On June 8th, Cavalier House Books, located in the Denham Springs Antique District, hosted the one and only Rachel Schneider in a celebration of the official launch of her newest book Light Wielder, the sequel to the first book in her Fire & Metal series: Metal Slinger.
Metal Slinger follows the journey of Brynn, an exiled guard in training, who accidentally breaks a century-long peace treaty when she undergoes a rite of passage, leading to her unlikely alliance with an enemy soldier as she discovers hidden secrets about her origins. Categorized as a romantic fantasy, or romantasy, Metal Slinger and Light Wielder alike sit in the same genre category as other popular book-tok hits such as A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas and Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros.
The newest novel in Schneider's Fire & Metal series, Light Wielder, takes place four years after the first book's sudden cliff-hanger ending and focuses on characters Jovie and Acker as they struggle to reconcile over their fractured relationship while war looms on the horizon of the land of Maile.
With a fully packed house, it was clear to see at a glance just how much of an impact Schneider's Fire & Metal series has had on the romantasy community. Groups of friends dressed as book characters, couples holding dog-eared copies of Metal Slinger, and curious attendees itching for a new favorite series filled every seat at Cavalier, all eagerly awaiting Schneider's presentation of Light Wielder and the following Q&A session.
Schneider was joined on stage by her friend Alexis Menard, author of the Order and Chaos series, including titles like House of Bane and Blood, for an opening discussion of Schneider's writing processes and inspiration.
"Sometimes I really like the drafting aspect," Schneider told the audience as she recounted writing Metal Slinger, "and then sometimes the editing is more refined… It ebbs and flows."
Schneider told the audience that she began writing Metal Slinger over five years ago but had to take a break in between then and now due to familial circumstances. When she returned to the writing scene, she found herself excited by the idea that she could change the ending of the novel just because she wanted to do something different.
"You mean that I can have anything I want in my brain happen on a page?" Schneider recalled asking herself as she began to rework the novel. Her answer: "Anything is possible… so why hinder that?"
During the interview, Schneider also discussed how she got into writing by making up stories involving her classmates.
"It's really embarrassing," Schneider added, "as a moody teenager, I used to like writing romance scenes alone in my bedroom… of like classmates."
Menard noted that she also started writing fictional stories, focusing on her favorite characters from books and TV series she liked at the time, something still commonly done today by fans of popular books and shows.
As the Q&A session began, Schneider revealed that she is already working on the third book in the Fire & Metal series and is "almost done," but did not give a concrete release date.
"It's hard to train your brain to work on a deadline," Schneider revealed, "and if I feel like I have to [finish writing by a deadline], then I don't want to do that… so I have to give myself a little leeway to go off script."
Fans were eager to know about the fate of Jovie and Acker as well as what the third book will mean for the series as a whole.
Schneider let the audience know that the Light Wielder novel will signal the end of Jovie's journey, stating, "Everything I felt like she needed is complete in Light Wielder. And then the reader's journey will continue into book three."
When discussing who Schneider would cast in a TV or movie adaptation of Light Wielder, Schneider noted that she thinks Grace Van Patten as Jovie and Matthew Daddario as Acker fit the bill. However, when a fan asked if Schneider is considering actually working on a film adaptation of her series, her response highlighted the struggles many authors face when it comes to transforming their work into a film.
"The thing with doing something film is that I have to relinquish a lot of control for that," Schneider explained. "I do get a producer credit, but to an extent I'm just like a random person that's trying to tell them how to make a movie."
Schneider noted that if the adaptation is "done right" and "people really want it," she believes the answer will be "maybe" to a future adaptation.
Each person who bought a ticket to attend the event received a hardcover special edition of Light Wielder, complete with gilded edges and custom character art, and had the opportunity to have the book personally signed by Schneider.
