The time it was about Dark Breaks the Dawn

I’ve been a fan of Sara B. Larson since her very first book.  I loved the synopsis of Dark Breaks the Dawn {and hello, gorgeous cover}, so when the blog tour email came around, I couldn’t sign up fast enough.

Before we get to Sara’s interview, let’s check out her new book!

Title: Dark Breaks the Dawn
Author: Sara B. Larson
Pub. Date: May 30, 2017
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Pages: 320
Find it: Indiebound | B&N | Amazon | Goodreads

On her eighteenth birthday, Princess Evelayn of Eadrolan, the Light Kingdom, can finally access the full range of her magical powers. The light looks brighter, the air is sharper, and the energy she can draw when fighting feels almost limitless.

But while her mother, the queen, remains busy at the war front, in the Dark Kingdom of Dorjhalon, the corrupt king is plotting. King Bain wants control of both kingdoms, and his plan will fling Evelayn into the throne much sooner than she expected.

In order to defeat Bain and his sons, Evelayn will quickly have to come into her ability to shapeshift, and rely on the alluring Lord Tanvir. But not everyone is what they seem, and the balance between the Light and Dark comes at a steep price.

In the first book of a remarkable duology, Sara B. Larson sets the stage for her reimagining of Swan Lake — a lush romance packed with betrayal, intrigue, magic, and adventure.

Sounds good, right?

 

1. Please give the elevator pitch for Dark Break the Dawn.

A fantasy reimagining of Swan Lake.

2. What sparked the idea?

I’ve wanted to do a retelling of SWAN LAKE for years, and have tried (and failed) more than once. I could never get further than a few chapters in any of the iterations before I had to admit they weren’t working. But you never know when an idea you’ve been working on will finally blossom. In the case of DARK BREAKS THE DAWN, one fortuitous conversation with a healthcare professional, and the advice he gave me, sparked the inspiration to finally come up with Evelayn’s story.

3. Why do you love Evelayn and why should we root for her?

The idea for Evelayn’s story came from my own struggles with feeling like I had succeeded at something, only to subsequently feel as though I was actually a failure. Evelayn’s story was born from that place—from a place of wanting to show a character who thought she had achieved her goal, only to have her victory ripped away again. Would she keep going and ultimately triumph? The framework of Swan Lake was the perfect fit for her story and that’s how I finally came up with DARK BREAKS THE DAWN and BRIGHT BURNS THE NIGHT. I love Evelayn because she helped me work through my own feelings of failure and gave me reason to believe I could achieve my goals once more. We should root for her because we all experience this to some degree in life—thinking we’ve got it figured out, that things are going well, only to have the rug pulled out from under us. Rooting for her is kind of like rooting for ourselves in our own unfinished stories.

4. Which is easier to write: kissing or fighting?

I LOVE writing kissing scenes. Fighting scenes are fun, too, but the kissing scenes are often my reward for writing the rest.

5. Without spoilers, what was your favorite scene to write?

One of my favorite scenes to write takes place in a cave, when Evelayn risks her life to get something she needs to accomplish her goal. (Trying not to be spoilery!)

Speed {ish} round:

1. You find out that you’re being published for the first time. Describe the next 5 minutes.

I was in my parent’s basement, because we lived there with our three children, while we were inbetween homes. It had been such a long, hard road, that when my agent finally said those words over the phone, “You are going to be a published author”, I immediately started to cry. But I didn’t want him to know, so I tried to make my voice sound normal and probably just ended up sounding like a strangled cat! As soon as we hung up I called my husband. He rushed home and brought me a bouquet of flowers and a carton of Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food ice cream to celebrate.

2. What three things would you take to a desert island?

My family, my books, and a hammock. I can’t sleep on the ground.

3. You can only read one book for the rest of your life. What is it?

The Harry Potter series. (Is that cheating?)

4. What book character would you want to date and who would you want to be your BFF?

This changes based on what books I’ve read most recently, but currently I would totally date Rhysand (if by date you mean be his High Lady), and I would love to be BFFs with Pia from the BURNING GLASS series or Britta from EVER THE HUNTED.

5. What is the one thing about publishing you wish someone would have told you?

That there is no rush to get published. It’s better to publish your best work, even if it takes years. (AKA I’m so glad I didn’t get the first few books I queried published, even though I got close and desperately wanted them to be at the time! It was very fortuitous for me that I didn’t get published until DEFY.)

6. You wake up and discover you are Bella in Twilight. You know how it plays out. What do you do differently? {Huge thanks to Bookish Broads for letting me use this question!}

Oh, wow. Well…first of all I wouldn’t stare at a wall for months after Edward left. And I would have chosen Jacob. Even though I was originally team Edward, the more I’ve thought about that series, the more I’ve realized Edward was a bit scary. Not because he was a vampire, because he was controlling. Jacob was truly there for her. And it would have avoided that whole creepy imprinting on Renesmee thing.

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SARA B. LARSON is the author of the acclaimed young adult fantasy Defy trilogy: Defy, Ignite, and Endure. She can’t remember a time when she didn’t write books—although she now uses a computer instead of a Little Mermaid notebook. Sara lives in Utah with her husband and their children. She writes in brief snippets throughout the day (while mourning the loss of nap time) and the quiet hours when most people are sleeping. Her husband claims she should have a degree in “the art of multitasking.” When she’s not mothering or writing, you can often find her at the gym repenting of her sugar addiction.

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Huge thanks to Rockstar Book Tours for the invite and to Sara for taking the time! Make sure you’re checking out the rest of the blog tour for all sorts of goodies and keep scrolling for a giveaway!

**Good Luck!!**

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