Looking Back At Our Interview w/ Sarah A. Parker

Welcome, welcome, welcome to the Fantasy Fangirls podcast where two sisters dive deep into beloved Fantasy Lore character scenes theories and more! I'm Lexi, older sister and fantasy lore nerd. And I'm Nicole, younger sister and romantic at heart. And today we are thrilled to reshare an episode where we interview Sarah A Parker. This is actually a conversation we recorded with Sarah back in summer 2024. Oh my goodness, that was two years ago, right after we both devoured When the Moon Hatched for the first time. So this is going to be a fun time traveling back two years before we did our When the Moon Hatched deep dive. While we have a short section at the top of the interview where we talk no spoilers, please listen out for our big spoiler warning where we then dive into all of the things When the Moon Hatched. And bless Sarah, we did not hold back even then with asking questions about the other, Kazari, Kaelis and all the things that had our minds spinning during our When the Moon Hatched coverage. But with that said, if you don't know how the book ends with little knee flapping around, then please go finish the book, scream, and then we'll be here when you're done. Next we have fantasy fangirls, our adults who say adult things about adult books. In other words, friends, this podcast is rated R. If rave and con curse, then the three of us do too. So please be mindful of those little listening ears. Additionally, we are so excited to see you at upcoming live events. We are so excited to partner with Tattered Cover and Booking Gather for several upcoming release parties in Denver, Colorado. Today, or I guess tonight, May 18th, we are hosting our Ballad of Falling Dragons Release Party. ACOTAR 6 Midnight Release Party is on October 26th and ACOTAR 7 Midnight Release Party is on January 11th, 2027. Tickets to all of those events are in the show notes. There's a few more general admission tickets for our live show tour as well, starting in Chicago on September 9th, Charlotte, North Carolina on September 24th, and New York City on September 27th. Then of course we will be at the Dragon Gauntlet in Boyan City, Michigan, September 11th through 12th. And we'll be going to Land Con in Edinburgh, Scotland, July 16th through 18th in 2027. Links to these events are in the show notes and on our website. Last thing before we jump into this when the moon hatched interview with Sarah A. Parker, if you love fantasy fangirls and want more events, more content, more community, and so much more, please check out Fantasy Fan Club. We have six media network tiers you can join, three of which are fantasy fangirls specific. 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What an incredible two years it's been since we originally recorded this with Sarah and and we really hope that you enjoy this episode. And now welcome, welcome, welcome, Sarah A Parker. Welcome, welcome, Sarah A Parker to the fantasy fangirls podcast. We're so happy to have you here. We are just so excited. We are both huge fans of when the moon hatched, like top, like really and truly like top five fantasy books. And that is saying something because we read a lot of it. And so we're just so honored to have you on here today and to answer all of our questions. It's an absolute honor to be here. Thank you for having me. Thank you for taking the time to interview me. And yeah, I'm just so excited for those. It's going to be so much fun. And I can't wait. Can you please give our listeners a quick introduction about who you are, your books, you as an author, where you're from, all of that good stuff. Yeah, of course. So I'm originally from New Zealand. I moved over to Australia when I was about 19. But living in New Zealand, I grew up on a farm. You know, lots of open space around me. I grew up with my Nana living sort of just, you know, a few steps away in like a little flat that we built for her on the farm. And so, yeah, really sort of, you know, very big family guides, lots of animals around and just all that sort of stuff. So yeah, I moved over when I was 19, like I said, and met my husband. And then we had three kids. We had William Wynnot was 22 and then Bella 18. No, sorry, Indy 18 months after that, Bella 18 months after that. So for a while we had three kids, three and under. And we got two, two under. I got two under two. So it was 16 months apart. I feel so much when you say that. Oh, yeah. Oh, man. Mayhem. Absolutely mayhem. For a while there, I'm like, I don't know how we actually survived, to be honest. But anyway, here we are. Live and kicking. Yeah, when Bella was about when Bella was born and she was about sort of six months old, I was at the time sort of running my own little clothing business, kids clothing designs. And I kind of reached the point where, you know, my designs are getting sort of ripped off and sold on, you know, on like Alibaba and whatnot and all my pictures and stuff were being taken. And I was like, well, you know, I made that point where I, they need to go big and get things manufactured overseas or, you know, and I had these stories that had always been in my head. And I was like, I said to my husband, you know, I'm going to start writing. Like I had been writing prior to that, but I hadn't been spending, you know, the majority of my energy on it. I'm going to start writing these stories that are in my head and, you know, give me until the kids are all at school. And if I'm not sort of, people aren't interested in my stories by then, then I will tilt again. So Bella is now seven and she's our youngest one. She's now seven and here we are. So yeah, we've got a big dog and I've got lots of plants and I just, I'm living my dream. So that's just fantastic. Well, congratulations. Seriously. And, and so while we're talking about all of that, I know that today we're going to be focusing on when the moon hatched, but we'd love to hear about your other books. Is it a completed series, the crystal bloom series or? No, it's not. No. So books one, two and three are currently out. I actually was supposed to be working on book four when I wrote moon, but they were, the crystal bloom series is very, I've got to dig very deep emotionally to write those stories. And so I, yeah, I needed a breath and that's where moon came from. So I'm now working on book two and the moon full series and book four and crystal bloom and tandem. So not finished. There's still another, at least two books. I'm going to try and wrap it up in two more, two more big ones, but yeah, I've still got all my favorite stuff that I've been so looking forward to writing in that series is coming up in the next couple of books. So I'm just really excited. Wow. That's fantastic. This is the biggest question that we have been asked by all of our listeners, like how many books are in the, you know, when the moon hatched series, when is book two coming out? And so we said, don't worry. It'll be one of the first questions that we asked Sarah. So here we are asking you how many books are planned for this series? Can you give us any details or hints about book two? Yeah. So there's going to be three books. I don't think it'll go over more than that. I've purposely sort of shaped the story so that I'm hopefully going to wrap it up in the three. I like the, you know, there's three different dragon breeds. There's, you