The Early Passion for Books that Fueled Marissa Larae to Become a Published Author: Book Signing on August 8th

By Ella Aguilar

The average age of a published author is 30. For Marissa Larae, it was about building her passion and career. Marissa published a children’s book as a child, but published her first novel this year at 18. Her love for books came from reading fantasy, with her favorite book series being Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard.

Writing a book is a hard challenge for anyone, but Marissa decided to take it on while in high school. Marissa started writing a similar story when she was fourteen, but began writing Bleeding Sparks at fifteen. She finished writing the book when she was sixteen or seventeen, when she was also Marion County Queen. The book had about seven drafts, in addition to three total rewrites before reaching its published moment.

When asked about her writing process, she wrote Bleeding Sparks in chaos but has become more prepared with her second book of the four-book series, Shattered Flame, and writing an outline. She has already started writing the book. In a question of if a writing rule she would live by, it would be “to always get the rough draft done and on paper,” she said. “Trying to change as you go will delay you.”

However, when asked about a rule she would break easily, she said: “There is no limit for authors to critique their work.”

When asked about her book and what she hopes readers take away from it, she said that she wanted to be able to write Nalara Thorne as someone who was closed off, but also represent her properly as a person of color going against a powerful white man such as the High King Kharto of the Isles.

One thing that was added late in the book was the Carmite flower. She added it as a change from the normal of the characters receiving a syringe of a drug; instead, they would receive a serum made from the Carmite flower. The Carmite flower is used as the cover image and was made by Mr. Steven Walker, the art teacher at Palmyra High School.

One specific scene that she was proud of, she said (spoiler warning), was when Nalara gets injured by Slade and Inez; however, she heals herself. A lot of scenes she deleted were about Nalara’s best friend, Finn Draven, that would have added a bit more to his character. When asked about her favorite side character(s), she said it was General Rathmore and Marshall Coronus. She wanted them to have a “frat boy” energy to them.

Nalara’s inspiration came from her own protectiveness of her sister. She wanted Nalara to be dedicated, independent, protective, and strong.

When asked about which character she identified with most, she said it was Oliver Moore, Nalara’s roommate in the Carmore Castle. She wrote him with an older-sibling energy and vibe that she feels strongly with, as she is also an older sister. One of the people dedicated to the book was her sister. She wrote Oliver to be caring, calm, and collective in the book, which she also feels to be herself.

Through writing Bleeding Sparks, she learned to be more confident in her work and more open about the writing process. With the creation of the map of the Isles, her book is based on, she was able to provide a foundation for her worldbuilding. Her aunt, Angela Robertson, drew the map and provided a lot of guidance.

As a fan of the first book, I asked about what one should be prepared for in Shattered Flame; Larae said that Nalara and Oliver will have to prove themselves, and it will be hard. Nalara will also be driving her own story.

Larae plans on finishing the entire Bleeding Sparks series before she graduates from Harvard in 2030.

Marissa Larae will be hosting a Book Signing and Sale at the Marion County Library on August 8th from 9 to 12. Everyone is invited to attend. Her book is also available for sale on Amazon.