Lauren Sergeant never expected to be a writer. She never expected a lot of things that are now true, though. When she moved to Alabama at the age of 25, Lauren worked at a bank crunching numbers from nine to five every day. To relax, she enjoyed studying languages and practicing calculus. Then she met a local publisher at the bank, which rekindled her youthful desire to write.
I began brainstorming in March of 2016 and wrote nonstop for a few months, completing around 100,000 words. I felt like they were terrible. I got discouraged, and life experiences began to weigh me down, so I stopped writing for over a year.
Inspiration was smothered by doubt. Lauren went back to the nine to five, day in and day out. Time moved on, but Lauren could not get Ihva and Jasper out of her thoughts. She realized the same internal struggle she faced when writing paralleled her two main characters in their relationship between optimism and pessimism. Lauren was confident in her math skills but doubted her ability to tell a story that people would enjoy.
Laurens husband, Nathan, encouraged her to keep writing Ihva and Jaspers story. To Nathan, my husband, whose unfailing encouragement and reassurance have bolstered me through this whole process, thank you for abiding my endless requests for you to listen to scene after scene, chapter after chapter, and for providing astute observations and suggestions for improvement. Thank you for your patience and kindness in taking care of our boy while I head to coffee shops to think and write. More than that, thank you for leading me to the hope that inspires these books.
When I came back to my novel, I realized it was going to be more than one book and set out to finish it. I wrote over 50,000 words a month as inspiration took me, then Jana Grissom of INtense Publications contacted me in April 2019. Its been a whirlwind since!
Just as Ihva and Jasper struggle with opposing optimism and pessimism, their relationship in Light of Distant Suns models the interplay between two viewpoints and how they reconcile such different perspectives. Just like Ihva and Jasper, one must find a way to accept that each one of us has multiple talents to share. It is hard to overcome the fear and doubt, but we must push through the skepticism in order to enjoy the unexpected.
I hope readers can explore what it means to be hopeful as well as realistic by reflecting on these two characters throughout the series. Their relationship has led me to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of my own outlook on my situation. Ive always wanted to make a contribution to the world, whether it be in mathematics, physics, diplomacy, or writing. I never thought I could be a writer.