Best-selling author, Sara B. Larson, is back with Warriors of Wing and Flame, the stunning conclusion to her Sisters of Shadow and Light duology. We got the chance to chat with Sara about her favourite fictional sisters, how she creates the atmosphere in her stories, and what books she has loved reading this year!
Hi Sara! Thank you so much for taking some time to answer questions for The Nerd Daily! To start, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what you’ve been up to since Sisters of Shadow and Light released last year?
Thank you for having me!
Wow, who would have thought the year following the release of Sisters of Shadow and Light would turn out how it did? It definitely wasn’t what I was expecting. To tell you a little bit about me, I just celebrated my seventeenth wedding anniversary last month, and I have four kids, from a sophomore in high school down to a three-year-old. It’s been a very challenging year trying to help my children navigate all the changes in their worlds, while still juggling my writing career, struggling to find the energy to create, and managing all my other jobs and responsibilities. I have spent as much time in the mountains as possible—fresh air and sunshine have made a world of difference for dealing with all the stresses of 2020! If you’re ever feeling overwhelmed by this year, I recommend going out and enjoying some views that aren’t on your phone. It helps, I promise!
What can readers expect from the sequel, Warriors of Wing and Flame?
More of everything! More danger, more romance, more kissing, more challenges, more gryphons…everything you loved in SOSAL ramped way, way up. The stakes are higher, the sisters are challenged and their relationship tested, lives are at stake, and falling in love has never been scarier—or more powerful.
How was your writing process different between Sisters and Warriors?
Well, I was still exploring the story quite a bit when I first started writing SOSAL. I didn’t know the whole plot yet when I wrote the first couple of chapters. I had to keep stopping and plot it out. With WOWAF I knew what was going to happen (mostly—one character took me by surprise!), but it was actually harder to write because of where I was emotionally. I had a panic/anxiety episode that started in November of 2018 and lasted until May/June of 2019 before I really started to feel somewhat normal again. I had to draft WOWAF in the midst of that extremely difficult time. It was interesting though, because I knew Zuhra and Inara would be dealing with anxiety in WOWAF because of the events in SOSAL, but going through it while writing, made me realize I needed to have their experiences dealing with the fallout from the previous book’s events be even harder than what I’d originally planned. I wanted to explore how to handle panic attacks more fully, which is hard to do in a fantasy setting without modern terminology. Hopefully it will be helpful to my readers who also struggle with these challenges. But my favorite scenes to write were the kissing scenes. (Yes, plural!) I’ve been building up to them for a loooong time so it was so satisfying and fun to finally write them.
One of the things I loved about Sisters and Warriors was the atmosphere you created in both books. Where do you draw inspiration from to create the atmosphere of these books?
Thank you so much! That really means a lot to me. I see my books like movies in my mind while I’m writing them. I saw some images of a citadel or castle on the ledge of cliff with a waterfall cascading below it that inspired the citadel. But the world the Paladin inhabit came purely out of my imagination—inspired by landscapes I’ve seen in real life but changed to fit what I created for their world. For example, the huge cliffs surrounding and protecting Soluselis (the capital city of the Paladin world) were partially inspired by the cliffs of the Na’pali coast in Kauai (my favorite place on earth). These mountains aren’t tropical, but the sheer size and the inability to scale them.
In your last interview with The Nerd Daily, you mentioned you have four sisters. Have they read Sisters or Warriors? And what did they think of Zuhra and Inara?
Yes – they read all of my books! In fact, they often read early for me and help me edit the books. However, they actually haven’t read WOWAF yet! I wanted them to wait until I got ARCs so they could read a more finalized version of it…and then because of covid there weren’t any ARCs. So they get to read it with everyone else this time when the book comes out. The dedication will be a surprise for them, too, and I can’t wait for them to see it. They all said that SOSAL was their favorite book I’ve written so far. Hopefully they’ll feel the same way about WOWAF!
Who are some of your favorite fictional sisters (besides Zuhra and Inara, of course!)?
I love the Bennett sisters (particularly Jane and Elizabeth, of course), and the March sisters (we grew up watching and reading Little Women). I am the oldest of five girls, as I’ve mentioned, so both of these stories were fun for me to read, whether the dynamics were similar (with Jane and Elizabeth) or not so much (with Kitty and the others). I also related to Jo March so deeply, as I’ve always written stories my whole life and my sisters loved to read them and would beg for more. Recently I really loved the sisters in the Caraval series, the bond they shared, their differences, and getting to read both of their stories.
Do you have any writing traditions or little habits you have to get into the writing mood?
I have playlists for all of my books. Music is HUGE for me with my writing. It helps me channel the right emotion and amplifies what I’m feeling or need to feel to write certain scenes. I mostly use instrumental music, often soundtracks from movies, and the occasional song with words. My playlists are all on Spotify!
2020 has been rough for a lot of creatives. How have you been coping with the pandemic while still engaging in your creative pursuits?
I’m not going to lie…it has been rough. I barely wrote a word for months. It’s only been in the last two months that I’ve been able to write again. Ideas and words were in short supply when I was completely drained just trying to make it through each day and help my family make it through each day. But as I said earlier, getting outside, being in nature, has been integral to surviving and sparking creativity again. Breathing deeply in the fresh air, putting my phone away and taking in the views of the beauty the world still has to offer, helps spark my desire to still write, despite all the challenges and hardships this year has brought.
What have been some books, TV shows, or movies that you’ve loved in 2020?
A few books I have loved are The Queen of Nothing (amazing conclusion to the series), Bone Crier’s Moon (so atmospheric and unique!), and Beach Read was such a wonderful escape and just what I needed, since I, too, was struggling with writer’s block. I haven’t been able to see any of the movies I wanted to watch because of Covid and I’ve been so sad about it! I’m dying for the new Wonder Woman in particular!
And to wrap things up, can you tell us what you are working on next?
I can’t say anything yet, but definitely keep an eye on my social media feeds for news as soon as I can share something. But suffice it to say I’m writing!
