The Story Behind The Lightbound Saga by S.G. Basu

 

 

 

The Story Behind The Lightbound Saga

By S.G. Basu

Writing a book, a book series, and eventually having a full-time career as a writer was never a plan or a dream. I have always been an avid reader and an imaginative child, and I had once dreamed of being an astronaut. But a writer? What? No!

I was a happy, content telecommunications professional with a job I loved and a young family that demanded all my attention when the writing bug bit me out of nowhere. Well, I should not say it was out of nowhere. Here goes the story behind the story: I was hooked on an anime show at the time, and its ending (specifically, the arcs for several characters) was a huge letdown for me. I felt robbed of a perfect conclusion and was so upset that I stopped watching the show (to this day, refuse to watch, read, or hear anything about the show). However, after spending a few weeks stewing over what was, in my opinion, an unsatisfying ending, I realized a few things. While I had the right to be upset, the writers wrote their story and ended it as they saw fit. The only way I could have an ending I wished for was if I was a writer, writing my own story. That was when I decided. I was going to write my own story. 

So off I went, planning and plotting. Since I knew the arc I wanted for the protagonist, the characters came first. Then I went looking for a plot and setting. The plot came to me one winter day. I was driving to work one early morning and the low sun caused too many gridlocks and delays. I reached late, missed half of a meeting, and let’s put it this way, the sun was not in my good books that day. That evening, when I was driving back, it was dark, cold, and blustery. I sorely missed the sun, its light, and its warmth. And I suddenly wondered what would happen if one day the sun was to suddenly disappear. Voila, that became the central premise of my plot.

Two other long-time interests also played a part in how this series was shaped. First was my love for Enid Blyton’s boarding school stories and my love for a circle of friends. Having been a boarding school kid myself, it was sheer joy bringing to life the camaraderie of a group of friends. I have always been a fan of multi-realm games so it was only natural to incorporate three distinct worlds into my story as well. 

Armed with the characters, the premise, and the setting, I went on playing, and very soon, I was looking at a five-book series with an ensemble cast. Before I knew it, I had embarked on a career (still part-time for years to come) as a writer and writing my first (and always my favorite) book series, The Lightbound Saga.

 

 

13-year-old Maia is a land-dwelling Solianese living on the planet of Tansi. She has been raised by her doting grandfather. Her mother, Sophie, supposedly deceased, is accused to be a traitor who fought for the Xifarians who have subjugated Tansi. Loathing her family’s history, Maia has put herself into self-exile, vowing to steer clear of the temptations that led her mother astray. But when she is drafted into a peace summit by the Xifarians, she must walk into Xif, the planet she has always wanted to avoid. Here she meets loyal teammates Kusha, Dani, Nafi, and Ren, as well as Miir, their Xifarian team mentor who is as accomplished as he is temperamental. As Maia and her teammates thwart a plot to harm the underwater settlements on Tansi, she also discovers that her mother, Sophie, was not what she seemed. Sophie sacrificed herself to save Tansi before the Xifarians could destroy the Tansian system.

Maia visits the Jjord nation in their underwater colonies on Tansi. More of Sophie’s secrets come to light while she is in the colonies as well as more of the Xifarians’ plots to rebuild the dark heart of Xif. As Maia’s link with Sophie becomes apparent, Maia soon finds herself in the crosshairs of the Xifarians who kill her family and send her running for shelter across the dead lands of the Solianese. Chased by the Xifarians, Maia barely manages to stay alive with the help of her teammates.

While on the run across Tansi, Maia meets a mysterious man who unlocks a power within Maia. When her mighty Xifarian foes corner her, Maia unleashes the power on them, overpowering everyone, including her former mentor, Miir.

Maia struggles with her newfound power. The team is on the verge of fracturing when Maia reveals she might have killed Miir. Meanwhile, the R’armimon, an ancient and powerful enemy of the Xifarians, are on the way to the Tansian system, seeking vengeance from the Xifarians. On finding this, the Xifarians grow desperate to resurrect the dark heart that would enable them to leave the Tansian system. Maia narrowly escapes the Xifarians’ trap with a mysterious ally but her new alliance takes a toll on her friendships.

Maia is alone and hopeless but she forges on to regain the trust of her teammates and tries to convince the Tansian leaders of the impending threat of the R’armimon fleet. With help from her allies, Maia continues to uncover more of Sophie’s past. Together with her friends, Maia rushes to find the artifacts needed to thwart the R’armimon as the massive Execution Fleet of the R’armimon appears next to Tansi.

Purchase Information for Series

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Tb71xt

S.G. Basu is an aspiring potentate of a galaxy or two. She plots and plans with wondrous machines, cybernetic robots, time travelers and telekinetic adventurers, some of whom escape into the pages of her books. Although she’s an engineer by training, writing has been her passion since childhood. Her other loves include extra-hot lattes, fast cars and binge watching sci-fi movies.

Find out more about the futuristic worlds she creates at sgbasu.com. She can also be reached at sg@sgbasu.com.

Books by S.G. Basu:

The Lightbound Saga series (YA Dystopian Science Fiction)

Maia and the Xifarian Conspiracy

Maia and the Secrets of Zagran

Maia and Regency Protocol

The Lightbound Saga 3 Book Bundle

The Firefly League-A Lightbound Saga novella

Elementals-The Serial Thriller (Paranormal Science Fiction)

Population Morpheus (Near Apocalyptic Science Fiction)

Jumpers (Paranormal Thriller)

You can visit the author’s website at www.sgbasu.com or connect with her on Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads.