Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

The Rogue

Home
Religious Music & Entertainment
Teen Author Boot Camp 2014: Interview with Sara Larson

Teen Author Boot Camp 2014: Interview with Sara Larson

Last updated on: February 27, 2014 at 8:21 am by Jonathan Ryan

Teen Author Boot Camp 2014: Interview with Sara Larson 2014-02-27T08:21:11-06:00 Jonathan Ryan

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

(We’re less than a week away from Teen Author Boot Camp and I can’t wait. It seems as if Utah has more YA writers than you can possibly imagine, and they’re all pretty great. Sara Larson is no exception. She did me the honor of agreeing to an interview as she talks about writing and why teaching teen writers is so important to her)

How did you get into writing?

Writing has always been an integral part of who I am—I honestly can’t remember a time when I didn’t write. I even have notebooks full of my stories from second and third grade to prove it! I actively began trying to get published after my first son was born, but it took me quite a few years to finally achieve my goal. I’m just so thrilled to finally see my book on a shelf, after a lifetime of hoping to someday be a published author!

What does your “writing day” look like?

With three young children, it is usually…chaotic. I have to carve out time to write wherever I can—naptimes, after they’re in bed for the night, early in the morning, just whenever I can squeeze it in! Sometimes I’ll even resort to taking them to a playland where they can run wild while I sit at a table with my laptop, just to sneak in an extra half an hour of writing.

Tell us about Defy and some of the themes you wanted to explore.

DEFY is about Alexa Hollen, who is forced to disguise herself as a boy and serve in the king’s army. Alex uses her quick wit and fierce sword-fighting skills to earn a spot on the elite prince’s guard, but soon learns that she’s not the only one with dangerous secrets. There’s sword fighting, magic, political intrigue, romance—basically, all the good stuff! DEFY actually came from a very difficult period in my life, when I lost someone I loved. I was so upset by his death that I couldn’t write anything, but a friend of mine told me to stop trying to write a book and just write what I was feeling. So that’s exactly what I did. When I wrote that first scene I didn’t really have a plan for it to go anywhere—so I didn’t consciously set out to explore any themes. But the characters wouldn’t leave me alone so I quickly became interested in discovering who they were and how they ended up where they were. Though it came from a place of grief, the story really took on its own life. It became a story of survival and moving forward, a story of what true courage and strength is, and a story about love and hope (even in the most desperate of situations) and risking everything for the chance of a better future.

Why are you participating in Teen Author book camp?

I’ve heard such great things about TABC and I am so excited to be a part of it this year! As I said, I’ve always written, and I can’t even imagine how much I would have loved an opportunity to go to a conference like this as a teenager. It’s such a great concept—to give teenagers a chance to begin pursuing their dreams now, instead of waiting until they’re adults (like I did). And that’s pretty much why I wanted to take part in it, to be able to do what I can for teenagers like me, who love to write and dream of being published someday. I can’t wait for March 8!

What future projects are on your plate?

I am currently working on the sequel to DEFY with my editor, which will be out early in 2015, plus a couple of other projects. Hopefully you will see many more books from me in the coming years!

Check out Defy in book outlets everywhere….

Geek Books

Geek Culture

Geek Entertainment

Teen Author Boot Camp

Teen Author Boot Camp

Young Adult

Previous Post

February 19, 2014

Teen Author Boot Camp 2014: Interview with Tyler Jolley

Next Post

March 3, 2014 Teen Author Boot Camp 2014: Agent Amy Jameson

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Alien Life ASMR Book Reviews Careers in Writing and Filmmaking Catholic Imagination Christmas miracles DC Trinity War Articles Ebola Faith Family Entertainment Fangirl Raves Filmmaking Geek Books Geek Comics Geek Culture Geek Entertainment Geek Gaming Geek Girl Geek Goes Catholic Geek Goes Catholic Geek Literature Geek Movies Geek Music Geek Sports Geek Tech Geek TV Ghost Bear Ramblings God's Not Dead Coverage Grace Unplugged Coverage Ham on Nye Coverage (Yeah, we went there) HWA Stuff Indie Artists Interviews Jonathan Ryan Book News Kardashians Lord of the Rings Mark Driscoll Movie Reviews Parenthood Pixie Perfect Salt Lake City Comic Con 2014 Social Issues Teen Author Boot Camp The Conjuring Coverage The Michigan Dog Man Adventures Uncategorized Writing

Select a Month November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was the Amalekite king spared by Saul, contrary to God's command?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Abner Ish-bosheth Agag Goliath