An Interview with R.M. Tembreull
Author and illustrator R.M. Tembreull is a military veteran whose rich experiences and global travels inform his creativity and his writing. His passion is eco-fantasy, and he has created the world of the Blighted Earth as his literary construct for sharing amazing stories intended to highlight nature’s wonders and shift humanity’s worldview. For Earth Mother and the Natural Order!
How did it feel when you first saw your book cover? Or when you first held your book in your hands?
Pretty great, actually. Long Leg’s cover was my own design, right down to the customized lettering. When I handed the design off to Ronaldo and his team, I thought they were going to make wholesale changes … but they didn’t! They made it even better, making sure the title, subtitle, and author name placement and color scheme were perfect. It was even more exciting to see the cover on a physical book when the proof copy arrived. I had several hours into creating the cover from concept to final design, and it was very gratifying to see if for the first time in ‘book form.’ I illustrate all my books, and the interior art for Long Leg is some of my best work yet. You can check out the book samples on the online listings to see some of my illustrations.
Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?
I had several ideas and story concepts bumping around in my head after I retired from the military in 2018, but I had little time to put pen to paper due to the travel and demands of my post-military career, along with assisting my wife with taking care of her father. However, things changed dramatically with the COVID pandemic lockdown in 2020. Working from home freed up the time to start writing and conduct research to support the vital aspects of my eco-fantasy series; such things as the causes and impacts of human-induced climate change, the rising political divisiveness and incivility in our society, extremism in its many forms, the process of radicalization, et cetera.
In terms of influences, it is important to note I was a visual artist first. That drew me to comics and graphic novels early on. I love the fusion of illustrations and good story telling. Frank Miller’s work, Alan Moore’s writing on The Swamp Thing, and Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, where he fused a myriad of fairy tales, mythology, and folklore into a new world, were perhaps my greatest influences in that medium. In terms of fantasy world-building, Tolkien’s Middle-earth, Frank Herbert’s Dune, and Stephen R. Donaldson’s Thomas Covenant series count among my biggest influences.
What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?
I completed a wonderful and fulfilling twenty-six-year career in the United States Air Force in 2018. I loved every minute of serving our great country and still miss it today. Currently, I am a civil servant with the Federal Government where I continue to work in the national security enterprise. Knowing this, most people would naturally assume that I have very conservative values and belief systems, but quite the contrary. During my career, I have experienced the best and worst of humankind and seen many amazing places as well as those devastated by conflict. These experiences really opened my worldview. I respect all kinds of beliefs and values, as well as all the different kinds of people who belief and practice them. My open-mindedness is firmly ‘rooted’ in a personal spirituality connected to the natural world.
What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?
Obviously, it is meaningful to hold the published book in my hands, but that is because of all the work and collaboration that goes into getting to that point. Long Leg is my third book and my second one with Atmosphere, and I keep learning with each publication journey — delivering a better story, the successive rounds of editing and review, what makes a good illustration in both an eBook and the printed version, layout and formatting, et cetera. I feel like I keep improving, and it shows up in that final product. That’s what makes the publishing journey so rewarding, but you need to dedicate yourself and put the work in.
What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?
I want my readers to be thoroughly entertained and fully immersed in a new kind of fantasy world hidden within our own. I also want to shift their perspective on how they perceive, think about, and relate to our world. If we value other species and see them as equals while striving to live in balance with our natural world, we can still arrest climate change, ecosystem destruction, and habitat loss. In this way, we will not only preserve the amazing biodiversity of our planet for future generations but also live more complete and content lives in the process. Many out there are losing hope or have lost it altogether, because they don’t feel like they have the power to make change. However, throughout human history, the biggest movements that brought lasting change always started as small, local movements. Humanity is still the planet’s dominant species, and there is nothing — even with all the global challenges — that we cannot conquer. It all starts with individual decisions and small wins, which ultimately turn into a greater collective will to act and make things better.
My perfect reader is open-minded and not stuck to one genre. They love good speculative fiction with intricate and expansive worldbuilding. The kind of worldbuilding one expects in great science fiction and fantasy, but which is also rooted in the real events, places, and people. They love surprising and fresh new characters and want to be entertained as much as they want to be challenged to think critically.
What creative projects are you currently working on?
I am almost done with the first draft of book three of the Blighted Earth series, entitled Fire Moon over the Blighted Earth. This novel continues the Long Leg story arc and introduces some exciting new protagonists and creepy antagonists. Fire Moon will also touch base with other series throughlines, such as Eros and the Mothmen as well as Arden, Parim, and STEM. I have been working on a lot of digital art as well. I already have a concept design for the Fire Moon cover, and I am working on the interior art. Additionally, I have dusted off a children’s book I started in 2009 when I was still active duty and stationed in Hawaii. The narrative is complete, and I have about two-thirds of the illustration panels completed from that time. They are combination watercolors and pen and ink. I am finishing up the remaining panels as digital art. Finally, I have set up a shop on Redbubble so that Blighted Earth fans can purchase merch if they desire. I am adding artwork weekly, so check it out at R.M. Tembreull Shop | Redbubble.
How was working with Atmosphere Press? What would you tell other writers who want to publish?
This is my second book publishing experience with Atmosphere, and I think that speaks for itself. I find Atmosphere to be the ‘author first’ publisher they promote themselves to be. Atmosphere continues to put forward a talented and dedicated team, and they once again did a marvelous job at every stage of my third publishing journey. They have earned my trust and respect for their responsiveness and attentiveness throughout the process. I would tell other writers looking to publish that their writing journey, just like their goals and work, are unique. Atmosphere is a publisher who tailors your experience to your personal book vision and goals. That’s important, because writing is a very personal thing for an author. Atmosphere is a great choice for a true ‘author first’ experience which will stay true to you until your cherished work is out there in the wild!
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