know, there's three different areas of the world. I like that whole sort of, you know, and the story, it should wrap up in three. So yeah, that's the plan. And I, in regards to really say, obviously I'm trap hub now with moon. So I can't, you know, usually with the story, I finish it. I finished my final read through our upload and it's up. It's a bit different now. I once I finish, it's, you know, it goes to my editors in Harper Voyager and Harper Avan. And then they'll do the thing. And then we'll run, you know, arcs and stuff like that. So currently I should be finished writing what will be the second draft by October of this year. And then I will be passing it on to them. And I believe we will be hitting publish in the, so UK, it'll be round about next September, October, I believe. Yeah. So arcs will be getting better before then, but yeah, I'll be, by that stage, I'll be well into almost finished book three probably. So you mentioned you write two drafts. Is that like second draft? Like you write a first draft and then you go back and write an entire second draft. I'm not a writer. So this is fascinating information to me. No. So I, with my writing process, I actually, I do things a little bit funny. I first I get down on my dialogue and on my cues. And so that for me is not even a draft. That is just, that is like the whole book and dialogue basically. And it's almost like a script. I want to almost say like a screenplay. Yeah. Yeah. I've never heard of that done before. Yeah. Well, it's just, it's how it comes to me first. I'll, I'll be sitting in the shower and I'm just running through these conversations in my head. And that's the first thing that sort of, you know, that gets there for me. And then I, you know, and I visualise these scenes and I'm popping down cues in between the dialogue. And so that's what I start with basically. And then I go through and I write that into a book. And through that, you know, things will shift and change and some of these conversations will change and stuff. But I allow myself to be quite free with that. And then I'll go through and I will flesh out that first draft. And so that's usually, I'll go, I'm me going through every single chapter in depth and, you know, really making sure it's all giving the message that I'm wanting to give and hitting the points that I want it to hit. And that usually adds an extra 30 or so thousand words to a draft. So that's by the end of that, it's draft two. And then usually on my third draft, I'm going through and I'm trimming back and I'm making sure that things move fast. And you know, that I'm having overwritten certain things and stuff. So I've got a bit of a process, but yeah, it's all basically, I look at it like, I guess, say, you know, you're making things out of clay, you know, you're throwing the lump of clay down on the wheel. And that for me is, you know, the dialogue and the cues. I've got that. Then I'm shaping it up and shaping it in something that's the end of the first draft. Then I might, I'll let it dry and then I might glaze it. And then that's, you know, the next draft. And then I'm firing it. And you know, I look at it like kind of like that, I guess. So when it comes time to like editing and stuff like that, because you've done so much in-depth analysis, is, does that cut the editing time back typically? Well, I give my editors as much time as they need. Usually it's about a month with moon. I, my first editor had it for, yeah, if I think for about a month to six weeks, but that's two sweeps. So she's doing two sweeps on each chapter as she goes through. So I went over all those notes. They took me a couple of weeks. And this is after it's already been through better in Alpha as well. But then it went on to my second editor and she had it for about, I think, two and a half weeks, three weeks. And so she did one whole sweep, gave it back to me. I went through the notes, took me a couple of days, then did a whole another sweep and passed it back to me. So it was more fine a tune thing. So yeah. And just like, you know, reading for making sure that the points that, you know, doing a second whole read through of the book from start to finish, like just making sure those things for me that I'd picked out for her to say, keep an eye for this, keep an eye for this and those sorts of things. So yeah. So I guess it probably, I guess it, I don't know. I mean, I've never sort of worked in the other way. So I'm not sure if it does make it easier for them or not. If that's them. That's incredible. Yeah. Whatever works best for you. Like we all have our processes and I've tried, like for instance, like for us, but just getting our episodes prepared for our deep dives, we've tried to shift our how we do it and it's like, nope, no, no, no, I can't do it any other way. Like this is the way I do it. So I can absolutely appreciate that there. Well, I have a quick question in regards to you mentioned you have three books planned for the Moonfall series. Do you have any ideas of like prequels or novellas that you would want to write in this world in this lore as well? Yes, I do. I, as even as I was writing book one, I was saying to my, my better and our free to guess you might get that as well. But let's just wait and let's just get, let me get the first three out and we'll see. But yes, there is absolutely opportunity there, but I'm not going to promise anything. So yeah, there is definitely other stories in my head in the world that I would love to get down on paper and share with everybody. I love that. I like I love just how unique the world is. I'm so excited to talk more about that in a few moments. Can you give us any possible hints about the title of book two? I cannot. Okay. All right. Figure it out at least. Trickling stars. That's fine. I'm sure that'll be happening a lot this episode. So as a fantasy, especially with the high fantasy that when the Moon hatched is, are there any tools or resources that you have to keep track of the world? Because this world is dense. It's so beautiful and so dense. How do you keep track of it as you're writing? So yeah. Okay. So I actually came up with the world itself three years ago. So I've been walking the streets for a very long time. I was walking the streets for a much longer, like well before the actual story spoke to me. I did try and write a story in the world a couple of times and both times it wasn't giving me what I, you know, it wasn't, I just wasn't there for me. So I went back and scrapped both those and started fresh. But once it did speak to me, I was like, oh, that's it. That's it. So with that world and one of the things I did do once the story did speak to me is I sat down and I spent a month just writing down my law, writing down, you know, my characters writing, my name, everything, like getting everything down into this big master document that I had literally haven't looked at since, except to like check my names for things that I had that I'd put down. But that for me was like, I guess sketching out an outline and going, OK, that's what I've got to color inside of. I need to keep, you know, that's my outline. And so I guess that allowed me as well to know my characters better and to know, you know, their motives and all that sort of stuff and get into their heads easier without sort of I'm not very good at shooting blind. I'm definitely