Droids & Dragons Author, Sarah Newgarden

Sarah Newgarden

Pub 518 welcomes Sarah Newgarden to the Droids & Dragons team. Hear what Sarah has to say about her writing process.

"My name is Sarah Newgarden. I live in upstate NY. I have been writing on and off, since I was in high school, and I am a first-time published author."

When we asked Sarah who has inspired her writing, her response was, "There are many authors who influenced my storytelling style. Ursula Le Guin, Octavia Butler, Laura Vandenberg, Ottessa Moshfegh, Flannery O'Connor, Kazuo Ishiguro, and Angela Carter were among the most significant."

Story ideas come from many places and with Sarah it was no different. "The inspiration for my Droids & Dragons story, 'Dragon Baby' , was my amazing, incredible fiancé. I wanted to write something I knew he would enjoy while still staying true to myself."

Sarah's short story in Droids & Dragon is 'Dragon Baby'. Here is one her favorite snippets.

"He came directly out of her stomach, clawed through womb and flesh with knife-sharp talons. Not a birth. A bloodbath. The baby was too large, with huge eyes the same monstrous green of his mother’s. He opened his mouth, revealing milky, needle-pointed fangs scintillating in the blood. The howl that came from him, at the last of my mother’s dying screams, was inhuman."

Everyone has best reads and Sarah's favorite books are Bunny by Mona Awad and We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. "Everyone should check them out."

Sarah's writing superpower is what every author wishes, 'trusting the reader to get what they need out of the story. I believe in you.' 

'Dragon Baby' is a great quick read. You can find it in Droids & Dragons which is available on Amazon and drops 9/25/2026.