fuonlyknew

From a Headache to a Dystopian Universe: The Surprising Origins of Rising Ember

Discover how a single sentence from my husband during a migraine spiraled into a clean dystopian fantasy series full of elemental powers, rebellion, and love.

One day I had a massive headache. The world was on pause while I lay there with my eyes closed until the meds kicked in. My lovely husband held me in his arms and caressed my hair. The problem was I was wide awake and needed to get a million things done. So, I did what any storyteller or bookworm would do—I asked him to tell me a story. And he did.

This is what he came up with:

“There was a world with people, and they have fire eyes. They wield fire. Like they can turn it on and off like a switch.”

That was it, the entire story. It only took that to get me piecing everything together in my head. Soon I had a short story rough draft written in the world (read Altered Rain). To get inside the characters’ heads, I would listen to a particular song (“Lacrymosa” by Evanescence, if you’re curious). This ultimately inspired me to pen a novella, offering a peek into a world overtaken by the primary antagonist (read Ruined Ashes). That one line led to a short story, a novella, and a full six-book series.

At first, I didn’t know if the stories were pure fantasy or pure dystopian. Some scenes that played in my mind leaned very fantasy with horses and medieval style weaponry. But then one day, a scene of the protagonist heading to the upper levels on a lift formed, and I saw the realm more clearly.

This world was set within the ruins of the past. While they have futuristic technology, it doesn’t work everywhere. Sometimes using a horse or an old-world weapon is necessary. Your access to technology is determined by your societal status.

It kind of reminded me of The Shannara Chronicles, a post-apocalyptic world with elves, dwarfs, and other fantasy creatures.  Except, instead of elves and dwarves, humans developed elemental powers. Rising Ember is a blend of the old with the new, which is something I really love to explore in all my books. An urban setting with hovercars and force fields, but also rural communities that feel more old-world fantasy.

While I love to write what I want to read, I knew that wasn’t enough to publish this book. I needed to meet the reader’s expectations, too. At this point, I wasn’t sure what genre I was going to steer the story toward. So, I dived into the top young adult dystopian and fantasy books, both traditional and indie published to find out what readers wanted within these two similar yet distinct genres. It was a bummer reading all those books (just kidding).

You can’t really read through the YA dystopian genre without considering one of the most popular books in our modern era—The Hunger Games. One thing I love most about this franchise is how many layersSuzanne Collins weaves into the narrative. From the simple act of Katniss feeling uncomfortable in her clothes, to the cinnamon roll love interest, Peeta, there are so many interesting arcs and tropes throughout the story.

But I believe the most iconic part of the books is the arena. While I included this aspect in the story, there were other influences that altered how I presented it. A little American Ninja Warrior anyone? Maybe combined with your worst nightmares?

But what about the fantasy aspects I wanted to include? How could I incorporate fire wielders in the middle of a dystopian world?

Well, I found several books that incorporated some type of superpowers—one being Red Queen. The thing I loved about this series is that Mare isn’t entirely ignorant of the world the way Katniss was. Mare became a pawn, but she knew it and immediately fought back. But maybe the aspect I admired most was Cal’s fire and the betrayal twists throughout the narrative. The bond between the two main characters was also electrifying (pun intended).

Then I came across two interesting indie series by the same author—Recruitment and The Crue Chronicles. Storylines occur in the same world, and superpowers come into play. While they’re a little more tech manipulation than in my story, the power struggles between the elite and those emerging into the world ignite the right kind of rebellion that I am trying to balance in my story.

I read Shadow and Bone—a fantasy set in a broken czar styled world with characters who could manipulate powers. And the blend of old-world and new-world technology was fascinating to me. The interplay of darkness and light, along with the chosen one trope, really had me hooked.

The only thing I really wasn’t fond of was the heat levels of the romances in Red Queen. Because my romance writing style is a lot more like The Selection or The Princess Trials (without the 30 something girls competing to win over the guy). I’d rather see the intensity of the main characters holding hands for the first time. Or finally confessing their feelings in the middle of a battle rather than having a fade-to-black scene.

When I came up for air, I realized I wasn’t writing pure fantasy or pure dystopian—I was writing dystopian fantasy. Which is perfect for me because I love to blend sci-fi and fantasy elements.

From these inspirations, I created a futuristic kingdom discriminating against and imprisoning fire wielding humans—descendants of an ancient accident—because they are viewed as “other”. Since it’s a long-standing real-world problem, its inclusion in the story felt organic. The protagonist’s orphan status, a result of past genocide, is consistent with the dystopian setting.

Pure sci-fi element stories aren’t really my thing. You see, I’ve always been drawn to blending sci-fi and fantasy where futuristic tech and elemental powers coexist. One of my readers said that she was a fantasy reader that fancied herself a sci-fi queen. And that’s something I hear from a lot of fantasy readers. They’ll watch sci-fi, but they won’t read it.

Maybe it’s because I grew up on Disney princess movies and Star Trek. Maybe it’s because I was obsessed with Lord of the Rings but also devoured The Handmaid’s Tale. My obsession with combing sci-fi and fantasy with romance subplots has firmly taken root in my stories. Elements from all my favorite stories usually weave their way into my worlds—especially the beautiful dresses for those swoony dance scenes.

I say all of this because the inspiration of a story can be complicatedly woven with a multitude of decisions. I suppose everything from an author’s life makes its way into a book they create. Even though it started with a single sentence from my husband mentioned while having a headache, it was a lifetime of reading, writing, and dreaming that brought Rising Ember, the first book in the Forbidden Chronicles universe, to life.

Want to explore this world of clean, romantic sci-fi fairytales? The spark of this alliance starts right here.

Sara Wright

YA dystopian fantasy

High-stakes—elemental powers—no-spice

Sarawrightbooks.com