not a panster. I'm full on organized, you know, I don't thrive well in the chaos. You're a good company. No, I'm so jealous of writers that can just panse and can like write this incredible story with all this, you know, I guess detail and whatnot. I just like sitting there. I'm like, I've got a friend who does a Raven. She Raven Kennedy, she's just like, well, I'm like, how? Honestly, I've got to I'm full like full organized. Yeah, it's it just I have tried the other way. Hopeless, hopeless. I will literally sit on one chapter for like a week and a half trying to like find my way through the trees. It's shocking. So then I have a shower set and I'll sit there and I'll plan it out and I'll see it in my head and I'll be like, OK, and then I'll sit down and I'll write it. Now, right? We should all have ideas. I always come in showers. That is there's a little notepad like the waterproof notepad that you can put in your shower and like write ideas down as they come to you because you step out of the shower and you instantly forget every single brilliant multi-billion hour like idea that you just had. I do it on this. So I literally I this waterproof. I think I heard. Actually, I think I know. I see mine is too now. Thank you for reminding me. I'll sit there and I'll like literally have it sitting outside the door when I reach out and I'll tap down my note and put it down. I'll close my eyes, keep it thinking. So it's my thanks. If you can say without spoilers, what was the part of the writing process specifically with Moon that you decided to add the glossary? Was it all the stuff that you spent the month doing previously? Was that basically the glossary? That's when I first started building it. Yes. So so I had already like a like 15 made glossary for that point before I'd even sat down to write the first chapter. So, yeah. And obviously as I went through and, you know, I'm adding bits and pieces and I'm I guess deepening certain areas, I'm adding more to that glossary. And I got to the end and I was like, this is a really big glossary. I said to myself, should I cut this back and make this sort of easy to kill it? And I was like, no, no. Plus you were having a glossary. Like we love the glossary so much. So at first I will say I just tried reading it like almost like using it like as a study guide beforehand. And I finally had to kind of throw my hands up and be like, OK, there is no way I'm going to memorize this before and like haven't made any sense before I start the before I start the book. So it's like, OK, like really focus and like understand how time works and what not. And then, of course, like just how the story naturally goes. It all makes sense even without the glossary. But then it's like, oh, wait, like, what was that one thing? What was that dragon type again? And then being able to go back and it was so nice. I don't know. It was a very specific chapter that I looked at the glossary for the first time because I was listening to it on audio and I just kind of like listened on with the story. And then it cut to a very specific POV and I was like, what? I think initially I published it at the start, right? So people would, you know, it's right there. It's in your face. I think a lot of people felt like it was what's the word? Like you had to read it to be able to enjoy the story. Whereas I didn't sort of just pop it there and be like, you know, you read this or you're not going to understand it. I do kind of I try to, you know, give a background for each thing as I'm going through. But I also know that that can get very if you go too hard on that, it can be it can bog you down as a reader. It's, you know, feels like well-building, dumped on you. And so I, yeah, I put it at the front. So it's there just in case people know it's there. I also didn't want to have it at the back initially because there is a family tree at the back. And I did not want anyone to see the family tree before the end of the story. So then the UK Commonwealth version, I knew as I kept at the front, the glossary, but in the UK Commonwealth versions, they popped it to the back. And that is where the family tree is as well. So just if you're going back to look at the glossary, do not pay any attention to the family tree. Yeah, yeah. Basically. So since time works differently in When the Moon Hatched, can you give us more insight into how like time and aging work, you know, understand specifically that they are not immortal, but they do have longer lives than, you know, our human equivalents. And of course, you know, one phase equals 1000 cycles, which is I did not do the exact math here, but it's approximately two and a half years. Do we, as again, humans here consider that as one year as far as aging works? So 18 phases is essentially, you know, it's same as our 18 phases. You know, it is you are now an adult and, you know, if they would reach their prime between sort of, you know, 18 to 30 phases, that's, you know, that's that you're in your prime. And from, but then, you know, obviously they're not immortal, but they do have very long lifespans. So some have very long lifespans. And obviously, it depends as well on, you know, there's the Dragonblood Stone as well. And there's all these different things that I can't yet talk about, but there are ways to prolong a lifespan as well. But yes, they have much longer lifespans than us. So, so how old for a, I'll say normal Faye, how old would they be when they hit like elderly? elderly would be quite a lot, you know, with thousands of phases. So yes. OK, cool. Yeah, so somebody would pray here. They've been around for a while. Nice. All right. Cool. Cool. I love that. I just wanted to ask that question because I just love how time does work differently. And it takes like just a moment to get used to. But then it's like, I love it so much. I just love it. All right. So speaking of this world, if you had to live in one of the three realms in the world, would you live in the burn, fade or shade? And why without spoilers? For me, it would be the shade and purely because I would really like to have a moon bloom. And OK. Obviously, moon blooms can't go into the sun for long. So it would that would be why. I also I love the architecture there as well. I feel like it's very ethereal and I yeah, I mean, I'm just a sucker for that sort of architecture. So yeah. All right. So which God would you want to talk to slash, you know, which element would you want to wield? Is that the right way of saying it? Like element wielded. OK, cool. I do have an answer that I can't say because it would be spoiler. So I'm not going to say that. What I would instead say is I would love to hear rain because I love some Melling Holly music. But the I think in regards to who I think would be most interesting to hear would be quite she is just wild and unleashed and just yeah, I adore her. All right, friends, we are now moving into the second part of this interview where we are talking spoilers, spoilers, spoilers for the entirety of When the Moon Hatch. So if you have not finished this book, this is our polite but very firm ask for you to leave this episode and come back when you have finished the book. You mentioned a few years ago. It went from an idea to writing. What were some of the biggest inspirations when it comes to both the world building and then simultaneously also to this