First Light Blog Post and Guest Post #EpicFantasy

 

A promise filled with hope in a world not meant for dreamers

First Light

Tales of the Vanguard: Rune Saga Book 1

by Verity Rose

Genre: Epic Fantasy

In a world struggling with political and religiousdifferences, eighteen-year-old Arkrune—”Rune” to his friends—dreamsof something greater than the quiet life in his small village of Locke. Trainedby his stern but loving father, a renowned blacksmith and former warrior, Runesets his sights on joining the famous monster fighting guild known as theVanguard.

When Rune embarks on his journey to the city of Hilden to pursue his destiny,he carries with him more than just a finely crafted sword—but also a mysterytied to his bloodline and the dormant power within him. Along the way, Runeforms bonds with battle-hardened warriors, fends off deadly attacks by monstersand men alike, and begins to uncover the hidden strengths he didn’t know hepossessed.

 

**New Release – Oct 25!**

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Verity Rose grew up in a blink and you’ll miss it Indianatown where the school library doubled as an escape hatch. She wrote her firstfantasy scenes at thirteen, lost the thread for a while, wrestling withundiagnosed ADHD and mental health potholes. She rediscovered her voice afterbecoming a mom and stumbling into a gaggle of online book nerds who egged heron. Armed with a social work degree from Ball State and a lifelong convictionthat characters are as real as the hands on the keyboard, she now pours thatpeople first empathy into stories that refuse to stay quiet.

When she isn’t tormenting her characters, Verity is probablyreverse engineering a Korean street food recipe, sourcing single origin coffeebeans from ethical roasters, or hoarding trash in Dragon Age or Skyrim. Herliterary inspiration is equal parts Rick Riordan’s mythic swagger, SuzanneCollins’ high stakes heart, and John Flanagan’s cozy camaraderie.

Verity was raising her family (and her caffeine tolerance)amid Indiana cornfields and now adventures in the Pacific Northwest with them.She’s always down to swap book recs, coffee tips, or preferred RPG builds.

 

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Guest Post

How long have you been writing?

I have been writing on and off for about fifteen years really! There were some gaps in there, many larger than others, but I started at twelve or thirteen and am still doing it now at twenty-eight!

Do the characters all come to you at the same time or do some of them come to you as you write?

I am a pantser by nature with writing. Almost all of the characters just popped in my head as I went. Their names and personalities just kind of come in and I flush them out in my notes after.

What kind of research do you do before you begin writing a book?

Almost none. I let my ADHD control my life. Unfortunately that sometimes means doing research on medieval blacksmithing techniques for four hours when I only wanted to know if copper makes an alloy with steel and then deciding to make a new fantasy metal instead while using only the blacksmithing techniques I found in the first original ten minutes of research.

Do you see writing as a career?

I hope to make it one someday, but I am content if I don’t. My number one thing is to write out the stories of the worlds I create and hope that someone other than just me enjoys them. As long as that happens, I am pretty content with my life!

Do you read yourself and if so what is your favorite genre?

 I love to read! I read mostly fantasy stories with romance plots in them. Every story I read has to have some form of romance in it, no matter if it’s closed- or open-door. I also require my stories I read to have a happy ending, because the world is really sad and I don’t need to be made even more sad.

Do you write one book at a time or do you have several going at a time?

I usually have several things going on at once and switch between them periodically. I think right now I have four active book projects with two being under a different pen name in the future with a wholly different audience.

Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?

I try to flirt the line with both. Being original is very important, but cliches exist for a reason. Not every cliche needs to be avoided or flipped on their head because they work for a reason. Also, many of them I enjoy. That’s also my other focus, I honestly write for myself and my wife mostly. If I write for others, I feel like it… cheapens the story. My goal is to tell the story of the characters I create and the world they live in, and do so in a way that I enjoy. I only hope that others enjoy it too. If they don’t, they don’t. If they do, then great! Either way is fine by me.

If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

Don’t stop like I did. I can’t imagine where I would be if I didn’t lose almost a decade of practice.

How long on average does it take you to write a book?

Way too long, if I’m being honest. First Light took well over a year to write and I need to speed that process up!

Do you believe in writer’s block?

YES! Writer’s block is real and the way to get through it is dependent on the person. Looking for advice to get over writer’s block is good and when you look for those tips you will find a billion different ways to get over it. That’s because there are a billion different people giving you suggestions. You may have to hunt for the ones that work for you and sometimes you have to save a few in case they might work later. The big thing I say about writer’s block is: don’t beat yourself up over it. If you stress yourself out over writer’s block, the block will only get worse. From my other author friends, this has been largely the case.