Interview with Sarah A. Parker: When the Moon Hatched & The Ballad of Falling Dragons

Book Talk for BookTok

Cloud10

Arts, Books

4.8 • 642 Ratings

🗓️ 11 May 2026

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

New York Times bestselling author Sarah A. Parker joins us to talk about The Ballad of Falling Dragons , the sequel to When the Moon Hatched , covering Raeve's identity arc, Kaan's transformation, and the craft behind the Moonfall Series. Sarah walks us through what it was like to return to the complexity of the Moonfall world and how she balanced world-building, romance, and plot across both books. We talk about Raeve's journey , specifically how themes of identity and self-ownership that were so central to When the Moon Hatched continue to evolve in the sequel, and what readers should watch for in Kaan Vaegor's arc after the dramatic ending of book one. We also get into the craft side of Sarah's writing: her use of format as a storytelling tool, what she's most proud of in The Ballad of Falling Dragons, and a candid conversation about Raeve's relationship with the Creators and what that storyline may (or may not) reflect about mental health. Whether you're deep in your When the Moon Hatched reread before the sequel drops or discovering the Moonfall Series for the first time, this one is for you. The Ballad of Falling Dragons releases May 19, 2026. Topics covered: Returning to the Moonfall world to write the sequel How identity and self-ownership evolve in Raeve's arc Balancing world building, plot, and romance across both books Kaan Vaegor's transformation since When the Moon Hatched Sarah's proudest craft moments in The Ballad of Falling Dragons Raeve, the Creators, and mental health representation in fantasy The Subtext Society Journal: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thesubtextsocietyjournal.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We’re thrilled to announce our newest venture: The Subtext Society Journal—the first of its kind, dedicated to Romance, Romantasy, and fandom with an academic yet accessible voice. We’re publishing original essays and thought pieces, and we encourage listeners to submit their own articles for a chance to be featured. Share your thoughts for a chance to be featured! Submit them at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠booktalkforbooktok.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for a future mini-episode or exclusive Patreon discussion. Support the Show: Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/booktalkforbooktok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Merch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Etsy Store⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Us on Social: Instagram: @BookTalkForBookTok TikTok: @BookTalkForBookTok YouTube: @BookTalkForBookTok Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Amy, I have an itch and it is for a spicy, dark romance, and I need one bad.
0:05.0	I have the book for you. It is a reign of shadows and endings by Melissa K. Rourke. It was an
0:10.4	instant New York Times bestseller. It was a huge indie hit on book talk and I think it is right up your alley.
0:17.0	It seriously has some of my favorite tropes, like shifters, vampires, witches, you know how I feel about vampires?
0:22.8	There can never be enough.
0:24.0	It has the best morally gray characters, faded mates, meddling gods, force proximity, touch her and die.
0:31.5	One bed, one horse, he falls first, enemies with benefits.
0:34.8	I loved enemies with benefits. Don't tell me your feelings at all. Just ravage me,
0:41.9	please. I need to read this immediately. I love that there's even LGBTQ rep. The series overall
0:47.9	features romantic relationships like MFM Polyamory, MM, and FM. Give it all to me. You know how I love to feel devastated by
0:58.0	reading a book. A rain of shadows and endings is it. And if you're like Jack and I, and you love
1:04.2	special editions, there is a gorgeous deluxe version with stenciled edges, foil details, and full
1:10.6	color character arc from Kensington
1:12.5	publishing. It is, in fact, in my heart currently. We're so excited to read it, and you can too.
1:18.3	You can find a reign of shadows and endings by Melissa K. Rourich wherever books are sold in print
1:23.6	and in ebook. You can also find Melissa K.Rouric.com at Melissa
1:30.7	K.k.Rourik on Instagram and at author Melissa K. Melissa K. Rourik on TikTok. That's
1:39.6	R-O-E-H-R-I-C. You're listening to this podcast, so I know you've got a curious mind.
1:46.5	Here's a helpful fact that you may not know yet.
1:49.2	Drivers who switch and save with Progressive save over $900 on average.
1:54.6	They make it super simple.
1:56.3	Pop over to Progressive.com, answer some questions, and you'll get a quick quote with coverage options
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 3 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Cloud10, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Cloud10 and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.