story that you ended up going with? And it became like this incredible book before us. Like I mentioned earlier, that the world came to me first. I was literally in the bath and I could and suddenly I could see this world that wasn't spinning. I could see these dragon moons, you know, in the sky. I can see some of them falling. So for me, like that was the catalyst. You know, that was for me the big bang in my head. And I knew that I needed to like I knew this was going to be a rich world and that I needed to kneel to it, I guess, and give it the time and the love that it deserved. So it wasn't sort of a world where I could just pump out a book now. And, you know, the reason it isn't and is so in so much depth, the world building is so dense is because I took my time with it, you know. So again, like it was literally pieced together brick by brick. So I would be wandering around, but oh, and then I'd come against a like a plot hole or a reason why that can't work. And so I'll be OK, well, I'll take a few steps back and I'd, you know, break down a few bricks and then I'll build it up again a different way. So this was three years of me doing that and just, you know, working out, I guess, my limitations in the world and building it like I was literally building a world on a video game or something. So yeah, I the way that's how the world sort of came to be. And obviously, I think because I saw these dragons and the world works such a certain way, you know, with the sun at the top and the shade down the bottom, I had these very severe limitations to work around. And, you know, because of, you know, I was like, OK, well, then there's going to be people living here and people living here, but they would all be they'll be different, you know, they're different languages. And, you know, so there's definitely it leans towards certain areas. And I was just following those bunny rabbits, basically, you know, that are hopping through the world and going, OK, yeah, all right, no, well, that doesn't work that way. And then going back. That's so much. Yeah. So like literally it all came from me just wandering the streets and asking myself questions and going and hitting dead ends and going, no, turning back around and starting again. And it was a very, very slow process. But I love it. I love a good slow process. I feel like, you know, it's you can really tell when, you know, when I'm reading the story, I can really tell when, you know, when it's when time's been taken. And then with the actual story itself, I mean, I really do like to let the characters speak to me. So yes, I had an idea about how the characters want to be, but it wasn't until I actually got into writing the story and they started speaking to me that I sort of realised fully what their personalities were like. Khan, for instance, I had a very specific idea in mind of how his voice was going to be. And then we got on page and he was like, no, man. We love that. Yeah, he's like, I was learning. I was like, I was long for the ride just as much as my readers are when it comes to him, which was really fun. I just love writing that. So I love reading that man. So thank you. You mentioned that you write dialogue first. Was there a specific scene from When the Moon Hatch that you wrote that you're like, that was the most fun dialogue to write? Yeah. So there's the scene where Rave is in she's getting sentenced. And I just I loved writing that scene. I was I was in my stride when it was when it was the trial and she was like that. Oh, my gosh. I love like I just absolutely love her character. So she's so much fun. And it was really fun like with her, I'll say sassiness and then kind of like up against the writing, which was very poetic. And they somehow worked really well together. It was just like so much fun. And but yeah, like during that scene, I was like, oh, I think that was actually when I texted Nicole being like, OK, I have a new favorite. Yeah. I think it was when it was the when you're looking in the mirror and fisting your micro cock, I was like, I'm so. Well, and then even goes on to say like, yep, that's when I knew that was my girl. OK, that's actually funny. Something that you just said as well about the about, you know, the sort of floral writing and then with her and that kind of works well. So I actually when I first started writing here, I am my my Crystal Bloom series is quite florally, you know, or like mine. She's very floral in the way that she sees things. So, you know, that her writing here is specifically it's quite it's a slower pace because she kind of everything is very much very in depth and, you know, and very like the heavy heavy on the pros, I guess. And so when I came into right, right, I initially sort of, you know, when I was getting down to first sort of chapter and filling in the blanks and what not, between the dialogue, I was like, oh, you know, I had her quite florally and I had to go back and cut her right back because I realized that didn't meld with with her voice. And once I did that, I was off. So it's that first chapter. I kind of stumbled a little bit. I always stumble on first chapters in books. That's like my curse. But no, yeah. So I realized very quickly that she needed to be paired right back as far back as I could take her without, you know, while still kneeling to the way I write. So, yeah. I love it. Well, and then also in the diary entries, it I won't say it's like very florally because it does still feel very much like a diary entry, but she does still have that way of writing to like, of course, like it's your way of writing, but like she has that way of writing too. And so it didn't feel, I'll say out of place by any means. It was almost like that was like, like her thought her inner monologue was a great bridge between your writing style and her dialogue. So I just absolutely loved that. And you like us, you know, as soon as the big scene happened where it was like, I was Nicole and I were actually in a hotel room and we were listening to it at the moment. And I just like started like literally wandering around. Like I was like, oh, she's, she's already read this book, you know, once or twice already. And she's just having so much fun watching me like live react to all of it. And so now I've gone back through and had so much fun rereading, you know, very specific moments, especially all the diary entries where it's like, oh my gosh. And just like now knowing that it was rave. Remember everybody already said there are spoilers and it's just it creates such a new fun perspective of reading that. One of the things that Lexine I love is when you read a book and you're taking on this beautiful journey and then like this big thing happened and you reread the book and it's a different book. And that's exactly how this one feels. And the amount of like subtle foreshadowing you did from chapter one even with Conn and rave meeting for the first time. How, how do you do that? That's just really the blunt question I have. Well, I mean, from the start of like sitting down, I knew that I was going to be running two different timelines because book one really is about us understanding who rave really is. It's not about understanding, you know, like her backstory and getting her to a point where we understand, you know, her we understand Conn somewhat. And, you know, it's so that we've now got that