rebeccathornewrites

[rebeccathornewrites]

What is your stance on personal use keychains/stickers of your characters? Would making my own art into a keychain for me and a friend be okay if I’m not selling it?

(I do also plan to buy some of the official stickers because they are AWESOME; my friend and I are just abnormal about Feo and Wylan and want to put them in a shaker keychain)

I think it’s fine! I appreciate the marketing and excitement about the books! Official merchandise has to go through my publisher, not me, but personal-use keychains or stickers don’t bother me in the slightest :) 

[rebeccathornewrites]

Hello! I wanted to ask why you chose to include Feo’s deadname (if it is a deadname and not just preference) multiple times in the series? And also why their names are so similar, both in how they look and how they’re pronounced?

Great question! I definitely wanted to include a deadname somewhere here, since I know so many people who have changed their names (to VERY cool things, I might add). For Feo specifically, it was about separating their old identity, but only enough that they wouldn’t be immediately recognized by any traveling mages by name. I imagine they were largely the same in the Magicary as they are everywhere else, so that genuine separation of sectioning one part of them off and moving into someone new was less pressing for them. I think that’s why I made the names so close; I imagined Feo knowing they wanted to change their name for more anonymity after their exile--but also at the moment that decision was made, they’d be mourning the loss of who they had been previously. So choosing a name similar, but different enough, likely made them feel better about the adventure moving forward. A piece of themselves, even if they’re someone new now. 

As for why it’s mentioned a few times in the books, I wanted to also bring up the reality of deadnames--and how people who knew them before might struggle to remember, or need to catch up. There were a few times where Kianthe slipped up in the original draft, but I took them out to avoid showing disrespect. Still, that realistic hesitation (or genuine not-knowing) of people who remembered them before would be a constant thing for Feo moving through life. Eventually, everyone would be on the same page, but for these original books, I wanted to show that transition from both sides--them, and the people who knew them before. :) 

[rebeccathornewrites]

hi! what do you imagine the real-world equivalents of Sheparan, Queendom, and Leonol accents to be? (And is one accent more common in Tawney than the other?)

This is actually answered in the audiobook! (Which I highly recommend; it’s amazing.) We made Shepara more American, the Queendom more British, and Leonol more Irish! But Jessica Threet is an incredible narrator; she switched up even sub-accents within regions. So, Lathe (in Shepara) uses more northern, Minnesotan vibes, but down south she pulled in more of the typical Southern twang. It’s very cool!

[rebeccathornewrites]

Hey!! HOLY SHIT I just finished reading Alchemy and a Cup of Tea and I almost CRIED

I won't say why because spoilers for anyone who hasn't caught up but I LOVED it and I just had a q for the following quartet? spin-off? sequels? idk what to call it XD

But is the next batch just going to be in the kid's pov or will we still get more reyna/kianthe? I guess I'm just asking how hard are the girlies being benched? XD

AHH I’m so so glad you enjoyed it!! The next quartet will be similar to Tamora Pierce’s Tortall series--set 10 years in the future, with a new cast of characters, but with all our old favorites dropping in from time to time. I do think Kianthe and Reyna will have a few point of view chapters, but I’m excited to pivot from their story into someone new! :) 

The third quartet is absolutely from their kid’s POV. She’s going to be a true terror. That one will focus on the region north of Dragon Country... >.> 

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do you have a dream cast if tomes and tea ever became adapted into a tv series or would you prefer an animation adaptation?

Oh, animation, for SURE. I don't really pay much attention to celebrities, so I wouldn't even know where to begin for a dream cast. But I've *always* yearned for an animated version of my books. I think I would die to see that. O.O

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Getting ahead of this. >.>

For anyone who's reading Alchemy and a Cup of Tea, and is worried a certain pirate captain is meeting a dismal fate after this series--no, my gosh, no they aren't.

Trust Kianthe and Reyna and their instincts. And know that the second quartet will open with a pirate war on the Southern Seas, where a young pirate captain is attempting to overthrow Dreggs.

Therefore..... Dreggs will be present. (With fancy new she/her pronouns!)

