Abstract:
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 hold on their kingdom. On her journey, she realizes there is a war brewing in her region, and that she, as the heir to a power she once believed was a myth, is at the center of it. Along with telling Isabella's coming of age story, the text deals with issues of mortality, grief, diversity, second chances, duty, belief, corruption, and the complexities of a broken region. This thesis includes the first quarter of the novel, an outline of the rest of the book, a map of The Rose's War's world, and a character listing.
