She thought she was playing a game. Turns out, she was training to save the world: Rhythm Sword Warriors by Lara J. Nance Book Tour with Guest Post & Author Interview
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Hope, loss, and human connection collide in Lara J. Nance’s Rhythm Sword Warriors, an electrifying story about finding purpose in the face of darkness.
When alien invaders forced humanity underground, Calena lost everything—her family, her world, and her will to keep going. Her only solace is Rhythm Sword, a VR game that lets her channel pain into precision. But when the line between game and reality blurs, she must step into leadership to defend what remains of Earth. Nance’s storytelling pulses with emotion and cinematic energy, weaving action, introspection, and the universal search for meaning.
A lifelong adventurer, Lara J. Nance has explored the world by sea and by spirit. Her award-winning speculative fiction reflects both her love of discovery and her fascination with resilience. She writes for readers who crave more than escapism—those who want stories that remind them of their own strength. Visit her website for more.
Amazon: https://bit.ly/3ILe6Vz
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/241919280-rhythm-sword-warriors
Excerpt:
“We have a very unique situation that we want to speak to you about. I’ll just jump right in. Dr. Harding has discovered an element that will destroy a Metavalent.” The general gestured to Blake.
Calena sucked in a breath of surprise. “The hell? I thought that was impossible.”
Blake nodded. “We’ve been researching options ever since the invasion, and this is the first breakthrough we’ve had. Given the structure of the aliens and the way they are able to move, finding a way to attack them has been very difficult.”
“What’s that got to do with us?” Kelvin asked, an edge to his tone. This was his domain, and he appeared increasingly angry with the interruption from outsiders.
A few gamers emerged from rooms and glanced at the newcomers uncertainly, as if unsure whether they meant trouble. They edged to the periphery of the room, staring while hugging backpacks to their chests.
Carla noticed them and held up a hand. “We’re looking for your help, guys. Okay? We’re not here to cause trouble.”
Kelvin’s shoulders relaxed a notch, but his expression remained wary. “So, like I said, what’s this got to do with us and the game?”
“If we’re right,” Blake said. “The game may be the secret to defeating the Metavalents. That’s why we’re here.”
Calena exchanged a shocked glance with Katsu, while Kelvin and the Jammers shifted uncomfortably and frowned in confusion.
“We’ve seen three of them around here in the past two weeks, and a person from one of our collectives was killed,” Calena said. “We think they’re looking to expand into this area, and that would destroy us. Can you help with that?”
Pablo held up a hand. “Dudes, this is bigger than just this area. Listen up.”
The cute guy, Blake, started talking about some shit called muon particles and how they could slice through almost anything like butter, but were really fragile in a lot of other ways, so not easy to use in a bomb or anything like that. Then the general explained how they think they can manufacture a handheld device that would generate the muon thingies and project them within some sort of shield, and that would be like a sword that would slice through the Globs…you guessed it…like butter.
Her head was spinning with this information all while she tried to figure out how that related to the game. However, as they went on and on, the vision of something like a sword slicing through Globs created a dull, itchy sense of impending doom within her. Before they had time to finish talking about needed response times, the aliens’ abilities, and actually came to a conclusion, she had it.
The gamers. The game. It all fit. They needed the gamers to fight the Globs. The gamers had years of training in the exact skills needed to use the muon swords with response times that rivaled the Glob ability to pop in and out of existence or attack with their expandable extensions. It all made sense, and fury erupted inside her.
“I get it,” she interrupted before the general finished. He slowly closed his lips without continuing.
“What?” Blake asked, brow furrowed.
Damn, he was actually really handsome. It was distracting.
“You need gamers to kill the Globs.” She planted her hands on her hips, trying not to look at Blake. “You want to use us.”
Blake and Carla shared surprised looks.
Pablo grinned. “That’s right. You in?”
“What are you talking about?” Katsu punched her shoulder.
“They need us to fight the Globs because we already know how to use the sword weapons better than anyone else.” She turned to Blake finally. “Right?”
He slowly nodded.
“That’s exactly right.” The general raised his chin. “We have a crisis, and we don’t have time to train people to the level to which you guys have already developed. And the, uh, Jammers can help by programming simulations just like the game but with MVs instead of cubes to hone your skills.”
“Ohhhh.” Katsu rocked back on his heels, mouth open, finally making the connection. “I get it. That’s…that’s…um, completely cool. I think…”
“See,” Pablo said, eyes gleaming and fists clenched. “We can save the world. We can fight back and get rid of these bastards once and for all. We’ll be heroes.”
Cal shot him a glare. What did he know? He lived with his father in an ultra-secure and amenity-rich army facility because of the general’s position. He didn’t know about the hardships people like she and Katsu faced out in the real world, scavenging for food and dodging Globs for every single necessity of life.
The general patted his son on the back, beaming. “I hope you all can see how critical this is. We need help from as many gamers as possible. We need to set up training programs and start training as soon as our engineering teams can manufacture the hardware.”
“Hold on,” Calena said. “We have an immediate problem here in this town, with Globs appearing again, and you want us to take off and leave people who depend on us for some idea that might not even work?”
Blake frowned, lips parted to say something, but nothing came out.
“Look,” the general said, sternly. “This is important…”
“So is saving the people I live with. We already lost one to the Globs yesterday. This is typical government bullshit.” She jabbed a finger at him. “I have people to protect right here in this town, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
“We can’t force you to help, but I have to tell you this is the best chance we have of stopping these invaders. Yes, this is experimental, but the science is solid, and I think we can make it work,” Blake said.