kickboard to move forward with the rest of the plot with the story and with them, you know, so for me to get around to that point by the end of book one, I needed to run these, you know, these two different timelines. And so I, of course, as I mentioned earlier, that I had a whole, spent a whole month getting everything down, getting everything, all the backstories, everything down. So I had this whole entire, I think it was about four pages of just bullet points of everything that, you know, that Alawan had been through, you know, in that document. And so when I sat down to do the diary entries, I did them all at once. I spent about a week and a half just sitting down and writing, I was writing them in the shower, I was writing in the bath, I was writing them in the laying bed and I was, I was just writing nonstop, like I was actually here writing those diary entries and crying most of the time. And so I just, I just let her speak through me basically. And, but through that, of course, I knew what foreshadowing I needed to do. You know, those diary entries, they didn't change much from that first draft that I gave them. Obviously I went through and tidy things up, made sure, you know, that she's, she's, she spoke in a way that was understandable, but not a lot changed. So me writing the actual story, I knew what I was planting. You know, I knew what I knew. I had this other story in my head that I'm leaning towards. And I obviously, I do the dialogue first. So I, you know, I had all that down already before because I do things in such stages, I've got plenty of chance as I'm going through to make sure I am foreshadowing as much as I possibly can, because I love it. I love foreshadowing. I love going back and reading a story and it completely looking different. For anyone who's read my Crystal Bloom series, it's the same with that series, going back and reading from the start after each book, you know, it's things, other things light up. So it is, yeah, I, I, I don't think I could write a story with that foreshadowing. To be honest, I love it. You're a master at it. I think we both say that with full confidence, truly. Like I'm rereading it for the second time right now. And oh my gosh, it is like every other paragraph. And I say that in the best way possible. And like I was just getting the whole description of Constatus and like the dragons and how they're intertwined. And it's just like, oh my gosh, it is all right here in front of you. But like when you're reading at the first time, it's like, it's kind of like, oh, I wonder if that means something, but then you just kind of keep going on with the story because there's just so, so much of that. And now like reading back, it's like, oh my, like, oh my gosh. Yeah, so thank you for, for like, we just read it over and over again. And it's like, I can never get enough of this book because it's so different every single time. No, I'm so glad it's come across that way. And I was just going to say as well, I could, it's such a delicate balance because you don't want to give too much away and then ruin the story moving forward, right? So it's giving in just enough that, you know, it's, oh, maybe, but, you know, not so it's, so it is a bit of a, when I'm with my better readers as well, like my alpha readers usually know what's going on and what to look out for. I try to keep my better readers as much in the dark as possible because then I'm getting the organic responses and I'm, you know, I'm registering whether or not I've hit things right or I'm getting there, you know, the early reactions for things and, and then I can ask them, oh, you know, are you, is there anything, have you got any theories yet and that sort of stuff? So that's my first sort of testing the waters on and whether or not I've, I guess, brewed it right. Well, stay tuned for some of our next questions. Yeah, seriously. Before we get into that was, I want to go back to the glossary real quick because speaking up for shadowing, was writing the glossary or I guess, fine tuning glossary is a better word to put it. Were there little Easter eggs in the glossary? Because we noticed that Kazari is never mentioned as Tyros daughter. And that seemed very intentional. Was intentional. Yeah, yeah. So there are, there are absolutely little Easter Easter eggs everywhere, everywhere. So can you tell us more about the element magic and, you know, specifically how it works within society and even like, you know, which elements are more common? It seems like rain is the least common, at least that's the element that we hear the least about. To be able to, it's not just as simple as hearing, you know, one of these elements. It's also been able to understand, it's like learning a full language, right? And understanding that language and being able to speak it in a way, in the same way as well. And, you know, so there is so much, you know, to actually being able to wield effectively these elements. As we know, you know, Rave is very, you know, very good with welding clothes. She can, as we know, since we know this is a spoiler ape, that she can hear some of the others. Well, as well. But, you know, she ignores them or, you know, doesn't listen to them and cut herself off from them. So which means that obviously she's not going, even though she can hear them, doesn't necessarily she can't, you know, speak them with the elements needed and whatnot to be able to wield them in the same way, for instance, that can't can wield boulder. It's again, it's not just about hearing them. It's about being able to interact with them in a way that's understood both ways. So it is very rare for there to be somebody who can hear rain, for instance, to be able to wield her with enough finesse to be able to, for instance, you know, shift a cloud and stuff like that. So so there's different levels of being out, you know, a water, a blue bead, a very advanced blue bead is hard to come by. In regards to the way that they interact with society, for instance, we'll look at the fade as our main channel in there. So, for instance, the mines, there might be somebody who can interact with Claude, who's keeping that area, you know, aerated so that everyone can breathe down there as they're working. There might be a somebody who can world fire, who's keeping, you know, who's making sure that all the torches are well lit, for instance. This is just nuts and bolts, right? There might be somebody who can interact with Boulder in a simple way that that's ordering these holes to break open more and more. And then obviously, then there's people who can interact with with the elements that are then, you know, going through and getting the bloodstone out and whatnot. They're the grunt workers, I guess. So there's all these different ways that they do interact with the world that we will explore more in book two. Fokou can interact with Claude, for instance, would be more likely to be used in higher class in the military because Claude, you know, if you can pull, if you can pull air away, you can also stop fire. So, you know, it's a little bit more of like the I don't want to say all encompassing, but it's a little bit more can work with all the other elements in a very unique way while I'll say like fire is very, I don't want to say super straightforward, but it has its lane while Claude, like just kind of how she is, how her character