Emma Warria
Author
Romantic Fantasy
Courage, Love, and Connection in a Shifting World
About
Emma Warria was born in Salt Lake City, Utah.
A lifelong insomniac, she began drafting novels on her phone in the quiet hours while her husband and three young sons slept. Inspired by fiction from an early age, she has rarely been without a book in hand and considers her smartphone’s most important role to be carrying her library.When she isn’t writing, she works as a nurse practitioner. Bonds of Shadow and Light is her publishing debut, blending the things she loves to read most:
slow-burn romance, accessible fantasy, and deep family ties — escapism with both heart and teeth.
Books
Bonds of Shadow and Light
Leryn has the rare ability to see emotional bonds as threads of light. But she cannot see any connecting her to others, leaving her yearning for friendship and love. Serving her country within her family of spies kept her constantly on the move, a lonely life for a wolf that thrives on connection. Then her family’s greatest secret shatters everything she believed about her future — she was not groomed to follow in their footsteps, but to become the next queen of the wolf Packs.She cannot refuse: war is brewing within the Prides, Dens, and Clans on their borders and the current wolf queen lacks the strength to defend their people — without Leryn’s dominance to unite wolf warriors, their nation will fall.To take the throne, she must find a mate, and she only has seven weeks before blood bonds must be made at the Choosing ceremony. Despite the disadvantage it would give her, she reveals only a portion of her power, determined to find a true bond rather than a purely political mating. Within the palace's training center, she meets the queen’s nephew, Slate — the only person she has ever met that her gifts cannot read. His opacity unsettles her, but the quiet integrity of his actions draws her ever closer.Just as their fragile trust kindles into something more, a devious coup unfolds, sparking a multinational war. On the battle’s front, Leryn must make a terrible choice: to protect every bond she holds dear, or to risk them all in a gambit that may doom her people — or save all four races now plummeting toward ruin.
Upcoming:
Book Two:
Take a closer look at the fox Skulks, revel in a budding romance, and walk beside two strong women who rise above their dark pasts... with the help of their mates.
Updates
Reflections on writing, editing, and the strange journey that is storytelling
12/7/2025Writing is a balancing act.Today, I'm balancing 'trust the reader' with 'clarity is key': where to state and where to infer information. When blending genres, sometimes the line is blurry.Exposition is a tricky thing. Each reader has their own tolerance. Some can read pages of dense world building in the beginning chapters, trusting that they are being set up for an amazing story that will unfold beautifully over 100+ chapters. Some readers are book scrollers: if they face long paragraphs or large sections of text without snappy dialogue in the beginning third, it's on to the next book.So as an author, either your writing defines your audience, or you adjust your writing to fit your target audience. Either way, you must deliver on their particular expectations.Traditional fantasy novels are complex and detailed, with themes around power, duty, and social systems. They have a larger cast of characters and are usually very plot-oriented.Traditional romance is emotionally rich with focus only on those characters falling in love. These books have intimate explorations of trust, vulnerability, and healing. The plot is only the scaffolding for the characters growing closer, and therefore these books are almost completely character-driven.So how does an author balance what seems to be opposite ends of the spectrum? (The source of much head banging in yours truly).Balance.Each author finds their own. For me, I aim for character-driven narrative with complex, tight plotting. External themes more explicitly brought out and internal themes rendered elegant enough for emotional interference. An ensemble cast with their own motivations and wounds, but never will they overpower the main characters' romantic arc.In short, many, many threads woven through innumerable drafts, and enough ironing out the inevitable snarls to make you hate your own book as much as you love it.So hat's off to all authors who mash up genres, because your work is harder.But don't give up: your audiences will adore you for walking that tightrope, transforming one-time readers into loyal fans.So please: keep writing.***11/26/2025I took a short hiatus from crafting my next novel to do some market research: AKA read some books. Three 'hit' books later, I found myself disappointed in each of them, whether because the story relied on shock-factor appeal or the quality of writing seemed below the bar for traditional publishing.After letting all that marinate for a few days, I realized that it was my needs and expectations that did not fit the books, not the other way around.A few short years ago, I was burned out from graduate school, starting a new, high-stress career I felt completely unprepared for, and I had a brand new baby. I compounded the problem with another baby. And another. My brain could take no more.At that stage, I was absolutely in need of BookTok sensations: a low threshold of concentration, the tropes I enjoy, and quick emotional payoff. Little investment required for that quick hit to get me through the fourth feeding of the night.Now I am in a different phase of life, and that type of book just doesn't cut it. I have a little more time and energy to invest, and I expect a greater mental and emotional payoff for my time. This does not stretch my interest into classics or literary territory, granted, but more depth and craft quality within the romance and fantasy genres is necessary to satisfy me now.This is the space I hope to occupy as an author.So if you're like me and dissatisfied with your latest book picks, it's time to break out of your current algorithm (and social media's). Find what you need in this season, and realize that the season will change and there will be books to fill the space you have.So never stop reading.***11/3/2025Symmetry.A lovely word, and an even lovelier concept in writing.Consistent themes throughout a project are a must, but nuanced symmetry... that sets writing apart.Artful, intentional echoes provide weight:The same line, restated with a different tone to emphasize tension. A scene mirrored in later chapters, now bittersweet. And an action taken in the beginning, repeated at the story's pinnacle to emphasize the hero's full circle.The hero is the same. Yet changed. Hopefully by the end of the journey, so is the reader.I am at a point of symmetry myself, having reached the level of revision where I'm adding a bit of myself back into a book — the edges are smoothed enough that I may judiciously embellish in the name of lyricism. And it has brought home how very far I have come as an author, and how very rough the road was at times.But as I read my creation for the umpteenth time, I also see that my core as a writer stands strong.My voice has not been strangled, but strengthened.The same. Yet changed.Hopefully, my readers will be as well.***10/31/2025It's Halloween, and to my great displeasure, I have seen not a single werewolf costume. Which brings me to the grain of sand I hope will become my pearl: though delightful in their own right, the fae and vampires have run away with the romantasy genre.Someday soon, I hope to see a revival of the earthy, primal, yet more approachable things that go bump in the night.In the meantime, spooky holidays, everyone.***10/19/2025My favorite part of editing has to be challenging myself to ensure cohesion throughout a book. The story flows, the characters are consistent in voice and motivations, the prose remains elevated, and loose ends are tied in a satisfying way.But the editing process wreaks its own havoc — and leads to what I have discovered is my least favorite part of editing: proper names vs pronouns.My latest polish pass involves combing through each sentence to ensure that every she, her, him, etc. clearly points to the right person. I now have a true appreciation for copy editors, because this polish run is pure misery.***10/15/2025I never thought I would write a book.That was for creative people.But I had an idea that wouldn't let go. And the drive (my husband calls this obsession) to make it happen. Getting it down on the page, then rereading it in the dark of the night was a secret joy. Deciding it was good enough for others to read — a revelation.So I knuckled down to edit, then polish. But the more I learned about professional-grade writing, the more I realized how far I had yet to go.What a gut punch.I considered letting it go. But within 48 hours (the limit of my moping ability), I was back to the keyboard. Tough feedback, unhelpful beta readers, word processor issues resulting in the loss of chunks of writing (more than once, I might add), all have knocked me down. But every hit makes me stronger. Makes me love the writing process more.In the words of Steve Rogers: I can do this all day.
Contact
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