Sara Creasy

Family Entanglements (SPOILERS GALORE)

This post contains serious spoilers for all ten books. Links take you to pages on the Wynter Wild Wiki, which is also full of spoilers.

I started the Wynter Wild series with five characters in mind – the three Fairn boys, the two sisters – along with a few adults in their sphere. As their world expanded across ten books, I ended it with 365 named characters (admittedly, that does include the chickens). Somewhere along the way, a few of those characters became entangled in ways I hadn’t envisioned when I set out.

A primary example is Xay. I created his character at the same time as I created Wynter’s past in the cult – an Aussie boy she secretly befriends who leaves her behind. But making him Harry’s son was an idea that came later (although before I started writing in earnest). Other ideas came when some of the books were already complete, and it’s no easy task to weave revealed secrets into the plot when you didn’t even know those secrets yourself!

As an insight into my writing process, I thought I’d lay out how some of my decisions evolved.

Duet (Wynter Wild Book 7) is OUT NOW in paperback

New paperback out today!

Duet is the seventh book in the series and introduces a new POV character Xay.

We’ve already heard a bit about him in the previous books, of course. Getting into his head was a refreshing change from the other four characters. He has a positive optimistic outlook on life, making the best of things, but harbors bitterness over what happened to him and his best friend Roman at the ashram. When he finally discovers that Wynter escaped the Light and is living what he believes is a dream life in Washington, it raises all kinds of self-doubt in Xay.

Meanwhile, the road trip at the start of this book, where Wynter and Jesse head south to rescue Indio, was one of my favorite sections to write in the entire series! I love putting these two together in a confined space just to see what happens!

Jesse and Wynter set out on an adventure-filled road trip to San Francisco, to rescue Indio from drugs and despair. Back home, eldest brother Caleb resolves to take control of his family as once-close relationships deteriorate.
Meanwhile, in Sacramento, Xay lives with his ailing mother and a whole heap of bitterness over his year spent in the Light. He’s doing okay, all things considered. But he’s never forgotten the girl from the ashram who used to climb through a hole in the fence in the dead of night to listen to rock songs on the radio with him…
As family secrets are revealed, this divided family draws ever closer to the truth… and to each other.

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Natural Harmonics (Book 6) is OUT NOW in paperback

I’m slowly converting my ebooks to paperbacks, and the newest release is Natural Harmonics (Wynter Wild Book 6). This is one of my personal favorites in the series because I finally got to write about the family out and about in Seattle playing their music.

Wynter and her brothers are ready to rock venues all over Seattle. No one can deny the natural chemistry Rule212 has on stage. Behind the scenes there’s tension brewing.

It’s not easy to work, play, and live together. Family means everything to Wynter and she’ll do whatever it takes to keep it together.

But something at the very heart of this family is ripping it apart. They are finally learning that things went wrong years before they were born. No secrets or lies—it’s one of Caleb’s house rules. So why does everyone keep breaking it?

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Broken Strings (Book 9) is Out Now!

This was probably the hardest book to write in the series so far, for two reasons.

Firstly, because it was the first book where I was starting from scratch. While I wrote half a million stream-of-consciousness words a few years ago that became the basis for all ten books, once I put the scenes in order, I only “completed” 8 books before I started publishing book 1 on Wattpad. I don’t really mean completed, as I was rewriting and editing (and adding thousands of words to) the books as I published them, but essentially the plotting and two-thirds of the writing was done.

Book 9 had a bare-bones plot and a few scenes written, but I was writing on the fly for the most part, and under a little self-imposed pressure to keep updating regularly on Wattpad (where it was uploaded chapter by chapter every few days).

Useful Free Internet Tools for Writers

Gone are the days when writers had to spend hours in the library researching how to care for their character’s pet python, or on the phone exploring the price of a plane ticket, or at the bookcase in the next room flicking through classic novels to find the perfect quote.

Everything’s at our fingertips – and not just for researching our stories, but for editing and publishing our books as well. Here I’m focusing on some of my most-used tools and websites, and they’re all free. Some do have paid services that expand the options available, and for others you will need to make an account (often, signing in via Facebook or Google is possible).

I’ve mentioned a couple of these tools before, and added lots of new ones.

The Ashram at Touchstone Pass

Do you get a visual image of the layout of a place when you read about it? I have a very firm impression in my mind of the ashram in the Wynter Wild books, but I’ve never actually drawn a map. Now that I’m writing flashbacks for book 10 (The Beat Goes On), where we spend some time in the ashram (and – spoiler! – there are present scenes set there, too), I decided I needed a clearer idea of where everything is.

Firstly, to set the scene…

Xay’s Playlist

It’s not really a spoiler to say that in the forthcoming and final book of the Wynter Wild series (The Beat Goes On), Xay Morant is going to launch his singing career. He’s a rockstar through and through (or will be, he hopes!) – and I’ve put together this playlist to give you an idea of the kind of music he sings.

XAY’S SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

Follow me on Spotify to find more playlists for the Wynter Wild books.

If you don’t listen to anthemic rock music (as opposed to the indie rock of Rule212), these songs might be an eyeopener. They’re mostly from current but not particularly huge bands (in some cases, unknown bands) including a couple of covers. In style and lyrical content they represent the spirit of Xay’s music. Cigarette-lighter songs included!

Other playlists for the Wynter Wild series:

Wynter Wild Inspiration (songs for each character and relationship)
Mail Order Chicks (Wynter’s all-girl band plus drummer boy)
Wynter Wild Books (songs mentioned in the first few books)

New Release: Distortion (Wynter Wild Book 5) in paperback

The fifth book in the Wynter Wild series, Distortion, is out now in paperback!

In this book, Wynter puts together her first all-girl (well, not quite) band. While she’d love to be playing just about every song with the amp turned to 11 to maximize distortion, the Mail Order Chicks play mostly 80s and 90s British pop. This story also sees the genesis of the rock band she puts together with her brothers.

“Distortion” refers to how the siblings’ mother, Miriam, has affected her children by her actions years ago. Particularly for Indio, he believes the ongoing absence of maternal love is what has formed him, rather than the abandonment itself:

New Release: Minor Key (Wynter Wild Book 8)

The eighth book in the Wynter Wild saga, Minor Key, is out now in all ebook formats!

The title for Minor Key was inspired by two events in the story, the first being Xay and Wynter’s long-awaited reunion after 3 years. Things don’t go exactly as either of them planned, and neither knows quite what to do about it.

The second is the tragedy alluded to in the blurb (below).

In addition, Jesse is dealing with a mental health issue that takes him by surprise.

But there are happy times, too.

Wynter Wild Inspiration playlist

Little Sister Song on Wattpad has just hit 150,000 reads since I started publishing it in December 2018 – beyond my wildest expectations! I’ll be posting a few blogs to celebrate.

I don’t often listen to music while writing (especially not songs with lyrics) but when I’m plotting, or playing out scenes in my head searching for ideas, I have some favorite songs I keep going back to. These songs don’t necessarily reflect how I imagine my fictional musical family would sound, but for various reasons the music inspired me.

WYNTER WILD INSPIRATION PLAYLIST

Follow me on Spotify to find more playlists for the Wynter Wild books.

I’ll add to the list if I find more songs.

I’ve shared other playlists here:

Wynter Wild books (songs mentioned by characters in books 1-4)
Mail Order Chicks (songs played by Wynter’s “all-girl” band in books 5-6)
Xay’s Playlist