is, is kind of everywhere and a little bit chaotic and can be. Yeah. It's insane that as well, though, like Claude, for instance, so obviously we see Ray, we see her wielding her very well, but that's so it's us. It seems common and easy, but it's not. So then a follow up question to all of that is, does lineage or which region you're from play a role in how powerful you are or which elements you are able to wield? Linear juice, not necessarily region, but linear juice. Awesome. Cool. So moving away from elements and into runes, can you give us some more insight on runes, how who can use them, how they work within this world? And I also do have a specific follow up question, but I'll let you go on these. So for a rune, the way I kind of picture them my head, it's very much like a say like a rocket scientist, right, with, you know, I sort of like advanced algebra and you know, all that sort of really clever stuff. Anybody can do math, right? But not everybody can do math to the point where you can build a rocket ship that's going to be able to navigate, you know, all of the things, different things that stop it from pushing up into the sky. So there are obviously those that have that that things come to the mezia, I guess they're now world people that, you know, that that sort of stuff comes to the mezia. So it's the same with a rune. If they've got an affliction for it, if they're finding that they understand it well, you know, it's these it's like, again, understanding a different language, but very complex, very, very complex and also being able to sketch these different rooms as well to each them. They are the takes energy just as with callus, I guess, giving empty space to the world to be built. It's the same with rooms you each one into existence. It takes something from you. So yeah, I guess, you know, they're not everywhere, but most people would be able to, if they, you know, if they put their mind to it, they would be able to do very, very basic stuff. But, you know, and saying that as well, like the Book of Void is it's got, you know, that's where all this comes from. And there is a lot there that I can't go into, but there is a lot that most folk of the world don't know. Can you walk us through the timeline or in Elstrasate? Can you give us any information about the moon's falling? We know that it was about five million stones after the world was created. And just, you know, any hints as to why specific ones fall or just anything about the moon's falling. So there is this very spoiler as well. You will find it in the book too. But obviously, no, after the other stone was, you know, planted, I guess, created, there wasn't any more moon falls until Slutcher fell. And so then there's been obviously two since then. So and there's potentially more coming as well. So there have been two that have fallen and I'm sorry that was probably in the book. I might miss that detail. Three since the Everstone was created since, yeah, since Calus was minced up and plumped into their stone. OK, and how about how many years is that that those three have fallen? The last three? Yes, it is. Yes. Correct. And the last 23. Yeah. Faces. OK, great. Thank you. Thank you. So and this might be something you can't answer and you can just say pass or book to was there something of significance that caused their moon to fall that we have yet to learn? Yes. So excited. OK, let's talk about dragons, which, by the way, you can't really see the shirt that I'm wearing, but it does say I'm probably reading about dragons showing that I had to wear my shirt, even if it's super casual. Can you explain a little bit more about how bonding with a dragon works? And for instance, in one of the later chapters, there was a mention about how you can later bond or take ownership of another person's dragon. But then I was there was also like, you know, of course, you have to steal the egg and be there for its hatching to for there to have that chance of bonding. So can you give us a little bit of insight into how dragon bonds work? So there are two different stages. The first stage is about gaining the dragon's trust and respect. Say, for instance, you are trying to tame a dragon that is not a it's not a hatchling. It's, you know, it's you haven't gotten the egg. You haven't literally tended into hatching. Say you just went to one of the hatching grounds and you climbed upon, you know, you climbed upon a dragon's back and you somehow miraculously got there first because it's very hard to do. And then, you know, rode it until it trusted you or gained its trust some other way. It's that actually gaining the trust and respect of a dragon is very hard to do. But you can do it. You can do it. As you know, I wanted it with Sartre. So it's just harder. Whereas in saying that, though, stealing an egg is also very difficult. Hatching it yourself, being the first being that dragon sees, you know, you're instantly creating a bond with that hatchling. So it's, you know, it's so long as you get that egg and it does hatch and you're able to actually hatch it, which is difficult because that requires certain care, you know, the chances you're going to bond with that dragon very quickly. Then you've got to, you know, tend it into growing up and stuff like that. So it's a process. It's not something that happens overnight. But again, to actually climb on top of a dragon's back, you are building that. The dragon is for it to accept you're into stop trying to buck you off and stop trying to eat you and, you know, fly into a tree or something. You know, you are that is a process. And then after that point, there is another level that and you will learn more about this in book two. So quite early on in book two, actually. So I'm not going to go into it too much deep. But it is about the juggernaut. So yeah, there is a whole another level that is very rare to a dragon and it's right a bonding. And yeah, so yeah, I'm not going to go too much into that because it's again, I don't want to spoil things. We don't want to spoil. We just want the tiny little teasers, even if you're like, no, I can't talk about that. It's in book two. It's like, wonderful. We will take it. Well, so question on the specifically, Daga Mork, like is one of those instances getting a dragon when they're older versus having one from hatchling age does one lead to a higher chance of Daga Mork or which one did Khan and Ragon do? No, I'm not going to go into that. I want to go into is so OK, so a dragon respecting and having that bond with a rider is, you know, that's the dragon giving itself to, you know, to to the rider, I guess, like it's it's it's this, you know, it's a safer sort of bond, right? But Daga Mork is actually quite dangerous and it can for a dragon, it can lead to the rider not surviving. So that process, like what they are offering, I don't want to go to a spot. You're good. We're dragon to offer that, you know, it's it's they would they it would be frightening for a dragon. They would think that they're going to lose the one that they very much care about. So, you know, it's that is a process and and it comes with great time and great, you know, respect between each other and a great understanding of the strength of each other. And so, yeah, for Khan and Ragon to be there, it's pretty remarkable. Now, do dragons have a similar lifespan as the Fae or even a