About the Book

Book: Freedom Rings

Author: Rachel Keith

Genre: Christian Middle-grade Animal Fantasy

Release Date: June 16, 2025

Freedom rings out. Who will hear it?

Tina the wolf and her adopted animal siblings narrowly escaped childhood enslavement and lead a quiet, secluded life together. But when they find out the usurping Authorities ravage their world of Neftar to capture more slaves, Tina feels that she and her squad are being called to free their fellow Neftarians.

As they plunge into their abolition quest, however, untold dangers arise—from betrayals, to life-threatening peril, to the discovery of Tina’s forbidden heritage.

Can Tina and her siblings fight for freedom, or will they be put to death for their rebellion… and for Tina’s outlawed bloodline?

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Rachel Keith created and finished the world of The Squad at an early age. Inspired to share her faith and glorify God through her passion of writing, she used her extensive knowledge of animals, artistry, graphic design, and fanaticism for a certain video game hedgehog to bring the world of Neftar to life.

When not writing, praying, or geeking out over her video games, Rachel draws custom betta fish portraits, pampers her unusual pets, jams to Christian radio, and reads. And reads. And READS.

Because there’s no such thing as too much of a great story.

Rachel lives in her native land of Nashville, Tennessee, with her menagerie, Bible, and animal encyclopedia.

More from Rachel

I’m Rachel Keith, an 18-year-old homeschool graduate from Franklin, Tennessee. I understand how difficult it is for homeschool families to find safe, clean, Christ-centered fiction that also resonates with young readers, and that’s why I wrote The Squad: Rising series. The series focuses on Tina, an anthropomorphic wolf in a vibrant world of anthropomorphic animals. She and her squad of adopted siblings see the oppression their world is facing, and together, they fight to free their world and establish peace. Though they face plenty of perils, they trust that The Most High will guide them. Each book includes fun resources, including an animal species guide and discussion questions! Inspired by Sonic the Hedgehog and The Chronicles of Narnia, this series—beginning with book 1, Freedom Rings—is a fun new trailblazing series for middle grade fantasy, especially for Christians and anthro lovers!

Blog Stops

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, January 13

Simple Harvest Reads, January 14 (Author Interview)

Guild Master, January 15 (Author Interview)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, January 15

Fiction Book Lover, January 16 (Author Interview)

Locks, Hooks and Books, January 17

Vicky Sluiter, January 18 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, January 19

For the Love of Literature, January 20 (Author Interview)

Cover Lover Book Review, January 21

Tell Tale Book Reviews, January 22 (Author Interview)

Blossoms and Blessings, January 23 (Author Interview)

Stories By Gina, January 24 (Author Interview)

For Him and My Family, January 24

Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, January 25 (Author Interview)

Artistic Nobody, January 26

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Rachel is giving away the grand prize of a signed paperback copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://gleam.io/DNsrJ/freedom-rings-celebration-tour-giveaway

Interview

Do you have a favorite character you’ve created? Tell us about them.

Tina the wolf, the main character in Freedom Rings (and the entire The Squad: Rising series) is definitely one of my favorites. Her arc is one of my favorites—born with a forbidden bloodline, she must harness it and hide it simultaneously, while leading her adopted siblings on dangerous missions no one else is willing to go on. But apart from her, my absolute favorite character is actually a character who doesn’t appear until book six of The Squad: Rising—Lee the tiger, who was born with super strength but is intensely humble and shy! He looks cool and is such a sweetheart.

Do your books revolve around certain themes?

Freedom is a constant theme throughout The Squad: Rising series, which is already evident in Freedom Rings’ title. The characters constantly battle to ensure their world doesn’t lose its freedom to all sorts of power-hungry villains. Another theme woven throughout is the truth of God’s faithfulness and His plans for us; no matter what the characters face, they try to trust that God will use their trials for good somehow, and He always does. And something else I like to sprinkle throughout is found family—only two of the main characters are related, and the rest are self-proclaimed “adopted siblings.” They constantly stick together and have each other’s backs when no one else does.

Is your book part of a series?

Yes! Freedom Rings is book one in The Squad: Rising series, which is a nine-book series. The final book releases in February!

What are you currently working on?

Though The Squad: Rising is finished and almost completely published, its legacy certainly isn’t over! In between making extra content for it, I’m also cooking up new adventures. So stay tuned for more from The Squad: Rising universe!

When you aren’t writing, what do you enjoy doing?

When I’m not writing, I’m drawing or animating my characters and scenes from The Squad: Rising. If I’m not doing anything related to my books, I’m burrowed in my room to study animation and art, storyboard for indie films, or read other fantasy novels.