She crossed her arms over her chest and avoided his gaze. What the hell? She couldn’t leave Pavilion, Miss Mina, and the others. This was crazy.
Kelvin pulled off the headphones he’d hung around his neck. “We’ll help in any way we can, but we’d need a lot of supplies.”
Blake walked over and shook Kelvin’s hand. “Thank you. That’s amazing. Yes, of course, you’ll have anything you need. The president has made this a top priority.”
“The president?” one of the other Jammer’s named Bruce asked, eyes wide.
“Yes, the president,” Blake said. “This is about saving the country. Actually, it’s about saving the world. We also think the Metavalents may be expanding, and that’s why this is so critical.”
Calena studied him as he spoke. His blond hair hung past his collar, a little too long for him to be much older than thirty. However, he was some sort of PhD and apparently extremely smart to have come up with this solution. She had to admit he was pretty hot, too. Well, maybe a little geeky and pasty white, but it looked like he worked out, and he had nice eyes…soft brown and melty. She shook off that thought, and forced away her stare. She’d given up hope on relationships years ago. It didn’t matter, she had other things to worry about than hot guys. Like protecting Pavilion, not traipsing off on some quest with an unproven weapon.
“I’ll go,” Katsu said with an apologetic look in her direction.
“What? No…” She grabbed his shoulders. A thrill of fear rushed through her. She couldn’t lose him.
“We have to do something, Cal. Things are getting worse and just setting up patrols is not going to make the problem go away. I want to help.” He wore his stubborn expression she knew so well. When he dug his feet in there was no moving him.
“Thank you,” Blake said to him. “We need a lot more help, too.”
“The first thing is to get the word out to other gamers and find out how many of them would be willing to train for combat,” the general said.
Kelvin tapped his computer screen. “We were getting ready to send out invitations all over the world for a virtual tournament. We can send out this message instead.”
“You can send out international messages?” The general’s gray brows went up.
“Yes, we have a shortwave channel all the gamers use. It’s not consistent and takes a while to make the rounds, but eventually we can reach them. We have an antenna on the roof of this building. But how would they be able to travel here for training with the Globs roaming everywhere again?””
“We may be able to set up training in other countries as long as you can share the programming and we can send details on manufacturing the handheld units,” the general replied. “That way we can coordinate an attack from every corner of the globe when we’re ready.”
“All right. You write up what you want me to say, and I’ll send the message.”
“Do you think a few hundred people might be willing to take part?” Carla asked.
Nick let out a sharp laugh. “Hundreds? More like thousands. You have no idea how many gamers there are. Everyone will want a piece of this action if it rids us of Globs.”
Blake’s face lit up, and the general looked like a kid someone just handed the world’s biggest jar of candy.
She seized Katsu’s arm and pulled him away from the others. She had to talk some sense into him before he ran off on this cursed quest. “What are you doing? You can’t leave. This is dangerous. You could be killed.”
“I don’t care.” He pulled his arm from her grasp, his brows drawn together. “What do I have to live for? Huh? Tony doesn’t love me anymore, and chances are pretty damn good I won’t find anyone else. I don’t want to stay here just surviving with only the game for a life.”
“But people here need us,” she pleaded. She didn’t want to say she needed him, that was too cringy…but she did.
“If we can destroy the Globs, that will help everyone including our collectives. Come on, Cal, you’re the best at this game, you could make a real difference.”
She threw up her hands in frustration.
“Cal, please go with me. I need you there.”
Damn his puppy dog eyes! He did need her. Who else would look after him? Maybe it was true, and they could do something that would help everyone. That would be worth it, right? It wouldn’t be like she was abandoning Pavilion if this worked.
“Okay, okay,” she muttered. “I’ll go. But you owe me.”
He let out a happy yelp of victory, and she shook her head. This was probably a big mistake.
Guest Post:
A Letter to My 25-Year-Old Self
Dear Lara at 25,
I see you. You’re working so hard, chasing degrees, building a life you hope will be safe and practical. You’ve chosen business and nursing because they seem responsible, because they promise stability. And yes, you’ll learn a lot and do good work. But I want to whisper something in your ear: you don’t have to put your creative dreams on the shelf.
You’ve always felt that spark inside you, the one that lights up when you’re sketching, when you’re writing, when you’re imagining a world no one else can see yet. That spark is not frivolous. It’s not selfish. It’s not “less important” than practical work. It’s your gift. Your compass. And when you follow it, even if only in stolen hours at first, you will find joy that nothing else quite matches.
The world will try to convince you that “serious” adults choose security over passion. But here’s the truth: security is never guaranteed. Jobs change. Economies shift. What remains steady is your creativity and your ability to build, design, and dream. That is your lifelong anchor.
Don’t be afraid of failure. Failure is just information. It’s proof you were brave enough to try. Every draft you’ll throw away, every design that doesn’t quite work, every “no” you hear, those aren’t signs you should quit. They’re the stepping stones to your voice, your vision, your true path.
And don’t let the voices of doubt, whether they come from others or from inside your own head, make you smaller. You are not “too extra” for wanting adventure. You are not “naïve” for believing your art matters. You are not “unrealistic” for imagining a future where your stories or designs reach people and light them up. That’s not unrealistic, you’ll find it’s absolutely necessary for your sanity and sense of purpose.
So, keep the degrees if you want, but don’t let them define you. Your heart is bigger than a résumé. Make space for writing. Make space for traveling the world along with your art and love of fashion. Make space for the things that make your pulse quicken. Those are the things that will carry you through the hard days and give your life color and meaning.
One day, you’ll look back and be grateful for every moment you chose creativity over fear. I promise you, it’s worth it.
With love,
Future Lara
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