longer lifespan as them? They're eternal. So they. Oh, yeah. So they love it. Yeah. They can be killed, obviously, but no, they. Yeah. Well, they can decide to go up into the sky if they want to end that. It's their choice if they're ending, generally, obviously, unless they're killed. So, yeah. So let's talk about the Aetherstone. We'd love to know a little bit more about it. You know, for instance, how does it transfer to the family members? You know, we understand the person bearing slash, you know, protecting the stone has to die for the stone to be released. And then is the transfer automatic? Can you walk us through how that works? Yeah, no, it needs to be physically lifted and placed on the other brow. So it doesn't lift itself or anything like that. So, yeah. So when obviously, Aluyn's mom passed away, you know, it was it was loosened for quite a while before, but then she obviously placed it on her brow. So it was taken from her mom who'd already passed. The ruins where that were etched into that into the actual diadem. So, yeah, it's it. Yeah, that's why her mom ended up the way that she was very, you know, it just took everything from her corpse. And it has. And it is that one family line as well. Is that correct? Yes. Well, you can pop it on anybody, but it's going to drain them immediately. Oh, dear. So they're the only ones who. OK, so they're the ones who have, I'll say, the energy capacity to. But bigger battery life. Yeah, yeah, the battery. They're the energizer bunnies. It's a curse more than anything to be honest, but yes. Oh, my gosh, I have so many questions, but I know there's not one that you can answer about it. And that's totally fine. Well, so let's get into some character slash plot questions. So the Kazari and Kailas love story. Can you offer any hints as to how that came to be? What this means for a story moving forward or just a full stop pass? So they will you'll learn a lot more about that in book two and book three, officially, especially book three. So it's coming. It's coming. That's so exciting. Wonderful. That was one chapter that I reread almost immediately after I learned just who Rave was, because then it's like, oh, my God. Without even knowing that she was her daughter yet. And then I went back through just with that extra context. And it's just again, it's totally different on a reread. Can you tease anything about Fallon and her and Rave's relationship? You know, how it shaped Rave to be who she is today. So again, you're going to learn a lot more about that in book two. I'm so glad that these questions are things that are actually coming in book two. Also, it's like I tell you what, man, some people are even like, there's a second book, right? And it's like, oh, yeah. Are you kidding me? There better be. And it's just so much fun just because like we all have so much excitement about it and just like, you know, we understand if we have to. Well, we do have to wait and just get so exciting. But yeah, but I will say Fallon is Fallon is is dead, you know, and it was very it was traumatic and quite horrific. Like when Rave was first, you know, brought to that the place where, you know, we obviously don't know a lot about it, but with Scavenger Kang, she, you know, she was learning about the world. It's just like a, you know, I think toddler brain and a fully grown, you know, fey body. So, you know, very frightening, very, you know, boggling, had to learn to speak to, you know, how we body, all that sort of stuff. So, you know, Fallon was there for her through most of that. So, you know, not from the very start, but she was there through a lot of it. And, you know, I think when you're creating those bonds with somebody and you're really letting them into your heart and then for something as traumatic as what happened, you know, which obviously we don't, you don't know yet, but yeah, for what ended up happening there, it's, it was, you know, for Rave, it was very it kind of shaped her years now and how she deals with love and letting people in. And so it was she had a hard, a hard, I guess, introduction, reintroduction to the world and a hard end to her last life as well. So, yeah, she's been through some HIT. Was it, would you consider it like a sisterly bond or was there even like a romantic relationship in there or? No, very sisterly. Like she, she loved her like a sister in every way she could form. So. So, OK, we need to talk about the other. Can you give us any clues about this connection, this relationship? For instance, when the other attached itself to Rave, was the other there right from the get go when she was reintroduced into the world? Does the other only come out when she's really in her rage? Why does the other exist within her? I know you can't. So, yes, the other has been there since she was, you know, since she came to in this in this life, we'll call it. Yes, she's been there since then. And yeah, certainly how can I explain it? There's this I can't. You're going to learn a lot more about this very early on in book two. So. Oh, it's getting. So book two, where it's throughout book two, it's a big, yeah, I'm not going to go into much, but just you're going to have a lot of these answers in book two. But I do have one quick question to see if you can settle an argument between Nicole and I, because after you joined our recording here today, we were having a sisterly banter, a full blown sister argument about it. So, OK, so in the audio book, in the, because we both love to listen to audio books, the others POV, it is mostly a male voice. So there's the male speaking it for like any of the high level walkthrough stuff. And then it cuts to the woman who plays Rave's voice for like a liner to it almost seems like an inner monologue or inner dialogue sort of situation. And then it cuts back to the male's voice, which I I normally am like, oh, wait, whenever I like split POVs like that, this was the first time I split POV. I'm like, this is perfect. No notes. It never changed. It was so it was so well done. I loved it. But yeah, so it almost seemed like the other's monologue was a female perspective. Yes. OK. Yeah. Yeah. Then that's right. Yes. Ha ha. All right. Like a feminine voice, you know, so the other I'm glad that there is that, you know, sort of because it would be more of a kind of animalistic sort of, you know, yeah, deep sort of, you know, that that make this work. OK. Yeah, I'm happy. I'm going to hold off on answering or asking my next question because I feel like it's going to not be able to be answered, but that's totally fine. We have a theory on who the other is. And let me tell you. So our we have a discord just for like fantasy fan girls and for all of that. And we have a when the moon hatched section of the discord. I think it has the second or third, like a most amount of conversation going on. And it just because everyone has gone feral for this book. And there is a very popular theory in said discord that the and you I know you can't say anything about this, that the other is slaughter, taken over rave. That is our theory. I think for anybody who has read the book more than once and has picked up on my forshadowing would know the answer to that pretty clearly. You know, I I did for shadowing. I did do it was specifically so that question, you know, if things were sort of taken in and noticed that is answered in the