1 Author, 7 Questions: Taylor J. LaRue
OBSESSED does not even begin to cover the way I feel about Steelborn! The way I would like to dive into this world and wrap it around myself like a cloak! Reya is the badass heroine of all badass heroines, and I am chomping at the bit for book two! We got the chance to sit down with the mastermind behind it all, Taylor J. LaRue, and ask her all about her writing process, what inspired Steelborn, and what we might expect from book two!
What was your initial inspiration for Steelborn?
Everything started with Reya. I came up with the idea for Steelborn in high school, and the flashbacks we see of Reya in the forge with her father are true to some of my earliest imaginings for the saga. I wrote Reya’s story over the years chronologically, starting when she was a child, slowly discovering the world she lived in and how it would change her. But it wasn’t until I decided on the secret of Etellinian Steel that I felt like I truly unlocked the heart of the story.
Can you describe your writing process? Are you more of a pre-plotter or do you let the plot develop as you write?
I’m a plantser, so I fall right in between. I do outline, but only to about the 70-75% mark. I always try to keep the ending open to leave room for discovery. There’s nothing more exciting to me than watching Reya and Caelan take the reins of the story. For me, this is where the storytelling magic happens.
Let’s talk about Reya Connery, the main character of Steelborn and in my mind because she is badass, I love her so much! She’s such a complex and interesting character – what was it like tooling out her personality and her characterization?
Reya has always felt like a close friend. Growing up, I think that she was someone I needed. I didn’t always know what to say as a teenager, but she did. I didn’t always stop to analyze the situations I was in; instead, I led with my heart and my emotions. Reya led with patience and cunning. She became a vessel for my courage growing up, and also my rage. And in turn, her world became my safe space and my escape when this world got too heavy.
Of course we need to talk romance, and Reya and Caelan have impeccable chemistry! What was it like developing that chemistry and their relationship dynamic?
“He trains her” is one of my all-time favorite tropes. The proximity and physicality of training sequences provide opportunity for such delicious tension and banter. But it was important to me to strike a balance between them. Because Reya is neither naive or inexperienced. She’s lived a brutal life, and she can hold her own. Simply by nature of who he is, Caelan has a lot to teach her, but I wanted to give Reya her own smarts to fight with, skills she’s earned through her own unique lived experience.
I love the Sages and the development of the magic system in this book! How did you come up with and construct the magic system?
I always loved the notion of entwining color and magic, and this idea that you could see the magic on someone’s skin. That’s where the Sage’s Ire comes from. I often recommend Brandon Sanderson’s YouTube lectures to aspiring fantasy writers; they are freely available online, and there are dozens of them. I found his lectures on magic systems and worldbuilding especially helpful. One of Sanderson’s famous “laws of magic” is Limitations > Powers, which defines this notion that what magic can’t do is far more interesting than what it can do. As I was writing Steelborn, I tried to keep both the costs and limitations of magic top of mind.
What are some book you’ve been reading recently or would recommend?
I’m currently reading This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews and it is absolutely magnificent. I’ve also been on a cozy romantasy kick lately. I recently read Death Meets Cute by J. Penner and Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz. I highly recommend both!
What are you working on now? Any exciting ideas you can share?
I’m currently working on book two in The Steelborn Saga, and I’m having the best time. I’m terrible at keeping secrets, so I can’t share much without spoiling you! But it’s safe to say that readers can expect more adventure, more spice, and new dangers.
Introducing an epic, slow burn enemies-to-lovers romantasy novel about a heroine forged in steel and rage, and the cursed immortal who might turn out to be as much her salvation as she is his, perfect for fans of Danielle L. Jensen and Callie Hart.
This DELUXE LIMITED EDITION is available while supplies last and features:
- Gilded silver edges
- Illustrated endpapers
- A foil-stamped case cover
- Special effects on the jacket
Never run. Never bow. Never die. Reya Connery became the Crimson Dagger, the most notorious thief in Rhiterra, by following a strict set of rules. One: There is no honor among thieves. Two: A good blade is key to any negotiation. Three: Only the dead keep secrets. And Reya has a secret that must be kept at all costs. But when a heist goes wrong on the eve of paying off her debt to a ruthless crime lord, Reya may need a new set of rules. And lots of coin. Fast.
Enter Caelan Halcyon, an immortal warrior whose magic makes him a valuable target—if the curse inching closer to his heart doesn’t kill him first. There’s just one person who might be desperate enough to try and get their hands on the fabled cure in time to save his life, someone whose legend claims they can steal anything: the Crimson Dagger. A male of honor, Caelan loathes everything the beautiful, cocky thief represents, yet knows that Reya is his last hope for survival.
Their search takes them to the edge of the known world, where Reya discovers that there is far more at stake than her and Caelan’s own lives. Now, Reya must confront deadly foes, her growing attraction to the immortal who is as lethal as his jawline is perfect, and the rage she’s spent a lifetime trying to bury. This time, her daggers aren’t going to cut it, and the fate of all magic-born hangs in the balance.
Enter a world ruled by tyrants and thieves, where magic is outlawed, revolution brews, desire is dangerous, and an impossible cure may prove deadlier than the curse.
Fan-favorite tropes include:
- Slow-burn romance
- Enemies-to-lovers
- Deadly curses
- Tortured immortal hero
- Secret identity
- Forced proximity
- Found family
- Only one saddle