This content is copyright of CelebMix.com. The blood-soaked grandeur of Dire Bound sinks its claws in from page one. Set in a world where only the worthy survive the brutal Bonding Trials, Sable Sorensen's debut novel introduces readers to Meryn Cooper-a young woman thrust into a deadly competition that binds warriors to massive, intelligent direwolves. With echoes of Fourth Wing and The Hunger Games, this romantasy doesn't just flirt with danger-it marries it, pairing its heart-stopping action with a slow burn of rage, resilience, and forbidden attraction. At its core, Dire Bound is a story about power and survival, but it's also about feminine fury, class divide, and what it means to fight for a world that's never fought for you. Between the savage training grounds, the glittering court where every smile hides a knife, and a romance that teeters on the edge of ruin, the book builds a fantastical universe both haunting and hypnotic-where wolves aren't the only predators. On behalf of CelebMix, I sat down with the duo behind the pen name Sable Sorensen: Eliza and Annie, to talk about the genesis of Dire Bound, how they built its world of blood and bond, and what comes next for Meryn, her wolves, and the fandom that's already tearing at its throat for more. Before it became a phenomenon, Dire Bound began as an idea between the two of you. What first sparked the story, and what themes or emotions did you hope to explore when you started writing it? Hi! The story was inspired by our mutual love of fantasy featuring bonded animals. There have been so many incredible romantasies with that trope in recent years, but our first introduction to the idea came from Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series, where each character has an animal companion that represents an external piece of their soul. As kids, we both spent hours imagining what that would be like-and what kind of animal we'd be bonded with. When we realized that we both loved wolves and were excited about building a story around fierce, fearsome wolf companions, Dire Bound was born. The story grapples with lots of themes and emotions that we were and still have been reflecting on within today's political landscape-how class and politics divide us, and how difficult it can be to bridge those gaps. We were also grappling with the misogyny we see in our political system and the sense of powerlessness that often comes with it to make a meaningful change. Channeling some of that anger and frustration into a strong female character was cathartic, and we hope it rings true for our readers as well. You've described Dire Bound as a story born from feminine rage. How did that energy shape Meryn's arc and the emotional pulse that drives the book? Meryn is a character who is, rightfully, angry at the world for its harshness. She's had to fight-literally-for survival, and she resents that things have been so hard for her while others live lives of luxury simply because of the families they were born into. The trauma her family has endured, and their place in society, has shaped her perspective of the world. But as she's thrown into an entirely different life experience, she's forced to grapple with that. Her rage sometimes turns into unfair judgments of others, and a big part of her character arc is learning to overcome those quick judgments without burying or minimizing her own anger. That rage really comes through in the Bonding Trials too-they feel as psychological as they are physical. What inspired that deadly, symbolic gauntlet and the layers of meaning behind it? We both love trials as a story setup-the stakes are so immediate, and they keep you on the edge of your seat. For the Bonding Trials, we layered in the pack dynamics so that each trial builds on the previous one and aligns with how we envision the packs functioning: first, solidifying the relationship with your direwolf; second, finding your place within your own pack; and third, proving that you can work together with all the packs. We wanted it to be absolutely clear to Meryn that the wolves were in charge-and since they're vicious and violent, she had better fall in line. Speaking of Meryn's uneasy bond with Anassa, it's a relationship built on conflict rather than trust. What drew you to root their partnership in hostility, and sustaining that friction without softening it? There's something so satisfying about having a dynamic flip throughout the book, and we knew the most fun version of this story would be the one where nothing comes easy for Meryn-whether because of her own actions or the actions of others. We see Meryn and Anassa as embodying the true enemies-to-lovers arc in this book, and we worked to sustain a tension similar to what you'd expect from that trope. The wolves and their packs feel primal yet eerily human. How did you approach worldbuilding in Dire Bound so it felt grounded in human emotion rather than pure fantasy? We actually thought a lot about wolf instinct as we created