Welcome, friend! Today I am chatting with author, Rachel Reiss, about her upcoming book, Out of Air. Featured in my new releases of the month, this one is perfect for those who love the water. Enjoy the interview and let me know in the comments if you will be reading the book! I sure am.
Out of Air
The deeper you go, the darker you fall.
Phoebe “Phibs” Ray is never more at home than when she’s underwater. On a dive six months ago, she and her four closest friends discovered a handful of ancient gold coins, rocketing them into social media fame. Now, their final summer together after high school, they’re taking one last trip to a distant Australian island to do what they love most – scuba dive.
While diving a local reef, Phibs discovers a spectacular underwater sea cave, rumored to be a lost cave with a buried treasure. But when Phibs and her best friend Gabe surface from the cave, they notice that they’re undergoing strange changes. Oozing gashes that don’t heal. Haunting whispers in their heads… Something has latched onto them, lurking beneath their skin, transforming them from the inside out.
When treasure hunters arrive, desperate to find the location of the cave and hold Phibs’ group for ransom, she’ll do anything to keep her friends safe. In the process she learns that, of all the dreadful creatures of the sea, she might be the most terrifying of them all.
Get to know the author: Rachel Reiss
Hi Rachel! It is a pleasure to have you on Armed with A Book. Please tell me and my readers a bit about yourself.
Hi Kriti, thanks so much for having me! I’m an author with my debut YA thriller Out of Air coming out on May 13. As a scuba diver, I’ve had the opportunity to dive reefs around the world and I wanted to bring readers along with me on a fun underwater adventure – along with some horror, romance, and speculative twists!
What inspired you to write Out of Air? Was there a particular moment, idea, or image that sparked the story?
I had an image in my mind one day of what became the first chapter of the book. It was a group of friends who take a trip to a remote island, and are on a boat in the ocean with absolutely nothing around them. I loved that sense of wild freedom mixed with the fear of what would happen if things went wrong.
From the title and breathtaking cover, Out of Air immediately evokes tension, struggle and claustrophobia. How did you balance those physical elements of underwater suspense with the psychological transformation Phibs experiences?
Thank you – I’m obsessed with the cover! David O did the stunning illustration, and Kerri Resnick did the jacket design, and I’m mesmerized by the amazing job they did! The cover is both beautiful and terrifying, a vibe that mirrors the book.
While diving is a main focus, I also explore a storyline that happened months earlier. I use dual timelines to show a previous treasure they found, as well as the current day discovery of the cave. The characters go on four distinct underwater dives in the book, and each one shows a pivotal progression in Phibs’ transformation, both internally and externally.
With a passion for photography in a world with AI, Phibs wonders about her future when computers can create images and tell stories. How do you feel about this issue from her perspective as well as yours?
In the book Phibs voices something I think about a lot! As a mom with two small kids, I wonder how it’s going to affect their lives, especially when it comes to pursuing their passions. I grapple with how AI has been encroaching in many industries and appears to be threatening certain career paths, notably in the arts. I feel a lot of uncertainty with how that will evolve moving forward.
One of the older characters in the book comments how some people are tethered to land and others to the ocean. The Salt Squad clearly gravitate towards the ocean. You yourself are an experienced scuba diver. Did you bring any of your experiences into this book?
Yes, I’m definitely drawn to the ocean! The book focuses on four main dives, and in each one I bring in different aspects – cave diving, night diving, marine creature interactions, propulsion vehicles – mixed with the lure of treasure hunting. I’ve experienced many things the characters do, such as vertigo during a night dive. I also included information divers are required to know, facts about their gear, the conditions of the ocean, and safety information.
Out of Air is told in two timelines from Phibs perspective. How does the past from 6 months ago impact Phibs on her current excursion?
Out of Air focuses on the Salt Squad – a tight group of five friends who are sharing one last diving adventure after they graduate high school by traveling to a distant island. But there’s an event that happened months earlier that sowed distrust and cracked the foundation of their tight-knit group. The two storylines are directly linked, but each focus on a different discovery, and as the story progresses, they intertwine as secrets from the past are revealed.
Were there specific real-world dive sites or legends that inspired your locations or the lore of the cave?
Years ago I went diving in Chandelier Cave in Palau, and during that dive we surfaced in an air pocket. I remember breathing in there, and thinking how strange it was to be underwater, yet able to breathe within the submerged cavern. The beauty of that cave stuck with me, as well as the experience in the air pocket, and it became the catalyst from which the story began to take shape.
What do you hope readers will take away from Out of Air?
I hope that readers feel like they’ve gone on a wild underwater adventure. The book is an escape from daily life, and an exploration of a world many don’t have access to. I also hope that with the pressures we face with global warming, readers learn a little about how remarkable the oceans are, as well as the creatures that live there.
Do you have a favourite quote or scene in Out of Air that you find yourself going back to? What makes it stand out to you?
I gravitate to the quote:
“What I didn’t realize was the ocean had given me a gift I’d never recover from. A lost treasure that would cost me nearly everything.”
I love the idea that some treasures shouldn’t be discovered. Most treasure hunting stories seem to focus on the glitz and glamour of finding a lost treasure, but this book explores the idea that maybe some things are better left unfound.
What was the most challenging part of writing this novel? Were there any surprises during the drafting or revision process?
The most challenging part was juggling an ensemble of five main characters, and giving each character a distinct voice and personality. There are many conversations where they’re all talking at once, and juggling the five of them while also building tension and action in the scenes were, at times, a challenge.
For someone who loved your book, which two books would you recommend they pick up next?
There are so many great books, and a ton currently on my TBR list that I’m really excited to read! Two that come to mind are Ginny Myers Sain’s Dark and Shallow Lies for an immersive and atmospheric setting with a speculative twist, and Rory Powers’ Wilder Girls for a remote setting with eerie body horror.
Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me and share with my readers.
Thanks so much for having me. I so appreciate it!!
Thanks for joining us! Connect with Rachel Reiss on her website. Add this book on Goodreads. It is available wherever books are sold on May 13th 2025.
Many thanks to Wednesday Books for connecting me with the author and giving me a chance to highlight this book on my blog in exchange for an honest review. 🙂
Check out other horror reads on my book review index page!
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