Sarah is an international bestselling autho​r who​ grew up on a farm in New Zealand, where she spent her days getting lost amongst the rolling pasture, building forts in the hedge, climbing trees, and exploring the forest pathways—making up elaborate stories that never lost their grip on her.

​She now lives in Australia with her husband​, dog, three children, and countless plants, and spends her days pouring her stories onto paper rather than throwing them to the wind.

Her genre of choice is epic fantasy romance, and she thrives off dreaming up​ real, ​​complex characters​​ and immersive worlds to get lost amongst.

Instagram – @sarah.a.parker.author | Tiktok – @sarah.a.parker | Linktree

Welcome to the Hive, Sarah. Let’s start with the basics: tell us a little about When the Moon Hatched – why should readers check it out?

In this fantasy word, when dragons die they soar into the sky and solidify, becoming moons. The story itself is about a female assassin called Raeve who has forgotten her past, now imprisoned from her savage quest to avenge her fallen friend. The story also follows a dragon-riding king who is mourning the loss of his great love, hunting for the moonshards of her fallen dragon. Instead, he finds Raeve in a cell—sentenced to death. 

During Raeve’s journey to seek revenge and assuage the bloodlust itching at her, we discover the truth about her past, and learn the reason why King Kaan can’t bring himself to part with the condemned assassin. 

This story is full of secrets, angst, and banter. It’s for readers who like a lush, immersive fantasy world full of dragons and other creatures, who like strong female protagonists with dents in their armour, who like emotionally available MMCs who aren’t afraid to wear their hearts on their sleeve. 

Tell us a little something about your writing process – do you have a certain method? Do you find music helps? Give us a glimpse into your world!

My writing process happens in stages, and I liken it to turning a lump of clay into a pretty, painted urn. 

Step 1 – I get down all my characters’ backstories, the lore, the way the world works, the way the political system works, the creatures, what the creatures are called, etc. (Deciding what I’m going to make) 

Step 2 – I go through the entire story in my head, writing down the conversations and the scene cues as I go. (Lumping a bit of clay on the wheel)

Step 3 – I go through, filling in the gaps, and writing my first draft. (Shaping the clay into an urn)

Step 4 – I go over the story again, fleshing out, rewriting chapters that aren’t working. (Smashing the urn back into another lump then shaping it again, fixing the mistakes I made the first time!)

Step 4 – I pass it off to my alpha/beta readers, getting early feedback and tweaking anything that needs work. (Letting the piece dry)

Step 5 – I do my full read through, planting more easter eggs where I can, making sure I’m happy with the story. (Glazing the piece) 

Step 6 – I pass it onto my editors and fine tune it, reading through again, and again, and again. (Firing the piece)

Step 7 – I publish it. (Pulling it out of the kiln!)

I do listen to music! Instrumental, mostly. I also have certain songs with words that I listen to at times, but when I do, I listen to them on repeat. If it’s a bunch of different songs, it pulls me away, so it’s a fine balance!

Speaking of worlds, what inspires your worldbuilding? What can you tell us of your magic system?

My childhood. My nana used to live on our farm in a quaint little granny flat, and she had a stack of fairy books on her table I used to read through weekly, sometimes daily. On the weekends, if I wasn’t there, I was out exploring the farm from sunup to sunset, on my own, pretending I was immersed in some magical world like the ones in those books. 

I built this world brick by brick, over 3.5 years. That time, I spent exploring it, walking the streets, making sure everything made sense and flourishing it with more and more wondrous elements. 

The magic system in this book is elemental. The world was created by Clode (wind) Bulder (stone) Ignos (fire) Rayne (water) and Aether, (Caelis). Their songs are powerful, and they used these songs to shape the world into existence. 

Some of the folk who exist in this world can hear one or more of these songs, and if they learn the languages—learn how to speak them and communicate with that Creator—then they are able to wield some control over that element. 

And the dragons? Tell us more about the dragons!

There are three different dragon breeds, and each can either be charmed OR their nesting grounds raided for an egg to hatch and raise as your own: 

Moonplumes—the dragons that live in The Shade – the dark part of the world. They have leathery, luminous skin that comes in shades of gray, pearl, iridescent, and white. Their eyes are big black and glittery, their faces rounded, necks long, bodies elegant. Their tails are long, like brushes of silken strands. They are cold-loving creatures, and they cannot handle the sun or their skin burns, nor do their eyes adapt to such brightness. They are very cunning and are therefore the hardest dragons to charm or steal an egg from.

Sabersythes—the dragons that live in The Burn – the sunny part of the world. They are large boxy creatures with scales, spikes, and heavily tusked faces. They come in many different colors, such as rust, bronze, red, brown, black, and gold. They are heat-loving creatures and cannot survive for long in the fierce cold of The Shade. They can be very boisterous and aggressive and are almost as hard to charm or steal an egg from as the Moonplumes are.

