworld. What are the gods hiding there? As the sands of the Empire shift, these heroes will do everything they can to aim their people at the true enemy. But is it already too late?

About the Author

Scott Reintgen is an author of science fiction and fantasy books. He wrote the Nyxia trilogy, as well as Saving Fable, Escaping Ordinary (Fall 2020), Ashlords and Bloodsworn (2021). He began his career as an English and Creative Writing teacher in North Carolina. He strongly believes that every student who steps into the classroom deserves to see themselves, vibrant and victorious and on the page. It’s his hope to encourage a future full of diverse writers. He currently lives in North Carolina with his wife Katie and his two boys, Henry and Thomas.

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My Thoughts

I will keep this short so as not to detract from the interview below, but I enjoyed this follow up to one of my favorite reads of last year: Ashlords.

Bloodsworn picks up right where Ashlords left off and expands the world, diving into the origins and myths surrounding the gods, so much more political intrigue and a war for supremacy.

Upon first brush, you might think that you know where the author is going with this but I am here to tell you that you would be wrong There were numerous twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. Plus, what I loved about the characters in the first book were only magnified.

Lastly, if you adored the phoenix horses in the first book like I did you will not be disappointed. Reintgen explores the concept so much deeper. In short I really liked this one, though I must admit I think I loved the first book just a little bit more.

Overall, I gave this one 4🌟 and recommend to anyone who enjoys books with magical animals, political intrigue and a plot centered on a rebellion

The Interview

1- In Ashlords you focused on the races and readers got a small taste of the pantheon of the gods. In Bloodsworn you expanded the world and explored the role and of the gods extensively. Can you discuss was inspired the pantheon? Especially how you came up with their names and role in the world? 

Yes! The pantheon is so much fun. It’s hard to discuss them without getting too deeply into spoilers. I developed them, though, by looking at other pantheons, simplifying somewhat, and trying to figure out what deities would last over time. I also wanted to play—and I do this in a lot of my work—with the concept of imperfect deities. These gods are particularly brutal and fickle, and there are reasons for that. The characters will learn a lot in Bloodsworn. As for names, I wanted to keep that simple and memorable. The most distinguished quality is probably the way the priests appear, with the masks sewn over their heads and into their necks. Again, that was just a reflection of the world they rule—and the underworld in which they dwell.

2- Bloodsworn features intense battle scenes. What was your writing/researching process for these scenes like? 

I do a lot of work on fight scenes. They’re such fixtures in this genre, and I feel like a bad battle scene is probably one of the most painful to read? Most of my study on the subject goes back to favorite scenes in other books and movies. I’m always looking for fresh ways to make the action pop. For example, invading a harbor town? Yeah, that’s cool. It’s been done. But has anyone ever invaded a harbor town on horses that can run on water? That was a scene I knew I had to write.

3- A major theme of both novels is the overcoming of oppression through activism and revolutions. These are very common themes, especially in YA dystopian novels? Can you speak to this them both in your novels and the importance of these ideas in literature generally? 

Absolutely. We’re not very far removed—like, literally a few weeks—from watching what happens when people abuse their positions of power. We’re less familiar in the US than some countries are with that, but I think it’s always important to evaluate power structures. It’s always important to ask questions. It’s always important to seek out and fight for justice. Evil does not take the day off. I think if we are people who do and say nothing, then we’re losing ground. It’s vital, in my opinion, that young readers have a safe place to wrestle with these topics. Crucial, in fact, that they start to analyze who they are, what their position is in the world around them, and how they can positively or negatively impact the people in their lives. That’s a small part of why I write on these topics. Hopefully, it has an impact. Although, let’s be real, most teens are on top of this!

4- On a light note, if you can write a spin off story for any character from the series who would you choose and why? 

I’ve said before that it’d be fun to go back and see how Pippa’s mom dominated her race, but truly, jumping forward to see what happens in future generations would be where I’d want to go. After the fallout of what goes down in book two? It would create some fascinating stories.

5- Both novels contain three distinct POVs. What is it like writing multiple POVs? Do you alternate between the POVs as you are writing or do you flesh out the entire POV from one character before working on the others?

In the case of these three, the voices came early to me. Pippa was the very first character I ever wrote. In fact, I wrote her entire race before coming up with the other two characters. Adrian’s voice was easy for me as well. It’s so determined by who he is and how he grew up and what he’s being asked to do. Imelda required the most work, but eventually, I got that one down too.

6- Can you share anything about your next project? 

Next is such a fun word in the world of writing. I’ve sold a project that’s middle grade. It’s called Keeping Jeffrey Johnson Alive. It follows a young seer who gets stuck saving her 7^th grade neighbor over and over again, because fate won’t let him go. It’s a fun—but also serious—book about what it means to wrestle with death and how hard it can be to lose people. I’m also cooking up a magic-gone-wrong book about a group of wizards who get very lost after a portal spell malfunctions. Think Hatchet—but with a bunch of murderous mages.

7- Lastly, what do you hope readers will take away from Bloodsworn and the duology as a whole? 

I hope they’ll feel like they went on an amazing, fast-paced ride that didn’t let up from page one to the very end of the journey. 

What About You?

Have you read Bloodsworn? What did you think? Let me know in the comments!