Book Spotlight: The Vanishing Spark of Dusk by Sara Baysinger

We're excited to be part of the blog tour for The Vanishing Spark of Dusk by Sara Baysinger! Sara has visited Lands Uncharted a few times in the past for an interview and to share her Top 3 Favorite Dystopian Novels.

Today we're celebrating Sara's latest novel, The Vanishing Spark of Dusk, which just released on January 8th! Here's the back cover blurb:

Stand up.

When Lark is stolen from Earth to be a slave on the planet Tavdora, she’s determined to find her way back home to her family, no matter the cost. Placed in the household of a notorious slave trader, Lark quickly learns her best assets are her eyes and ears. And if she’s brave enough, her voice.

Be heard.

Kalen is the Tavdorian son of a slave trader and in line to inherit his father’s business. But his growing feelings for Lark, the new house slave who dares to speak of freedom, compel him to reveal his new plan for the slave ships returning to Earth—escape. Together, they just might spark a change that flares across the universe.








You can purchase The Vanishing Spark of Dusk here. I had the opportunity to read an ARC of this book, and it was a powerful, beautifully written story! But I should note that it has some language and sensuality that makes it more mature than our usually PG-13 or below standards. To find out more, check out the full blog tour schedule here.


And here's a little about the author:

My name is Sara Baysinger and I write books. I was born in the heart of the Andes Mountains in Ecuador where I spent my early life exploring uncharted lands on horseback and raising chickens. I now make my home among the endless cornfields of Indiana with my husband and two children…and I still raise chickens. My dystopian novel Black Tiger was self-published in 2016, with books 2 & 3 published in 2017. When not getting lost in a book, I can be found gardening, devouring chocolate, and running off the sugar-high from said chocolate.

I’m currently working on an upcoming science fiction romance novel that will release with Entangled Teen, an imprint of Entangled Publishing.

You can connect with Sara on her website or Twitter.

Sara has a giveaway going as part of her blog tour! Enter below for a chance to win a signed copy of the book, $25 Amazon gift card, and a handmade adjustable ring that says "Be heard."

Congratulations on your new release, Sara, and thanks for letting us celebrate with you!


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Interview with Sara Baysinger

We are so excited to welcome Sara Baysinger back to Lands Uncharted today! Sara is the author of the Black Tiger series, and we're part of a blog tour celebrating the release of the third and final installment, White Dawn! (You may remember that title from my recent post on my Top 3 Most Anticipated Books of the Second Half of 2017.) Back in April, Sara shared a guest Top 3s post on her favorite dystopian novels, which you can find here. Today she took the time to answer some questions for us about herself and her books! You can find out more about White Dawn below, but first...here's Sara!

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I live on a 5-acre field with my husband and two children (and 3 dogs, 3 cats, & 8 chickens…) But I was born and raised as a missionary kid in Ecuador until I was sixteen.


Wow, that's a lot of animals! What prompted you to start writing? Are you one of those authors who knew you were meant to write since childhood, or did it come as a discovery later in life?

No to the second question! I actually hated reading until middle school (when I finally discovered Harry Potter and Goosebumps). It wasn’t until half-way through high school that my love for books was so strong that I wanted to share my own stories with the world. I wanted to create an escape for other teens—stories that would help ease the rough years of high school, like what the books I read did for me.


Your stories absolutely provide an escape, even for adults like me :) Which fictional character (book or movie) do you most relate to, and why?

Probably Hadassah from A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers. I read that book over and over in high school. Like Hadassah in the earlier part of the book, I was too afraid to speak up. Too shy to be who I truly was. I admired her character arc and how her courage grew over the years to the point she was changing lives. I always hoped that for myself.


I love that, and I've heard such great things about that book! We’re all about exploring new worlds here at Lands Uncharted—if you could choose one place to visit, real or fictional, where would you go?

Love this question! I just finished reading the A Court of Thorns and Roses trilogy by Sarah J. Maas. I would love, LOVE to visit Velaris and engorge myself on their delicious food!


Yay for delicious food! Speaking of which, do you have any go-to foods or beverages while writing?

Absolutely! In the morning—coffee. In the evenings (when I usually do my writing) I drink Caramel Apple Dream tea. (Which is what I’m currently drinking! :) )


Mmm, that tea sounds amazing! What is one of your favorite writing tips?

