Giveaway + Guest Blogger: Rachel Forde, author of Lastborn

Today's guest is RACHEL FORDE, author of Lastborn. Rachel is a seminary student and a budding author.She lives in the Twin Cities, and works with refugees, helping them learn English, ride the bus, and figure out what America is all about. She eats stuff she finds in the woods. She also has two cats.**

Rachel is here today to talk about her inspiration for her new book Lastborn. 

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A Small Piece of the Inspiration for "Lastborn"

One of the central themes that defines "Lastborn" was birthed entirely on accident. A mark of bad writing is when an author ham-fistedly shoves a moral into their story, to the detriment of character, plot, and believable dialogue, and I had made a promise to myself that as opinionated and prone to soapboxing as I am, I wasn't going to do that with this story. "Lastborn" was going to be my fluff piece--a swashbuckling adventure story about a plucky band of rebels mounting an armed resistance against an evil empire that has them hopelessly outgunned. You know, Star Wars stuff.

Note to self: If you're going to write a story like that, please, for the love of God, don't decide to edit your rough draft while studying abroad in Israel.

*facepalm*

(sigh...)

My realization was gradual. Most of my classes had to do with Biblical archeology and cultural studies, but the Conflict always had a way of creeping into our thoughts and conversations, no matter how many times our professors reminded us that we were only visitors here, and it wasn't our problem to solve. Israel and the Palestinian Territories are fabulous, life-changing places to visit, but can be emotionally draining as you spend ten weeks watching two abused and frightened brothers tear at each other with bombs and guns. I started thinking about the power of narrative in getting people to unite behind a cause, and fight for it--even die for it. Our beliefs and values are defined by the kinds of stories we hear and tell. 

I had a problem--my heroes were terrorists. They were people so beaten down by their oppressive circumstances that they were perfectly okay with taking a life if it suited their mission. Was this a story I wanted translated into Arabic and sold to teenage boys in bookshops in Gaza or Nablus? What kind of narrative was I telling? If it wasn't a good story for the youth of Palestine, was it a good story for anyone?

I really struggled for a few months, trying to figure out what to do now that my entire series, which I had already had planned out, was now essentially blown to pieces. I would have to rewrite the entire mythology. Huge sections of plot would have to change. Most importantly, was I talented enough writer to weave a theme of nonviolent resistance through the story without turning it into some kind of cloying hippie tract? I'll leave that for the reader to decide.

A huge piece of my heart is still in the Middle East, and you can imagine the kinds of things I'm thinking and feeling as I watch the events of Arab Spring unfold--how much joy it brought me to see Mubarak humbled by a nonviolent uprising, and how sick it made me to see the Libyan echo collapse into bloodshed. I consider "Lastborn" my love-letter to those people--that no matter how bleak and desperate the situation may seem, there is no bullet that can kill hope, and no hatred that can't be drowned out with love.

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The exciting first installment of the Sixth Cycle series.

Nara-Ya is a pugnacious adolescent girl on the run from a powerful sorceress. Fate lands her in the company of her polar opposite, the soft-spoken Donovan Brennan, who is simultaneously struggling to lead a Resistance movement, regain a throne for a wronged King, and prevent a war between the land he lives in and the land of his birth.

Brennan walks a fine line between his principles and success; Nara-Ya, by contrast, knows what she has to do to survive, and circumstances shunt her towards the life of a fighter and warrior. However, as war looms, as her friendship with Donovan grows into something more, and as Nara-Ya is forced to confront her darker instincts, she begins to question her destiny, and is forced to make a decision that will alter the fate of their world.

Rachel is giving out an e-copy of her new book Lastborn!

Sign up using the Rafflecopter Form for a chance to win!

Giveaway Rules:
Open to persons 13 years old or older.
This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL.
Contest ends on OCTOBER 4, 2011.
Leave your email address so we can send you your eBook if you win.