Rhythm Sword Warriors

Step into the pulse-pounding world of RHYTHM SWORD WARRIORS by Lara J. Nance — a sci-fi story where rhythm isn’t just music, it’s survival.

My review: 4stars the highlights are that this is a dystopia, an alien invention has driven humans to live underground, hiding, and the main character's way to cope with all of this is to master a VR game. The gamers are so skilled at it that, through extensive practice, they actually become efficient soldiers in their fight back. Has romance as well, and the MC is kind, super cool, and has a lot of empathy for all. My review doesn't reflect any assessment of the cover art.

Haunted by loss and buried beneath the earth for twenty years, Calena finds solace in Rhythm Sword, a virtual reality game where light and motion are her only escape. But when the alien invaders who destroyed her world return, Calena must transform her gaming skills into real-world courage. To save humanity, she’ll need to lead a band of fellow players—and confront the emotions she’s spent a lifetime avoiding.

Lara J. Nance, an award-winning speculative fiction author and lifelong adventurer, has sailed across oceans and explored the far corners of the world. Her stories pulse with energy, imagination, and heart—inviting readers to discover their own courage in unexpected places. Learn more on her website.

#rhythmswordwarriors #larajnance #scifibooks #speculativefiction #bookstagram #readersofinstagram #newrelease @therealbookgal

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3ILe6Vz

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/241919280-rhythm-sword-warriors

Q&A

Writing Process & Creativity

How did you research your book?

The idea first sparked for me as an avid player of the virtual reality game, Beat Saber. I envisioned the cube that I attacked in the game as alien blobs, and had the thought, hey, what if a person was playing this game and then found that the skills used were very specialized and needed to kill alien invaders that couldn’t be killed any other way. From there my creative brain took over and imagined how this could play out in a dystopian world setting. I did a lot of research on the science side which included data about muon particles to validate the way the swords could work to kill aliens while taking into account the highly volatile nature of the particles. It was an interesting exercise in staying true to the science.

What’s the hardest scene or character you wrote—and why?

Calena was a difficult character. She was a bit crusty and salty in the beginning due to her trauma and chronic depression, so finding ways for readers to connect with her and pull for her was a challenge. The hardest scene was the one where she attempts suicide. I also suffer from chronic depression and felt that although this is a tough subject, writing about it in a way that might make those without depression understand it a bit better, and those with depression find common ground was a message I felt was extremely important.

Where do you get your ideas?

As far as the spark of the ideas and general plot, things just pop into my head based on random thoughts, as in this case it was playing the game. From there, like most writers, I begin to dig into the specifics in research and go down a bunch of rabbit holes that can spark additional ideas. So, Yay, Google. LOL

Also, for some of my novels and this one in particular I took a lot of ideas from my work as a nurse practitioner. I treat patients with depression, anxiety and PTSD with ketamine treatments and have been very interested in the amazing promise of treatments with psychedelic medicine. I drew on that for the issues with Calena and her use of mushrooms (psilocybin) as a healing modality in this book. I wanted to get this message out there that there is hope for those who haven’t had success with traditional psychiatric meds, that there may be other options that could help them. It’s a timely topic for our times as many of these drugs are set to be approved for use by the FDA in the future. In fact, there is hope that MDMA can be approved in 2026 for treatment for PTSD as there are about 17 deaths by suicide among veterans every day due to PTSD as reported by the VA in 2024. 

What sets your book apart from others in your genre?

I don’t know of another book that incorporated elements of the Beat Saber game, so that is one area. There are other uses of virtual reality out there, of course, but not directly related to Beat Saber.  Also, I think Calena is a unique character with her many flaws but yet maintaining that core of goodness and courage that ends up saving the world. 

What helps you overcome writer’s block?

Taking a break and playing Beat Saber. LOL. Also, just getting away from the intensity of the writing for a while helps to kind of reset my brain and open up fresh ideas.

What’s your favorite compliment you’ve received as a writer?

Probably the one I valued the most was from my first professionally published book, Memories of Murder. It’s a paranormal romance/mystery that won several awards and was reviewed in Romantic Times magazine receiving the highest rating and the reviewer commented that a new star in mystery writing had entered the publishing world. That gave me a lot of hope and validation that I needed as a new author at that time.

Your Writing Life

Do you write every day? What’s your schedule?

When I am working on a novel, I write every day, but I do take breaks after finishing because I am usually mentally exhausted at that point. I deeply immerse myself in the world and events of a story, so I need time to detach from that before I can start on anything new.

Where do you write—home, coffee shop, train? 

Mostly at home but I have been known to meet up with other writers for extended writing sessions at a Starbucks now and then.

Any quirky writing rituals or must-have snacks? 