foreshadowing between the lines. Yes. Fantastic. I love it. I love it. I love it. I love it. It's a follow up question to that because at the end in the epilogue, Kazari is starting to show signs of madness. It seems like we can assume it's a I'm going to call it a different type of or a different flavor of madness from the other. Is it a different? OK, beautiful. I'm so excited to learn more about that because because at first it was like, wait, is the other within her as well, which would then mean is the other kind of etherstone. OK. Over for Kalis. Well, she generally can. Yeah. So yeah. So she's yeah. She is definitely struggling and I will say that. So we will go to. Well, speaking of her, because Ari sent me to rave five phases ago. Why five phases ago? And I guess rather than asking, you know, why and did she actually expect it to reach her mother? No, no, no, she as far as she's aware, her mom is gone. It was definitely I think this kind of makes more heartbreaking. It was definitely her just passing a note to the wind and, you know, wishing that her mom was there with her. Oh, so much. And it was because I was going to follow up with asking, like, is this at all correlated to why she keeps escaping the shade? So I guess my different question is, do we find out why she has been escaping the shade? Yes, we will. We learn more about that in the next couple of books. So yeah, we will learn a lot more about Kazari and and yeah, we're yeah, in the next couple of stories. So that whole Kazari Khan, Alwyn Sathrave and everything that happened in the diary entries, that is all sort of and also the prologa book one. That is all pretty much, you know, all of that. Think book two, three. That is the whole. Love it. So so I'll ask another question here is that from reading Khan and her interaction, it did not seem that Khan is aware that she is his daughter. He does not know. No. OK, cool. I love all the lines of, well, if she was my daughter, I'm like, so exciting. We would be remiss if we did not ask you about this dang scavenger king. Yes. I guess the first question is why does he call Rave Firelar? Book two. Yeah. OK. Awesome. Well, are we going to learn in that similar vein? Are we going to learn more about his motives? Why he originally captured slash tortured Rave in the second book as well? Yes, you're you're you're that whole sort of situation. That's yes, book two. Sweet. Book two. Does he because he is very specific about wanting the burn and how he is older than Khan. And that's why he thinks that he's the rightful heir. And does that mean that his mother is from the burn? Yes, I have to ask you, Sarah, as we're asking these questions, do you have to like go into different compartments of your mind? Do you have like, like, OK, this is the only book one compartment and this is the book two compartment? Like, are you having to like feel like, did I say that in book one or is that in book two? We're like, especially because I'm writing book to I'm like, oh, gosh, hang on, let me just think. So I am I'm writing back. I'm like, OK, no, that conversation did happen then. We're doing a phenomenal job at it. I just want to say some like you should see my head. I'm like juggling. Oh, gosh. Seriously, you're doing so phenomenal. I just amazing what you've given us. Will book two open right where we left off? Or is there going to be some time has passed or can you not say? So obviously, I've still got to pass it on to editors and stuff. And, you know, I might be asked to change, but some pieces. So please take this with a grain of salt. But currently as it is, yes, we start where we left off. But we do have time jumps that happen throughout the story. Well, you know, we move forward in the story. So I'm not talking about years or anything like that or phases, but it's we do definitely, you know, the book to does. We cover a lot of ground. So awesome. Very cool. Before we wrap up this interview, is there anything else you'd like to share with our audience? Any questions that you wished we had asked that you have the answer to ready to go or anything at all that you'd like to share? I think we've done really well. I think we've covered a lot of ground and I think you guys have done great with asking with your questions and everything. It's been really fun. So thank you so much. That means so much to you. Thank you for the story you've written and from the bottom of our hearts. Like, I know I've been sharing like a crazy woman on our Instagram stories, which you've been very kind of. No, I've read it like four times and that is not because we're interviewing you. It's because this book, I mean, obviously, because you're amazing, but like it's because the book you have built is so incredible. And like like Lexi said, it's quickly jumped up to some of our favorite books of all time. We have heard that across the board from many people who have read it in the last few weeks as well. And just what you have created as a masterpiece. Thank you so much. Oh, my goodness. Well, we hope that you enjoyed this interview with the one and only Sarah A. Parker, and we all hope that you enjoy reading Ballad of Falling Dragons, whether you begin tonight, tomorrow, this week, next month, whenever that might be. This might be one of my favorite sequels, if not one of my favorite books I've ever read. I'm only 50 percent of the way through it right now, and it's a fucking masterpiece. That's all I'll say. I'm 88 percent through and I feel the exact same way. I am so, so excited for the deep dive that we'll be starting with episode one on June 1st. But don't worry, friends, we are going to have a Ballad Reactions episode that drops on May 25th. Our chapter breakdowns are going to be coming soon for what chapters we're covering which episode with the Ballad Deep Dive. Thank you as always to our mind-left, aka our content researcher, Brooke, and our executive producer slash sanity manager slash co-host of the Fantasy Fan Fellows podcast, Hayden. We are very active on social media, so please be sure to follow us on Instagram and slash our TikTok at fantasyfangirlspod. And if you're watching this on YouTube or want to watch on YouTube, see the difference in our hair between these two years. Pretty please hit that subscribe button to keep following along. I guess somewhere our hairstyle is just shuttered. While you're hitting buttons, please hit that five star button on whatever podcast platform you are listening on. And if you want to go the extra mile, then write a little love note in that review section. Please don't just do that for this podcast, but for any and all podcasts you listen to, it's like giving your favorite podcasters a big, big, big hug. And last but certainly not least, share this episode with your fellow moonfall friends. If you are driving to the midnight release party tonight, this is a perfect thing to make everyone in the car listen to. Thank you, everybody. Bye-bye. See you on the other side. See you on the other side. Everything sounds nicer in harmony. Two voices working together. I could even read some marketing information about Twix and it would sound pretty sweet. Like how it's the bar with two bars. That's the key point of difference. And now with the Twix harmonizer, you can make any WhatsApp voice note sound nicer. Go to twix.com slash UK slash. Harmonizer. Two is more than one. Twix.