Copyright The Denver Post
Before she became one of the most powerful people in Navarre, Violet Sorrengail found sanctuary with the books in her home away from home, The Archives. For the woman who created Sorrengail, Xaden Riorson and the rest of the dragon riders at Basgiath War College, her home away from home is a hockey rink. Rebecca Yarros was an accomplished author before “Fourth Wing” became a global phenomenon shortly after being published on May 2, 2023. The sequels in the “Empyrean” series that have followed — “Iron Flame” and “Onyx Storm” — have broken records and helped elevate awareness for the entire romantasy genre. But before Sorrengail and Riorson were even an idea in her imagination, Yarros was a hockey mom in Colorado Springs. She has six children, and four sons who all grew up as hockey players. “I don’t think there’s anything quite like (being a hockey mom),” Yarros told The Denver Post. “I think hockey families are a unique source of support and camaraderie. I think some of the people I trust the most in this world are other hockey families, because our kids grow up together. Especially how our kids have grown up playing here, some of their best male role models have been their coaches. “They’ve grown up with these kids like, it’s a family.” The Yarros family’s love of hockey will be part of a celebration Wednesday night at Ball Arena. The Colorado Avalanche is hosting Yarros as part of “Fourth Wing” night against the Buffalo Sabres. She will be there to sign books and meet fans. There are different packages involved, but fans will receive a limited edition copy of “Fourth Wing” and a unique Avalanche jersey, complete with a special logo and “Riorson” stitched on the back (No. 4, naturally). “It’s really cool. When I saw the (jersey) design, I had to run out and show my kids,” Yarros said. “When you have teenage boys, cool points are like few and far between. It’s impossible to impress a teenager. But that got me some cool points.” The theme night came about in part because Yarros is an Avs fan, and because she was already in the planning stages of a “Fourth Wing” night at Fenway Park with the Boston Red Sox. She was at an Avalanche game last season, and the topic of her night at Fenway came up. Yarros threw out the first pitch on Sept. 3, with 10,000 fans wearing Red Sox wingleader jackets with Riorson’s name on the back. “I don’t think I’ve ever been that nervous in my life for anything – not an interview with The New York Times, not anything, as I was standing there with a ball because I am not athletic,” Yarros said. “No, not athletic. “The Avs got involved, and I said absolutely. That’s a no-brainer, because we love the Avs.” The wheels went into motion pretty quickly last season. To get the word out, the Avs sent Yarros a signed Gabe Landeskog jersey to unbox as part of the announcement. Yarros posted about “Fourth Wing” night at Ball Arena on Aug. 18. The tickets went on sale the next morning at 10 a.m. local time. Megan Boyle, senior director of marketing for the Avalanche, had an inkling that it could be a busy morning just from the number of people who clicked on the link Yarros provided in her post to be the first ones notified when the sale was live. The Avs had a little more than 2,500 tickets available. There were 30,000 people who tried to buy them the morning of the 19th, and they sold out in minutes. “It was probably our biggest on-sale that we’ve had for a theme night ever,” Boyle said. “We had 90,000 pageviews that day. We sold out very quickly. It was awesome to see, and we were a little sad that we didn’t have more tickets for the fans.” It wasn’t a surprise for Yarros. This type of thing is happening a lot these days. When she’s on a book tour or a convention, the tickets don’t last long. “Watching it sell out so fast is truly humbling, especially because this is my home state,” Yarros said. “This is home. It’s just really surreal. I think that’s the best word for it. It’s like it is always happening to somebody else.” Yarros’ first book, “Full Measures,” was published in February 2014, and hockey is front and center. She had published nearly 20 books when the idea to explore a world of dragons, gryphons and the magic-wielding humans who ride them first came to light. Her publishing company was about to launch a romantasy line, and Yarros was intrigued. She read fantasy series like the “Dragonriders of Pern” and “The Inheritance Cycle,” more commonly known as the Eragon books, when she was younger. And then she started world-building. “I wanted to have these two mated dragons whose riders couldn’t stand each other,” Yarros said. “Then you have forced proximity, and forced proximity is where that tension is at. Then suddenly I’m thinking, ‘OK, what do we want to talk about?’ We want to talk about revisionist history. We want to talk about the politics of this world. You get to put all that into fantasy with dragons, and it’s pretty fun.” Her publisher loved the idea, and then really loved the synopsis and the first couple of chapters she had turned in. By the time “Fourth Wing” was in the editing process, there was already an inkling that she was onto something … bigger. “I remember there being one moment when my publisher said, ‘I think you just gave us the next Hunger Games,‘” Yarros said. “I just kind of laughed because at that point I had been writing for like 12 years and people always tell you, ‘Oh, this is the book.’ I’ve heard that so many times. “It came out and took off in a way that I was completely unprepared for. By the time ‘Iron Flame’ came out, it was just this giant snowball coming down the hill.” “Fourth Wing” spent nine weeks at No. 1 on the New York Times’ best sellers list in 2023, plus six more in 2024 and two weeks earlier this year before the third book in the series, “Onyx Storm,” began to dominate that list after it was published in January. “Iron Flame” was published Nov. 7, 2023, just a little more than six months after “Fourth Wing” and sold more than half a million copies just on release day. Just before “Iron Flame” came out, a television adaptation deal for the series with Amazon MGM Studios was announced. The newfound fame hasn’t been all great — the family did have to move because some fans found their address online. But there continue to be pinch-me moments for Yarros, like actress Maya Hawke recently discussing how much she likes the books on the “Good Hang With Amy Poehler” podcast. “I started realizing like, ‘Oh, this really is a thing,’ ” Yarros said. “I live in my office. I’m not really out in the world. I’m very much a hermit, and I like to put my head down and work. But every time I would pick my head up, it was something else happening with the book. “I try to hermit as much as possible and ignore everything about me as much as possible, so when I see it, it floors me.” Three of Yarros’ four sons have moved on from playing hockey, either in college or having graduated. Brody Yarros will play for Cheyenne Mountain High School this season. The Yarros family is heavily involved in a couple of charities. One is OneOctober.org, created by the Yarros to help children in foster care. Their adopted daughter, Audrey-Grace, was originally a foster child, and they first met her at a hockey rink in upstate New York. The other is The Ehlers-Danlos Society, which will receive a portion of the proceeds from “Fourth Wing” night at Ball Arena. Yarros and her kids all have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) — a genetic connective tissue disorder and inspiration for the physical limitations Sorrengail has to overcome in the books. Brody was in the hospital getting a titanium plate put in his chest the day his mom’s publisher called and wanted to know how fast she could turn the idea of “Fourth Wing” into a manuscript. Yarros’ husband, Jason, a retired military veteran, and one of her sons, are New York Rangers fans. But it is still very much an Avs household. One son, Chase, a sports psychology major and former Red-Tailed Hawk player, is flying in the morning of the event. “Yeah, they couldn’t care less if I’m going to be there, as long as Cale Makar is there with them,” Yarros said. “Chase is like a human dictionary of hockey facts, so he is absolutely pumped. Only one kid isn’t going to be able to make it, but they’re all very excited.” There are two more books to come in the “Empyrean” series. Yarros has not announced a release date for either. She was dealing with some burnout after “Onyx Storm” was published, which was her fifth book in fewer than two years. She is currently working on the first two volumes of a graphic novel series, and a recent Instagram story of hers did include storyboarding for books four and five on her remaining 2025 to-do list. Boyle said the Avalanche does not want this to be a one-off event. She said her team is hopeful for an “Iron Flame Night” next season, and future nights with Yarros as the other books are released. A lot has changed for Yarros and her family in the past few years. One thing that hasn’t: There are still nights at her home away from home to come. “A couple of times people will spot our last name on a jersey and look for me, but for the most part, hockey families are so respectful,” Yarros said. “I think they know that I’m there to watch my kid play the sport he loves. So they’re really, really respectful, and I’m always sitting with our team and my husband, and it’s just like it always has been. “Nothing has changed. The rink is the one place that nothing has changed. We’ve known these people for the last decade. We will know them for the next decade.”
