Julie Soto’s latest book is her debut in the fantasy romance genre and the first in a trilogy.

TEMPE, Ariz. — USA Today bestselling author Julie Soto is back with another title for readers—this time, with a dark romantasy filled with magic, intrigue, and enemies-to-lovers. 

“Rose in Chains” is Soto’s fourth book and first foray into fantasy romance. The book follows Briony Rosewood, the heir-apparent of the Eversuns, after the war between her people and the Bomardsuns is over and the dark forces have won. Stripped of her magic and auctioned off to the highest bidder, Briony must figure out how to play her new role, and fast. Before her ill-fated infatuation, the man who won her life, Toven Hearst, uses her power for his own interests. Or worse. 

“Rose in Chains” is the first book in the Evermore Trilogy and hit shelves just days before Soto visited Tempe, where she was in conversation with fellow romance author Kate Golden at Changing Hands bookstore.

Soto sat down with 12News to talk about starting out as a writer, writing dark romance, and what readers can look forward to next. 


Starting out, fan fiction 

Soto started out in a different art form before becoming an author: an actress.

She went to theater school, did some playwrighting, and acted throughout her whole life. 

“My first time writing and creating was through playwriting. I wrote a musical,” Soto said.

From playwrighting, Soto dug into fan fiction. As a reader of fan fiction since high school, Soto knew she loved the space, and when she began writing her own, she got a lot of great reactions.

“Fan fiction is just such a great place for community and for finding your voice as a writer,” Soto said.

When the pandemic hit, fewer theater pieces were being produced because of social distancing, and Soto said she decided then to pivot into novel writing. 

Soto said she got to take a lot of things from her work as an actress into her work as an author: everything from character work to world-building. 

“It’s all kind of a roundabout way of getting to being a full-time author. It wasn’t my dream to be an author when I was younger,” Soto explained. “It had been in the back of my mind, but I always wanted to be an actress.”


Bringing ‘Rose in Chains’ to the page

Her latest novel is Soto’s first fantasy, but certainly not her first romance. Going from the contemporary space for “Forget Me Not” and “Not Another Love Song” to her most recent book before “Rose in Chains,”  “The Thrashers,” a young adult romantic mystery thriller, Soto said she was able to write in so many different subgenres because romance was a main thread through all of them.

“There are very few stories in today’s world where there’s not just even a hint of romance somewhere,” Soto said. 

Soto first started writing “Rose in Chains” before the COVID-19 pandemic, when the popular television show “The Handmaid’s Tale” was first premiering, the Women’s March took place, and many dystopian titles were hitting shelves. 

“I feel like we as a society are just so intrigued by dystopian and the fallout of something terrible, and I think we’ve been living in very strange and terrible times for such a long time, and so I just really wanted a love story set against a backdrop like that,” Soto said. “Because it is, ‘Rose in Chains’ is ultimately about hope and believing that you can find your people again.”

Much of the book deals with challenging topics, like war, sexual abuse and the death of family members. Soto said there’s a fine line between writing trauma for characters that reflects people’s lived experiences and writing those experiences in a glorified manner, and it’s something she is still learning how best to do.

“I wanted to honor what that experience would be like and has been like for people, and the fears that we have around those experiences, while also not going to a place that a reader would be uncomfortable with,” Soto said. 

And her favorite part of writing “Rose in Chains”?

“The best part is laying down an Easter egg, laying down a seed that you know will not bloom until book three,” Soto said with a smile.


What’s next for Soto

At her event in Tempe, Soto told readers her next project is the second book in the Evermore trilogy, the sequel to ‘Rose in Chains.’ But her project after that will be a dip back into the young adult, mystery thriller space.

Golden’s next book comes out Aug. 5 and is called “If Not For My Baby,” a contemporary romance. 

To keep up with Soto and Golden’s upcoming projects, tours, and more, head to their social media pages. 


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