That is all. >.>

[rebeccathornewrites]

OH. MY GOODNESS. I just finished alchemy and a cup of tea and IT WAS SO GOOD.

your magic system has always been so incredibly interesting to me and it was so cool to see more of alchemical magic!! and the magicary too—so cool???

i was SO very pleased with my feo/wylan crumbs. i got to feo’s first appearance, read “half-dressed and bleary-eyed” and me and my friend had to take a moment to just wordlessly freak out together. (and us going back and forth like “okay so—“ “yeah theyre fucking” “i think they already were”)

this book was a very entertaining midnight-3 AM read that resulted in me having an absolute stroke trying to say “wylan and feo” for the nine billionth time (same thing happened with “kianthe and reyna” about ten mins later)

KIANTHE AND REYNA AAAH!!!!!! they are soso sweet and i love them to death. particularly enjoyed them in this book—i feel like they worked a lot better as individual characters in this book than they did in previous ones :DD and ohh that whole magicary tour was so sweet :]

i am deeply abnormal about the dragons. seriously you cannot give me three baby dragons and expect normalcy. there will be fanart (if i can remember how to draw dragons)

i am ALSO deeply abnormal about feo and wylan if you couldnt already tell. they are everything to me. that little scene at the end with feo helping wylan off the griffin—ohh lord there will be fanart (this is a threat)

ALSO!!!! please tell me feo and wylan are in like an actual established relationship by the end of this 🙏🙏 they are too perfect for each other

OH AND the siblings ever!!! kianthe and feo!!!! really really love them their dynamic is everything to me

holy hell this got LONG. i am so sorry. yeah tldr this book was fucking incredible and there will be fanart once i get past my art block

Ahh, I'm so glad you enjoyed it!! This book was by far my favorite in content, cover design, and tip-in illustration! I think it's gorgeous inside and out, and it's exactly the story I wanted to tell. :D

(For anyone who's curious, I wrote it in 9 days, and edited it in about 5 more. So from empty word doc to the version we sent to print, it was about 14 days of work. That's how intimately I knew this story LOL.)

Feo and Wylan... will be the slowest of slow burns. I actually hinted in the original epilogue that they broke up, but it was too tragic for my editor. LOL. So, we made it more vague. I personally think they have a lot more to struggle through before they could find a relationship as healthy and happy as Kianthe's and Reyna's. Their story is a novella idea, for sure...

[rebeccathornewrites]

in a modern setting, what do you think kianthe, reyna, wylan, and feo would study/do for work?

I think Kianthe would be an heiress to a plant shop fortune, but choose to spend her time running a coffee shop. Reyna would definitely be CIA or secret service. Wylan would probably be a town mayor, or maybe he'd just settle into a quieter life writing books or something. And Feo would absolutely be a powerhouse NYC lawyer. >.>

[rebeccathornewrites]

two questions that i totally forgot to include in my first ask (my mistake, i was very happy to find you had a tumblr) is A) your stance on fanart/fics being created and posted? I have like four different art ideas that are almost done but I thought I should ask before I finish them up!

and B) was Feo's hair shoulder length in book one, or did time just simply pass? (related to above question because I really want to draw that belltower scene...Feo is absolutely my favorite and that entire chapter made me go insane)

A) I love fan created artwork! As long as nothing I’ve paid to commission or created is uploaded to AI, I genuinely love seeing folks creating art of my stuff! Fanfiction is also awesome; I love it!

B) I imagined Feo’s hair longer, maybe chin level, in book one, and then slowly grows over the series? But it’s all really up for interpretation--I don’t pay too much attention to how characters’ hairstyles change. I change mine so frequently it makes sense it’d be different between 6 month stories. :D (Feo is also my favorite haha)

[rebeccathornewrites]

Light spoilers for Gilded Abyss

Did you take inspiration from the way radioactive materials were treated initially when making Ichoron? The way it's being used in Valkesh are dead ringers for things like Radithor, radium watches, fiestaware and even modern radioactive products that advertise their "Negative Ions" or "Anti-5G" qualities, especially in that the citizens have no idea what it does or is.

I definitely did! I’ve watched a lot of chemicals come and go and the process of public acceptance to realizing the reality of what they do fascinates me. I based it more on the forever chemicals that we use in things like nonstick pans more than anything!

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Hiya! i started Tea You at The Altar today and (as predicted) finished it in one sitting!

Ive loved both The Day Death stopped and this Gilded Abyss (and can NOT wait for the continuation) but getting back to reading about Kianthe and Reyna is such a comfort :) its always such a joy to read about all the characters and falling in love with them again/falling in love with the new characters introduced

i ADORE Tessalyn (big win for us aroaces) and getting to read the Coralcreast bonus and getting to read more about her was such a fun surprise for me (especially after that incredibly mean cliffhanger) :D

hope you have a wonderful day and i cant wait to read the final book when it comes out!

Aww, that’s so great! I’m so glad that you enjoyed the book and the rep! Tessalyn was such a fun character to write; I really enjoyed adding her to the story!!

