Meet Rebecca Yarros, the bestselling author of 'Fourth Wing' taking romantasy by storm

• Rebecca Yarros is best known for writing "Fourth Wing."
• The third book in her romantasy series will be released on January 21.
• Yarros has already published over 20 novels, and two are being adapted into shows and films.

Rebecca Yarros has been busy for the past two years.

Since January 2023, Yarros, 43, has become a household name thanks to her bestselling novel "Fourth Wing" and its sequel, "Iron Flame."

She also released two titles unrelated to "Fourth Wing" and had two of her works optioned for screen adaptations while raising six children with her husband, Jason.

The third book in the "The Empyrean" series, "Onyx Storm," will hit bookshelves on January 21, and readers are on the edge of their seats to see how dragon rider Violet Sorrengail's story will continue.

Ahead of its release, take a look back at the prolific author's career, from writing her first novel to hitting The New York Times bestseller list with her romantasy debut.

The military defined much of Rebecca Yarros' early life

Both of Yarros' parents were lieutenant colonels, so she moved around frequently during her childhood, as she told The New York Times.

Yarros shared on her website that she enrolled in the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, for college, where she had a vocal scholarship. When she was 19, she met Jason Yarros at a karaoke bar. The New York Times reported that he was a private in the Army at the time.

The couple tied the knot in 2002, and Yarros dropped out of school when they were expecting their first child shortly after they got married.

Yarros and her husband have six children, including their adopted daughter Audrey-Grace, who inspired them to found the nonprofit One October. Today, the couple lives in Colorado, and they have a cat, two dogs, and two chinchillas in addition to their children.

Yarros published her first book in 2014

Yarros got her degree in history and English from Troy University online while she was raising her children.

Her husband Jason continued to serve in the military until 2019, and he was deployed to Iran and Afghanistan multiple times throughout their marriage.

The "Fourth Wing" author told the Times that she started reading romance books and writing them at night when she developed insomnia after her husband was injured during one of his deployments.

She first wrote an urban fantasy in 2011 but couldn't sell the book. Then, in 2014, Entangled Publishing released her debut novel "Full Measures," the first installment in the "Fight & Glory" series.

Since then, Yarros has published over 20 books, and many of her works are inspired by the role the military played in her life.

However, none gained the traction "Fourth Wing" did when it was released in 2023.

'Fourth Wing' changed everything

In 2020, Yarros and four of her children were diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome after she started passing out frequently and getting migraines, The Times reported. The rare group of genetic disorders weakens the body's connective tissues and can cause an array of health problems.

The diagnosis helped inspire Yarros to write "Fourth Wing," which Entangled's burgeoning romance imprint, Red Tower, published in April 2023.

In the novel, 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail's mother forces her to enter the Rider's Quadrant at Basgiath War College to train to be a dragon rider, even though she spent her life preparing to become a Scribe.

Violet not only hasn't been preparing to be a Rider, but her medical condition — which isn't named in the novel but Yarros confirmed on Instagram is Ehlers-Danlos — makes training more risky for her than her classmates. Plus, many of her peers have it out for Violet, as they are the children of the Rebels her mother helped destroy.

But Violet proves surprisingly powerful, and her success at the school brings her closer to Xaden Riorson, the son of a rebel and someone she never expected to fall for.

"Fourth Wing" became an instant New York Times bestseller and BookTok sensation, finding an eager audience as the romantasy genre, which blends romance and fantasy, grew in popularity.

Red Tower published the second book in "The Empyrean" series, "Iron Flame," in October of 2023, just six months after "Fourth Wing" came out. It was a massive success despite a messy rollout, with the books selling over 1 million copies combined in the first half of 2024 alone, according to Publisher's Weekly.

Yarros isn't slowing down anytime soon

The third installment of "The Empyrean" series, "Onyx Storm," will be released on January 21. Yarros is attending a midnight release party for the book at Barnes & Noble The Grove in Los Angeles to celebrate.

The author has started sharing snippets of the book on her Instagram, hinting at how Violet and Xaden's story will continue.

Yarros plans for the series to have five books in total, and she is still publishing titles unrelated to Violet's world amid the rollout of "The Empyrean" series. Indeed, Yarros published "Variation," a contemporary romance, in November 2024.

In addition to writing books, the author will be busy with adaptations of her works in the coming years.

Amazon MGM Studios bought the rights to "The Empyrean" series and already started working on making a TV show based on "Fourth Wing," as Deadline reported in October 2023. Michael B. Jordan's Outlier Society will produce the show, with Yarros serving as an executive producer. Moira Walley-Beckett, who produced "Breaking Bad" and "Anne with an E," will be the showrunner.

Casting has yet to be announced for the series, nor has a release date. In a clip of a Q&A shared on TikTok, Yarros said she doesn't have control over casting, though she made clear to the team working on the project that she doesn't want Xaden to be whitewashed.

"They know how staunch I am against whitewashing Xaden," she said. "I think that's the biggest thing."

In the series, Xaden is described as having "warm tawny skin," dark hair, and stubble.

The Hollywood Reporter also revealed in October that Yarros' 2023 novel "In the Likely Event" is being adapted into a Netflix film by Lindsey Ferrentino. Yarros will be an executive producer on the project as well.

Red Tower and Yarros have not announced a release date or title for the fourth "Empyrean" book, though it likely won't come out too far in the future given the author's rapid writing pace.