I've Never Read Fourth Wing and I Wrote A Romantasy Dragon Book

Confession: I’ve Never Read Fourth Wing and My Dragon Fantasy Romance Just Came Out This Month. 

For anyone who knows a little about writing or publishing, you might be looking at me aghast. In horror! With your eyes all bugged out! Because who in their right mind would write a book without reading one of the current market’s hottest ticket item?

Well, me. And I’ve never once professed to be in my right mind. When it comes to Fourth Wing, I know the basic premise, the tropes, and every Violet and Xaden interaction that social media has put in front of me. So, why haven’t I read the book? 

Because, I started writing my dragon book almost ten years ago. Long before Fourth Wing was even a concept, but still well after Justin Paolini wrote his epic saga (whiiiiich I’ve also never read). 

And in my process, I haven’t wanted to compare my dragon book to one that’s so epically popular. Because I know it’s not the same. My characters are not dragon riders. They are not at war (not exactly). The world of Steal The Sky is mythology. It’s not a book with dragons, it’s a book about power and what you are capable of and who you’re meant to be. 

Still, you might wonder: “Aren’t you curious?”

Hell yeah I am! And I want to read Fourth Wing. That kind of book sounds exactly like the kind of thing I’d LOVE. But the reality is, I don’t think I can read it without hating myself right now. It’s so incredibly popular, it’s all anyone is talking about, and I know my writer brain will nitpick and critique everything I did in my own dragon book. Ignorance sometimes can be bliss. I’ll read Fourth Wing one day. Maybe after I’ve had some time apart from Steal The Sky’s release, but before I start drafting Book 2 in earnest. Or maybe after. Who knows what I might do?  

At this point, perhaps you’re also wondering: “Ten years?! What took TEN YEARS to write a book?”

I’m glad you asked. 

Years ago, I had this dream – not as detailed as Stephanie Meyer having her inspirational dream of sparkly Edward in the meadow, but it was formative enough for the beginnings of an idea. My dream was of the floating islands where my book takes place. Which is not, in and of itself, super clever or new in the world of fantasy elements, but they stuck with me nevertheless. I knew I had a world there, I just had to find the right story. 

The first iteration of Steal The Sky came to me around ten years ago. I was in college taking a course on ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean. There, I learned the truth about the ancient Amazon warriors regaled in Greek mythology. They were real women who fought alongside men. They were called Scythians. I became obsessed. I still am. Ancient history is one of my favorite subjects to learn about, especially the role women played and breaking down what was once assumed, versus the truth. 

So, I had this idea. I had a desire to write it, but no time and no motivation. And then, my mom passed away. She was 54-years-old. It hit me hard and fast that the time you have…may not be very much time at all. And what you do have is what you make of it. So with her gone, I took a look at my life. It was honestly pretty good, but I was in a job I didn’t particularly like. I wanted something different. I felt unmoored. I didn’t know what to do or where to go. 

So my husband, then boyfriend, looked at me during a tough conversation and demanded “What do you want?” and I blurted out that I wanted to write books. I didn’t even know I was going to say those words. My heart spoke for me in that moment and I knew without a doubt, I had to listen. 

And so, he told me to quit my job and write books — and that’s what I did. 

We were living well below our means and he was making enough money for us to get by. For months I wrote and we traveled. I crafted this entire world from my head and all the ancient history and mythology knowledge I’d gobbled up and wrote a book about floating islands, dragons, and women warriors. Then, when it went nowhere on submission to agents, I tucked it away on a shelf and wrote a different book. Then another. I started three others and wrote short stories. I got married, my mother-in-law passed away, too. I became a mother. All the while, Steal The Sky wouldn’t leave me. 

Then a newer, better story there began to unfurl in my brain and once it got its claws in, there was no stopping me. 

All of this happened before Fourth Wing was even a concept in Rebecca Yarros’ and the Entangled Publishing Team’s eye. I couldn’t read a book that didn’t even exist before I’d started writing my own.

I scraped my old manuscript, a YA concept at the time, aged it up to Adult and kept only five things — two ideas: the floating islands and the dragons, and three names: Ozias, Zhoric, and Ninon. Even my main character got a new name. She was a completely different person than the original concept and I had to give her something that was hers and hers alone before I could move on. And so, Kaisa was born. 

And so was her story. A story that wasn’t about the badass female warrior dragon riders of the first draft, a YA epic fantasy with a romance subplot. This was angrier. This was a story about the downfall of women and how our importance and roles were and have been erased from history by the victors. 

So, no. I haven’t read Fourth Wing. Steal The Sky is a feminist exploration of female power and what happens when something in our very core is taken from us. 

I’ll only spoil it for you a little; the answer is we rise and we take back what’s ours.