Inside the Insanity: *Book Tour & Giveaway* Rising Ember-GUEST POST

A kingdom divided will burn

Rising Ember

The Ember Crown Book 1

by Sara Wright

Genre: YA Dystopian Fantasy

Dangerous games. Kill or be killed. Can she survive a king's ruthless arena?

Clarissa craves an escape. An orphan forced into criminal acts with other kids by their caretaker, she longs to break free and become a healer. But when an archenemy provokes a deadly confrontation, the seventeen-year-old awakens hidden powers in an explosive and fiery defense.

Seized by soldiers and taken to the capital along with her only friend, Clarissa trains alongside other slaves to fight in the royal army. But surrounded by mysterious strangers and running low on trust, the desperate captive fears graduation day will be her last.

Is Clarissa destined to die in chains?

Rising Ember is the thrilling first book in the Forbidden Chronicles YA dystopian fantasy series. If you like strong-willed heroines, nail-biting drama, and clean slow-burn romance, then you’ll love Sara Wright’s action-packed adventure.

Buy Rising Ember to ignite destiny today!

**Get signed & special editions with maps, bookmarks & sprayed edges at Sara’s Store!**

Amazon * Bookbub * Goodreads

Sara Wright is the author of The Progenitor Chronicles and Forbidden Chronicles, a YA dystopian fantasy series packed with rebellion, elemental powers, and clean slow-burn romance.

She currently lives on Earth, her favorite vacation planet, with her husband and their very opinionated fur baby. But most days, she’s off exploring shattered kingdoms, star-spanning civilizations, and the occasional multiverse with her lifelong companions: Imagination and Creativity.

Raised on bedtime stories and fueled by a steady diet of fantasy, sci-fi, and a sweet topping of romance, Sara now writes tales for readers who crave action, heart, and hope. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her cycling, hiking, or singing dramatically to songs she swears are soundtracks to her books.

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GUEST POST

How My Characters Hijack My Books—And Make Them Better

When I let go of control and listened to my characters—especially the strong-willed heroine in Rising Ember—I discovered a deeper, more powerful story than I ever planned.

I have never written a book. Some might argue, “But Sara, you’re an author. Isn’t writing a book what you do?” That’s true in a sense but let me clarify.

After writing and publishing four books, two short stories, and a novella, I’ve come to understand that I am just a humble vessel that translates the characters’ stories onto the page. It’s like my mind can slip into another dimension and live inside a character’s head while I’m typing or dictating my words. And I’ll give you an example of what happened when writing my recent book, Rising Ember.

When I first met Clarissa, my protagonist in the Forbidden Chronicles, I knew she was powerful, snarky, and a survivor. She had long black hair, intense blue eyes, and wore a black uniform. That’s all I knew, and until I started writing the story, I had a certain thought about how she would be in certain situations.

Then one afternoon, while I was still working on my first series, The Progenitor Chronicles, Clarissa hijacked my mind. Don’t get me wrong, I was in the planning phase of this new series, but I wasn’t ready for her to take over yet. She gave me no choice in the matter. So I picked up my pen and paper and wrote out the first chapter of the story within fifteen minutes.

The most visceral thing I heard was the music, and I felt her agitation. Because I love musicals, I knew the tune all too well. It was the song “Tomorrow” from the musical Annie. That’s when I realized the militarized character I had in my mind was wrong.

My initial plan was to begin Clarissa’s story within the militarized system, but that single image of her cleaning an orphanage floor with the song playing in the background revealed her story began far sooner. She didn’t start out in a strong position in this society, she was a member of a vulnerable class—a child raised in a home where, despite being a survivor, she felt hopeless.

Of course, I could have ignored her, but fighting with a feisty main character is rarely a good idea. Attempt to go against your characters at your own peril.

I wrote the beginning of her story with the song playing in my mind, letting her dictate the words. She wasn’t a warrior; she was a healer…kind of like Prim from The Hunger Games.

Once I read them back, I realized that Clarissa’s version of events gave glimpses of the complexities of the outside world that would otherwise be obscured. Things aren’t as rosy as the government officials in her world make it seem. It helps readers understand why she has a difficult time trusting those around her.

If I had started the story the way I planned, readers wouldn’t have had that temporary view into the trauma that made the character who she is and the arc of where she ends up wouldn’t have been as powerful. So, I always listen to my characters, but that doesn’t mean I don’t direct them where to go.

There are two kinds of authors: pantsers and plotters. Basically, those who outline and plan their stories and those who don’t. Variations exist within these methods: those who loosely outline or those who loosely wing it.

While I started out as a full pantser with my debut novel, The Progenitor, I slowly trained myself to be a loose plotter, or a plantser. I write the five major plot points of my story, then fill in the rest.

I wrote The Progenitor without an outline, and it became a nightmare. I basically let the characters do whatever they wanted. The result being that not only did writing take forever, but editing the book was overwhelming. I vowed never to do that again, which is why I follow a simplified version of Save The Cat! Writes A Novel method—just the five major milestones. Following this method helps me guide my characters to a specific goal and makes editing faster.

When I sat down to write Rising Ember, I was able to write the 100k rough draft in two months and complete the initial self-edits within a month. This timeline was crucial for me, because I was tired of struggling with my stories.

If you want your characters to take down the bad guy, that’s what you tell them. They’re usually happy to oblige those types of guidelines. But once you give them that basic instruction, it’s usually best to just hit the play button and let them get there on their own. The places they take me are far more interesting than anything I could come up with.

Because Clarissa hijacked the book, Rising Ember is now a journey of how an abused orphan becomes a beacon of hope in a world determined to enslave her.

Want to see where Clarissa’s story took me once I stopped fighting her? The spark of this alliance starts right here.

Sara Wright

YA dystopian fantasy

High-stakes—elemental powers—no-spice

Sarawrightbooks.com