[rebeccathornewrites]

Hi! I have a Kobo ereader, and most of your books aren't on the Kobo store (as ebooks. some are there as audiobooks which I can't use on my ereader?). I'm specifically looking for This Gilded Abyss, and my local library doesn't have a copy. Do you know if there's a way to get an ebook without going through amazon? (While like. still paying you obviously). Are your books going to be on the Kobo store anytime soon? a friend recommended This Gilded Abyss to me and it definitely sounds like something I'd like but I also wanna support authors.

Gilded Abyss was purchased by my publisher for re-release, actually! So it’s launching everywhere--even kobo--on November 11th, 2025! 

[rebeccathornewrites]

Treason is wha got me back into reading after years of not doing so. Reminded me how fun it could be. Thank you.

Ahh, yay! So glad to hear it!

[rebeccathornewrites]

Hi Rebecca! Just to let you know that I've binge-read the Tea and Tomes books (looking forward to the fourth one!) and I adore them all, it's hard to pick a favorite moment. I have a question, and I'm sure it's been answered: what happened to the third dragon egg?

Haha, that’s answered in book 4! And it’s soooo worth the wait. ;) 

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I finished reading You can't spell treason without tea and the first thing I thought was "this author has to be on tumblr" and I was right! Instantly earns a place among the pantheon of my favorite books only 4 in total now, Keep writing! You are amazing ❤️ one last thing, if its public, whats your ao3 account I need to know :3 hehe~

I’m peripherally on Tumblr because my wife is HARDCORE on tumblr and is still patiently trying to explain it to me haha. I want so badly to make this a main social media option, but omg. It’s chaos. LOL. 

My Ao3 is public!! That’s actually where my wife and I met--we were writing She-Ra fanfiction back in 2019. :P Here’s the link! Enjoy my hyperfixations. 

https://archive.transformativeworks.org/users/Wicked42/

[rebeccathornewrites]

Just finished ‘Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea’ and have already started on ‘A Pirate’s Life For Tea’ (and have the 3rd and 4th books pre-ordered from my local bookstore! 11 DAYS FOR BOOK 3 HELL YES!) and they are both incredibly delightful.

Anyways. I just need to add that I really appreciate the one-shot at the end of Pirates, bc honestly? Not only is sapphic works hard to find but sapphic smut is even more difficult to find!

And smut is often unfairly maligned, regardless of the orientation! I’m a writer and reader who wants to include both in my stories, and the inclusion of ‘The Game’ in Pirates makes me feel like I can do it to, write a fantasy plot focused sapphic story that also has smut!

I think good smut is very important, not just in the base ‘I enjoy smut way’ but because it normalizes sex and sexuality especially queer sexuality, like I mean this genuinely when I say you’ve managed to do something rare and important here and I hope you ignore anyone trying to start anything about the optional smut!

‘The Game’ was fantastic btw, and I won’t be disappointed if you didn’t write more Reyna and Kianthe smut, but I’m not going to lie I am hoping that the extra short stories included in 3 and 4 are more of that!

I’m hoping one of them is hearing about that time they went to Wellia for both porn and lore reasons. (I am very intrigued about the fact that Wellia seems to be a place you can borrow/rent sex toys?)

Also I LOVE how many non-binary characters you have across the series, and that they have varied relationships to their gender and presentation, and that they’re also seen as desirable and cool! (Absolutely can’t wait to properly meet Dreggs in Pirates!)

I guess that’s all I wanted to say, love the series, amazing to see it getting cool treatment like sprayed edges and deluxe edition hardcovers and inside art, will be keeping an eye out for future works from you!

Also I think it’s super cool that one of your goals is to help other writers, the industry is tough out there!

Thank you so much for the kind words! I wrote The Game because, at that time in 2023, cozy fantasy was being labeled as “clean” fantasy by a few religious groups, and I was not happy about it. XD So that oneshot was more a reflection of my spite in the moment LOL. But it’s lovely to know it’s something people enjoy!!

This Gilded Abyss will have more spice in that series than the Tomes and Tea quartet! Ultimately, I wanted my cozy fantasy quartets to be accessible for teenagers, since I was obsessed with Tamora Pierce’s quartet when I was in high school. But I couldn’t resist adding a spicy oneshot to the end of Pirates just for fun LOL. None of the other books have any spice, though. :D

Thank you for the lovely message!! It’s so exciting to see readers bonding with these characters and falling into this world. I can’t wait for you all to read Alchemy; it’s my favorite of the four!

[rebeccathornewrites]

i love serena and bobbie so so so much they mean the WORLD to me ugh thank you for creating them

I’m so glad!! I love Bobbie the most haha. They’re both so fun!