Maybe not too quirky, but if I am writing a sexy love scene I need to listen to some sexy music like “Red-light Special”  by TLC. I put on some noise canceling headphones and listen as I write, sort of like a soundtrack for the scene. It really helps put me in that frame of mind to describe the love-making properly.  

Must-have snacks –  Dry Crispix cereal – not too fattening and satisfying crunch!

Behind the Book

Why did you choose this setting/topic?

An idea popped in my head while playing Beat Saber that it would be a cool weapon in a Sci-fi story and then it took off from there. I dearly love a dystopian world also. The idea of people thinking out-of-the-box to survive and using whatever they have on hand in different ways out of necessity is intriguing to me. I also am drawn to the idea of having the nobler traits of humans emerge in a crisis to overcome evil or to survive when they could have gone the other direction and become more violent, a la Mad Max.

If your book became a movie, who would star in it?

Oh, I love this question. It’s so nice to dream about your book becoming a movie!  I think all writers do this.  I’d pick, Daisy Ridley because she  proved her action chops in Star Wars and I see her doing well in Sci-fi type roles, also, she can carry vulnerability with strength as a fighter.

Which author(s) most inspired you?

Probably two. First of all, my favorite book of all time is Dune, by Frank Herbert. He was really epic in world building. He didn’t just create a desert planet and set a story there, he built an entire ecosystem along with its religions, politics, economic, ecology and made it believable. His characters were complex with flaws and moral ambiguity that made you think. He also dealt with themes that resonated beyond a mere sci-fi story, which I think is amazing because it is still relevant today even though he published that book in 1965.

Second is Anne McCaffrey. Her Dragon Riders series is one that I read over and over. She was able to make Sci-fi more accessible, I think as she wove in so many character plots and I also loved how she always managed to sneak in detail about food. LOL. Her books about the Crystal Singers had one of my favorite female heroines who had her flaws but also strength and determination.

Fun & Lighthearted Qs

What’s your go-to comfort food? 

Pizza

What are you binge-watching right now?

I am actually re-watching the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series in anticipation of the new series coming out. It’s one of my favorites!

If you could time-travel, where would you go?

I’d love to live in the Regency period of England. I loved Georgette Heyer’s books and it seemed like a time when the focus was more on parties and clothes than war and violence. That would be refreshing right now. But only if I could be invited to Almack’s and fall in love with the duke who is flawed but sexy and strong. 

What 3 books would you bring to a desert island?

Dune, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Bible.

What’s something that made you laugh this week? 

Finding out I was pronouncing October wrong in Korean and it came out as the Korean word for “f-ck”. My Korean teacher pointed that out to me and we both had a good laugh. I’m really hoping I didn’t say that in public anywhere. LOL.

I Didn’t Realize Being an Author Meant…

When I first started writing, I imagined the life of an author as something wildly romantic. Long afternoons in cozy cafés, scribbling brilliance into notebooks, appearing on the Oprah show to adoring audiences... Days on a sailboat (okay, that one I actually did), gazing at sunsets while characters whispered their stories into my ear. Fame! Fortune! At least a velvet chaise lounge and maybe a personal assistant named Nigel to refill my coffee.

What I didn’t realize being an author actually meant was:

● Endless googling of bizarre things. “How long does it take a body to decompose in a

swamp?” “Where can you buy enriched uranium?” “Would dragon fire cauterize a

wound?” If anyone checks my search history, I’m doomed.

● Talking to myself—loudly. Entire conversations happen out loud at random times.

Sometimes in accents. Sometimes while cooking eggs. My neighbors probably think I’ve

opened a small, unlicensed theater troupe.

● Wrestling with commas like they’re wild animals. Should there be one here? Or there?

Or not at all? By the end of a draft, I’m convinced commas are malicious little gremlins

plotting against me.

● Becoming a part-time graphic designer, marketer, and accountant. I thought writing

books was the job. Surprise! Apparently, I also needed to master cover design feedback,

spreadsheets, social media algorithms, and figuring out why Amazon won’t display my

author page correctly.

● Discovering that characters are bossy. I am allegedly the one in charge of the story.

My characters disagree. They go rogue, fall in love with the wrong people, or insist on

dramatic deaths I never planned. Honestly, I’m just the secretary.

● Finding glitter in strange places. Okay, this one might just be me, but I swear

speculative fiction is 50% typing and 50% sweeping up the magical mess left behind by

my imagination.

In short, being an author is less about sipping lattes while muses descend from the heavens, and more about caffeine-fueled chaos, stubborn characters, and the frequent deep dives into Google rabbit-holes.

And you know what? I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Because for all the commas, coffee, and chaos, there’s nothing quite like building worlds, living a thousand adventures, and then hearing from readers who’ve come along for the ride.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go argue with a fictional sea princess who refuses to attend her coronation.

— Lara J Nance, Award-Winning Author of Speculative Fiction