Back in high school, this novel was in a much different place. It began as The Midnight Rose, a novel that relied more on the action than characters. While my writing developed throughout my years at Ball State, my love for the world in The Midnight Rose remained. So I returned to it, rewriting it as The Rose's War, the first book in an intended trilogy. The novel has changed so much. Its characters are more complex, its story has more depth, and its world is more reflective of the diversity I value so much in people. The novel follows Isabella, an interracial princess grieving from the loss of three members of her family. She discovers she may be able to save those she has lost, leading to her mission to save her family and their fractured...