Tayna Chronicles: The Secret City: Sara Škrobo

For today’s blog post, we got to speak with Sara Škrobo, author of the fantasy novel ‘Tayna Chronicles: The Secret City’. We asked Sara about her book, her inspirations, and what life as an author is like.

1. What are three interesting factors about yourself?

I would say I often made life-changing decisions which, to some, would seem abrupt and not well thought-through! The truth is, most of the time, I simply followed my instincts and was thankfully backed by my family and friends in those crucial moments. The first thing is my choice of studies – I wanted to be an archaeologist, so I enrolled [in] a program in History & Archaeology. Secondly, I hopped on a plane and moved to the UK straight after I got my diploma. The third interesting point about myself is [that] I was, and still am, a massive Harry Potter fan. When I was twelve or thirteen, my friend and I wrote a letter in broken English (a language we had just started learning) to J.K. Rowling. Her books gave me a huge motivation to become fluent in the language, [which was] completely foreign to me at the time since I was born and raised in Croatia.

2. As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?

This one is easy – I wanted to be a professional singer. I completed music school and hoped to continue my musical education by going to the Music Academy, but somewhere around the age of fourteen, I changed my mind.

3. When did you first realise you wanted to be a writer?

The wish to become a writer probably came before my realisation of it. For a very long time, I had wanted to write but never dared to try. I finally decided to give it a go a couple of years ago when my first notes on Tayna Chronicles materialised on paper.

Sara Škrobo, the author of Tayna Chronicles: The Secret City.

4. Can you tell me about the book?

The story takes place in the dystopian Federation of Danubia, whose people are strictly divided into seven castes and ruled by a dictator. Life is dull and gloomy; every aspect of the citizens’ lives is controlled by the President, who has assumed all power for himself. Things will change once the protagonist stumbles upon a hidden, magical province of Tayna, where the next rebellion is in the works.

The story will appeal to readers who enjoy atmospheric twin worlds, strong female characters (my protagonist is a 25-year-old girl, Sofija Filipov), dystopian societies, and - of course, magic! This book is the first installment of a series.

5. How long did it take you to write your first book?

Once I had most of my notes done, it took me around six months to draft the manuscript. A few months of editing ensued, so the whole process took around a year.

6. What do you think makes a good story?

Mystery, mystery, and more mystery. I enjoy stories based on problem-solving, where the author drops clues along the way, propelling the reader to think and try to crack the problem. It is also essential to build believable, ‘live’ characters of flesh and blood; I enjoy reading about what’s going on in their mind, how they think, and what worries them or makes them happy.

Trailer to Sara Škrobo’s book, Tayna Chronicles: The Secret City.

7. What inspired you to write your book?

It might sound simplistic, but I wanted to try and see if I [could] do it. Most of all, I wanted to find out how my writing would sound, for lack of a better word. Every author has their own voice, and I was curious to find my own.

8. What did you learn when writing the book?

Most of all, how to structure a story; I put many hours into reading about the process of building a novel. Apart from that, Apart from that, I [learned] a lot about gemstones and their properties because my characters use gemstones to channel magic. 

9. What surprised you the most?

That would be the unpredictability of my own storyline. It is very true, or at least it was true for me, that not even the author knows what will happen next. No matter how well I planned the plot, some ideas came to me out of the blue, completely unexpected. They would only pop into my head once I got to that point in the plot; it seemed as though putting words to paper made the storyline more real, so this or that course of action made more sense than I originally envisioned.

10. What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Read as much as your everyday life allows you to, and don’t be afraid to put your thoughts to paper once an idea strikes.

Tayna Chronicles: The Secret City

Sara Škrobo

£8.99

ISBN:  9781800161252

Order today: https://pegasuspublishers.com/books/all/tayna-chronicles_-the-secret-city