Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara B. Larson.
Hi Sara B. , it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’ve been writing stories my entire life. In my author bio, it references a “Little Mermaid” notebook that I wrote “books” in when I was in 3rd grade and that is real–I still have it! I dreamt of being the youngest person to ever get published, but google didn’t exist when I was a teenager and I had no idea what to do, so that didn’t happen. But as a young mom in my twenties, I decided to finally figure it out and pursue my lifelong dream. It took years and multiple manuscripts, but I finally sold my first book to Scholastic and DEFY was released on January 7, 2014! I’d love to say that it was all smooth sailing from then on, but it definitely has been a series of ups and downs, triumphs and setbacks, over the years. But I have persevered and now have 9 published books: 8 YA fantasies, and my first adult contemporary romance, that just released on June 2nd. My 10th book is coming out next May!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Absolutely not! Publishing is a hard business no matter where you land on the success scale. I have had some incredibly amazing moments and successes in my career, but also some really hard knocks. It took me eight years of actively writing and pursuing publication before my first book hit the shelves–and there were some very hard low points, hundreds of rejections, and even having to leave my first agent, before DEFY made it to bookstores. It didn’t end there though, even after the success of my DEFY trilogy, Scholastic actually said no to the next book I pitched them. Thankfully they loved the next one I wrote, and published Dark Breaks the Dawn. But I ended up switching houses with my next series, Sisters of Shadow and Light, and things were going really well–until Covid hit and the entire industry was hit with a terrible blow. My editor was laid off (even though she was a senior editor), and I was orphaned at my publisher. My sequel, Warriors of Wing and Flame, released the week of the 2020 election in the middle of Covid. . . so, as you can imagine, it did not do nearly as well as they’d hoped. I spent years after that writing, on submission, taking breaks from writing, and trying to figure out if there was still a place for my stories on shelves–and if I even wanted to keep writing. (I definitely did, but man, there were some low, hard places I hit during those years!) Ultimately, I refused to give up, and my next YA fantasy, A Promised Vengeance (a fantasy retelling of the Count of Monte Cristo with a female main character) came out last October. And I also made a dream of writing contemporary romance a reality when my current agent sold Every Beat After (Return to Me meets Beauty and the Beast, where the main character is struggling to save her family’s Swedish bakery in Scottsdale), that released a couple of weeks ago, and my next book, When We Were Everything, comes out May 4, 2027!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’ve already shared some of what my books are about, but to expound on this particular question, I think what sets my writing apart is that it is “no-spice”, which makes it accessible to ALL readers, but it isn’t cheesy or immature, like some people might assume. My readers, teens and adult, seem to love the emotional depth and romantic tension in my stories, as well as the intense plots and memorable characters, including the side characters, not just the main ones in my books. I love doing school visits, and have traveled inside and out of Utah visiting middle and high schools, giving presentations on what it takes to actually accomplish your goals–to make your dreams a reality, and advocating for literacy in their lives. I love connecting with the students I talk to and seeing them light up. I also love doing book club visits with adult readers. I’m an extrovert, which is rare among authors, so I actually enjoy doing events!
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was a voracious reader, and definitely considered a nerd. I was tall, with glasses, always reading or writing, so I was called things like “The walking dictionary” and “the jolly nerd giant”. I didn’t really have friends until a few close ones in middle school and high school. I was always mature for my age, very precocious, and actually often made friends with my teachers, or other adults in my life, rather than the girls my age. I was interested in EVERYTHING and had a passion for learning about as much as I possibly could. Beyond wanting to be an author, I also wanted to be a tornado chaser, a marine biologist, a doctor, an actress, and on and on.
Pricing:
- I offer editing services, when I’m able to. Pricing is on my website.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.SaraBlarson.com
- Instagram: saraBLarson
- Facebook: Author Sara B. Larson
- Other: Threads: SaraBlarson