Just one? ;) Write what you love, and don’t chase the market. (I know that’s technically two, but they kind of go hand-in-hand). The market is fleeting, but if you write what you love, your heart will be in it and those are the best stories.


I wholeheartedly agree! Now, let’s talk about your latest release, White Dawn! What do you hope readers will take away from this book?

I hope they come away with an open mind and the satisfying feeling of coming home from an epic adventure.


Sounds perfect for a series finale :) What inspired you to write the Black Tiger trilogy?

I’ve always loved the dystopian genre. Divergent by Veronica Roth inspired me to write in a mega-city setting, while Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi inspired the lyrical writing style (although she does a much better job.) The first nugget that got this series rolling, though, was the mega cavern below Louisville. I went on a tour and saw the simulation camp in the cavern that they would have used during the Cold War, and boom. I had a story.


That mega cavern does sound epic. You have had such a cool set of covers for this series, and you designed them yourself! What did that process look like?

Aw, thank you! Designing your own book covers is hard work! I didn’t realize how much math went into sizing a print book. It was technical and probably my least favorite part of indie publishing, but I did love having full control over every detail on the cover.


You did a beautiful job! Please share a favorite line or passage from White Dawn with us.

Hope looks like this.

Like green, green, green sprouting up in the midst of black, black, black. Like a newborn leaf unfolding from a charred branch. Like life fighting its way back into the world, despite the death that tried so hard to take it down. Like this isn’t the end of the world, but the beginning.

Hope.


Ooh, I marked that quote as one of my favorites while I was reading! You know what they say about great minds... :) Here's a little more about Sara:

Sara was born in the heart of the Andes Mountains in Ecuador where she spent her early life exploring uncharted lands and raising chickens. She now makes her home among the endless cornfields of Indiana with her husband and two children…and she still raises chickens. Her dystopian novel BLACK TIGER was self-published in 2016. When not getting lost in a book, Sara can be found gardening, devouring chocolate, and running off the sugar-high from said chocolate.  

You can connect with Sara on her Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Goodreads.


And here's the back-cover blurb for White Dawn:

This is the beginning of a new era.

The slate is clean.

A white dawning has emerged and I'm ready to face the day.

AURORA WHITCOMB has taken the place as Chief of Ky, but the ghosts of her past continue to haunt her future.

RAIN TURNER has lost the embers that kept his hope burning, and all he’s left with is a raging desire to avenge the love of his life.

With an insatiable hatred toward each other, Aurora and Rain must learn to work together to bring the country back to its feet. In order to do so, they must be invincible. But being invincible isn’t only about conquering the battles in the physical world. When their journey to rescue Ky takes a violent turn for the worst, Aurora and Rain must learn the true meaning of forgiveness, not only for each other, but for those who haunt their pasts.


I just finished this book a few days ago, so I can say with certainty that yes, it's every bit as epic as it sounds! But make sure to go back and read the first two books in the series first if you haven't already! You can purchase White Dawn here.

AND...Sara has a giveaway going to celebrate her new release! Enter below for a chance to win a signed paperback of White Dawn! Haven’t had a chance to begin this thrilling series or want to get one of the other books in paperback? No worries! Two winners will receive a signed paperback of their choice from any book in the series! (US only. E-copies available INT.)

Thank you so much for joining us today, Sara!! Congratulations on your new release! 

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Top 3 Favorite Dystopian Novels (by special guest Sara Baysinger!)

We're on a roll with blog tours! We hope you're enjoying these guest Top 3 posts as much as we are! If you missed the past few weeks, you can find Sarah Delena White's Top 3 Faeries to Meet in Halayda here and Julie Hall's Top 3 Places to Travel here.

Today, we are absolutely thrilled to welcome Sara Baysinger to Lands Uncharted as part of the blog tour for her new release, Ashen City, the second book in her Black Tiger trilogy! You can learn more about Sara and her books below, but first, here are Sara's Top 3 Dystopian Novels!


Hello and thank you so much for hosting me today! When I was asked to post my top three favorite dystopian novels I squealed with excitement. The dystopian genre is my absolute favorite. I was writing in this genre before I even knew what it was or that there were other similar books out there.