Moltenmaws—the dragons that live in The Fade – the ‘twilit’ part of the world pinched between The Shade and The Burn. They are covered in feathers, their faces sharp and beaked. Their plumage is a vibrant mix of colours—no two Moltenmaws bearing the same colour palette. They can travel anywhere in the world comfortably and are the easiest dragons to charm/steal an egg from.

Moving on to your characters, can you tell us a bit more about Raeve? What drives her?

Revenge. Bloodlust. Battling against supremacy. She doesn’t recall most of her past, but what she does recall is a hurtful mess of loss and her being used by others, her strength and bloodlust a tool that’s often taken advantage of. 

She stuffs down pain, and because she’s lost others in the past, she repels emotional connection. 

And your other characters, who were your favourites to write and why? 

Kaan. I had an idea for how his voice was going to be, but I realised once I began writing him that he had other plans. Every moment he stepped onto the page I was in my absolute element. 

Veya is fun! She came out easily for me. The scene with the Velvet Trogg was so enjoyable to write! 

I also adore writing Pyrok! I especially loved the dynamic between him and Raeve. He’s my comedic relief. 

Your book features spicy scenes, how did your family/friends react when they first read them? 

Only my mum has read the story so far! And she was an alpha reader. She doesn’t enjoy reading spice, but she did tell me after she got through the scenes that she thought they were well done, so I took that as a win. We never spoke of it again. (You can’t hear it, but I’m laughing)

We see such varying opinions from authors when it comes to the time of editing their books. How have you found the editing process? Enjoyable, stressful or satisfying?

I love it. I feel like the editing process is the time when I grow the most. Every piece of feedback is like GOLD. I use it to invest in myself, to broaden my mind, look at things from a different angle, better my story. It’s hard, yes. Rewrites are painful, but they’re always, ALWAYS for the better. 

Without spoilers, can you tell us one scene which you enjoyed writing the most?

I have a few, but I think the one that pips the rest is the last two paragraphs of the entire book. For those who have read it, you’ll know why. For those who haven’t yet, it’s the moment when a giant piece of the puzzle falls into place, and I’d seen that moment in my head so many times before I put the words down. 

I cried for about half an hour afterwards.  

We always appreciate a beautiful book cover! How involved in the process were you? Was there a particular aesthetic you hoped the artist would portray?

I gave Aubrey a VERY early copy of the story, and a pinterest board for the story’s vibe, then told her to design whatever called to her. That’s how we always work. Aubrey is my creative soul sister, and I just adore the way her art brings my stories to life. 

How have you found the journey from self publishing When the Moon Hatched to being acquired and published by Harper Voyager? 

Incredible. I’ve found a fantastic home with Harper Voyager, and I would not be happier. Not only is my team supportive of me, but they have the same love/respect/creative vision for my story as I do. With the support, I can now take off some of the many hats I was juggling and pour more focus into the story. Which is my happy place. 

One of our favourite questions here on the Fantasy Hive: which fantastical creature would you ride into battle and why? (We’re being mean, you can’t pick a dragon from your own book!) 

That is mean! Haha. If I can’t pick a Moonplume, I’ll pick a wyvern. (See what I did there) 

We do indeed see what you did (makes note for next time…)

Tell us about a book you love. Any hidden gems?

I love the Fever Series by Karen Maree Moning. The world building, the fast pace, the character growth, and the dark and broody MMC … 

In my opinion, it’s phenomenal, and not enough people know about it! 

Can you give our readers a glimpse into what more the Moonfall series has in store? What secrets can you share?!

So much more. I’ve barely scratched the surface. Book one really sets the scene, so to speak. Plot wise, we’re barely past the starting block, but we have all the pieces to build the puzzle now. SO much happens in book 2. So much character growth, relationship growth, plot advancement, revelations … 

Buckle up.  

Are you planning anything fun to celebrate your new release? Do you have any upcoming virtual events our UK readers may be interested in?

I wish I had an exciting answer for this, but my teeth are so deep in book two right now that all I want to do is THAT. So that’s probably how I’ll celebrate! 

And yes! On June 13th there’s a Demythifying podcast episode going live. There’s also a podcast with Fantasy Fangirls going live soon! 

Finally, what is the one thing you hope readers take away from your writing?

Reading is such a personal experience, and I hate to ever tell readers what to take away from my stories. What I do hope is that my readers get lost in these pages, even for a little bit. This story for me was a breath of air when I didn’t realise I was drowning. It was a rich, luscious, exciting, magical, heart aching ESCAPE.

I hope it offers the same for others.

Thank you so much for joining us today!

When the Moon Hatched is out this week! You can order your copy HERE