For those who don’t know—dystopian is the opposite of utopian. While utopian means a perfect world with a well-functioning government, dystopian is defined as a place where everything is “unpleasant or bad.” Think The Hunger Games, Divergent, or the classic The Giver. I’ll post my top three favorites below and let you know why I love them so much (without giving anything away.)


3. Divergent by Veronica Roth

 I’m sure many of you have heard of Divergent, seeing as they made movies out of the trilogy. (Which were really well done!) The heroine, Tris, is a character with whom I identify most out of all the characters I’ve ever read. Because of the culture she grew up in, she’s timid, but once she steps out of her comfort zone, she discovers more about herself and becomes fearless and strong. I love the progression of her character arc. I love her compassion and her courage to fight for what she believes in. The writing is fast paced, the details vivid, the story unforgettable.


2. The Selection by Kiera Cass

Oh my gosh, how I LOVED this whole series! I’m not really into princesses, so it was one that took me years to pick up, but when I did, man, I could not put it down. I just love the royalty scene taking place in a dystopian world. I loved the way Cass approached politics in the story, and how she made the heroine, America, so compassionate and bold at the same time. The romance wasn’t bad either. ;) This is a nice clean read with a heart-swooning romance.


1. Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

Ignite Me is actually the third book in the Shatter Me series. This is one of those series that starts out “okay” and slowly progresses to being one of your favorite series as you read through all three books. (At least that’s how it happened for me.) I read the first book, Shatter Me, and though I enjoyed it, I wasn’t compelled to pick up the second book. When I did finally pick it up, I got about 50 pages in and then sat it down for nearly a year. (A year, guys!) Then I stumbled across a bookstagram (that’s a bookish account on Instagram) where someone revealed a huge twist in the series. I knew I had to finish it, and boy am I glad I did! The romance is steamy, and the character arc in (I won’t say who) is so incredibly moving. Ignite Me is one of those books that I dog-ear pages to read over and over again. Another reason I really enjoyed this series was the lyrical writing style (which I might have attempted in my own books, The Black Tiger Series.) Mafi’s writing is beautiful and moving, and I highly recommend this series. However, if cussing and steamy make-out scenes bother you, I don’t advise you read it.


I could go on listing all my other favorite dystopians (Legend by Marie Lu, A Time to Die by Nadine Brandes, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins) but I’ll spare you my rambling. ;)


What are your favorite dystopian reads?


Thank you so much for sharing these, Sara! Top dystopian picks from a dystopian writer have to be good recommendations :) 


And speaking of great dystopian reads, here's the back-cover blurb for Ashen City:

Make your choice, Ember Carter. And make it count.

Ember Carter has escaped the flames of death. But will she ever be free from Chief Titus? When the orchard goes up in smoke and her family turns up missing, Ember returns to Frankfort hoping to find her brother and father, and to get Titus to drop the death wish he has against her.

But Titus is always one step ahead. When Ember faces him head-on, she’s captured, only to receive another death sentence. But on her way to her execution, plans go a little askew, and Ember finds herself traveling to the one place no one dares travel: Louisville. If the outskirts of Ky were a ghost town, the ashen city is the borderline of hell itself, but it’s the one place Ember can find refuge from the people who want her dead.

In the ashen city, Ember must learn that being a hero is more than doing what is right because she can, but doing it for the good of the people. And when plans take a turn for the worst, she must decide if it’s worth risking her life to save her country.


As you can tell, this series is intense! Constant action, lots of plot twists, and fabulous world-building, character growth, and romance. I'm very much looking forward to the final installment!! You can purchase Ashen City here.


And here's a little more about the author:

Sara Baysinger grew up in the heart of the Andes Mountains in Ecuador where she spent her childhood exploring uncharted lands and reading all things magical. She now lives among the endless cornfields of Indiana with her husband and two young children. Sara enjoys writing and reading anything out of the ordinary, and has a bad habit of zoning out at the most inopportune moments. She is currently considering seeking medical attention for her potentially life-threatening coffee addiction.

Connect with Sara on her website, Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.



 


Thank you so much for joining us today, Sara!!


Sara has some giveaways going in honor of her new release, enter below! (Open to U.S. residents only.)

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