From Imagination to the Arabian Desert: Gin Coleman on the Journey Behind Desert Born Series
For author Gin Coleman, the Desert Born series is the culmination of a story that has lived in her imagination for nearly four decades. What began as a romantic fantasy and a personal escape eventually evolved into a sweeping saga exploring love, family, identity, cultural discovery, survival, and the choices that shape who we become.
Set against the mystery and beauty of the Arabian desert, the series blends romance, adventure, archaeology, horses, and historical elements while placing complex, deeply human characters at its center. With Desert Brave and Desert Bold already inviting readers into this world and Desert Beloved on the horizon, Coleman continues to explore what happens when people are forced to confront their dreams, beliefs, and sense of belonging.
In this Q&A, Coleman shares how a story born decades ago finally found its way to the page, why Arabia has held such a powerful place in her imagination, and what she hopes readers discover when they journey into the world of Desert Born.
What inspired you to create the Desert Born series, and what drew you to the Arabian desert as the setting for these stories
Desert Born began almost forty years ago—in my head, on bits of paper, as a way to escape life. I was always escaping into a fictional adventure where I could live a magical life, find people that appreciated me exactly as I was, while giving me a chance to be a “shero”. And of course, find true love. I wrote a couple of chapters, then put them away because I had to deal with reality. Until about five years ago. A good friend (and retired librarian) asked me if I’d ever written anything, and I mentioned this story. She read it and encouraged me to finish it. So I began. But after a lifetime of personal experience, what started as a romantic fantasy became something different—a blend of fantasy and reality—a saga of family. I chose Arabia because as a child I believed it was a place of treasure, adventure, and horses, full of mystery and magic. As a teen, it was a place of romance. Arabia called to me long ago and still does.
The series combines romance, mystery, adventure, archaeology, and horses. What was it like weaving all of those elements together while keeping the story grounded in the characters?
It was, and is, hard. When I write my stories, each character has to become real to me. I must know them inside and out, their strengths, their weaknesses, their dreams, their desires. I must know them as well as I know myself. Once I have my protagonist, I build her world, then ask her, “What if,” and she tells me her story. I just write it down. I let the characters tell the story. Then I have to know the world they live in. In historical fiction, even if loosely based, you have to get that right. That means research. And I don’t always know where the story will go. I know where I want it to go, but many times, my characters will take over and lead me to unexpected places. In the end, I become each of the characters, even the villains. That means I have to be able to show a range of emotions, both good and evil. I know I’ve succeeded when I’m writing my story and I shed tears, laugh out loud, get scared, or grin in triumph.
Your books explore themes of love, family, belonging, and cultural discovery. What do you hope readers take away from those themes after experiencing the series?
First, become your own hero. Don’t wait for someone to save you. Save yourself.
Give of yourself to others. They will never know you, and you will never know them, until you do.
If you don’t have a family, build one. It might not look like everyone else’s, but that doesn’t matter. We all share the same DNA.
Be tolerant. Our world is becoming smaller, and we need to reach out to other possibilities.
Good and evil are always a part of our world. You can choose which one you will be.
And if nothing else, just enjoy the ride. Let the desert born take you away. We all need a break sometimes.
The desert almost becomes a character of its own in the series. How did you approach capturing both its beauty and its danger through your writing?
By treating it as a character, but one I can’t really define. It represents the world beyond our control. Unpredictable, without consciousness, it gives life and takes it. It just is. We define it as beautiful or ugly, paradise or hell. In the end, all we can do is learn as much as we can about it and be ready. Take what it gives us and survive. I’ve never been to Arabia, but I can imagine the midnight blue of the night sky, scattered with thousands of stars, and the golden sands turned silver by the moonlight. I can also imagine the cobra’s eyes half-buried in the sand, and the sickly-green scorpion scuttling beneath a rocky ledge, its tail poised to kill. Just like the world we live in, beauty and danger live side-by-side.
What can you tell readers about how the characters evolve throughout Desert Brave, Desert Bold, and the upcoming Desert Beloved without giving away any spoilers?
The characters you meet in the series all share one thing in common: they all face a challenge. Each one must choose to accept who they are or decide to become something new. My protagonists have dreams but must learn to make compromises. Their heroes are just as conflicted. They too have dreams but must also face reality. What will Kira sacrifice to find her way home? What will young Adara do when she grows up and learns that no one believes in her? How will Casey find a new life after being an instrument of death during the war? What will Jalil do in a world where horses are no longer the source of wealth and prestige, a world driven by oil? Each finds their beliefs challenged, and each makes the decision to change or not.
For readers discovering the Desert Born series for the first time, what makes this more than just a story about romance or adventure—and why should they take the journey into the desert with you?
The Desert Born series is about getting lost and getting found. It’s about love and loss. It’s about solving mysteries and respecting the traditions of others. It’s about faith and kismet and higher powers. It’s about surviving and thriving and making better choices. And sometimes when you follow someone else on their journey, you will find your own answers or inspirations. If nothing else, though, take a step on the wild side and let your imagination free. Sometimes it’s enough just to enjoy the story and have fun.
At its heart, the Desert Born series is about journeys—both the physical journeys across an unpredictable landscape and the deeply personal journeys of characters searching for love, belonging, purpose, and a place in the world. Coleman’s characters may be navigating a world far removed from our own, but the questions they face are remarkably universal: Who do we choose to become? What are we willing to sacrifice for the people we love? And can getting lost sometimes be the first step toward finding ourselves?
Through romance, adventure, mystery, and the timeless allure of the desert, Coleman invites readers to leave the familiar behind and embrace the unexpected. Whether readers come for the horses, the romance, the adventure, or the mysteries waiting beneath the desert sun, Desert Born ultimately offers something more personal—a reminder that every journey has the potential to change us.
For more info on Gin Coleman and her books, please visit: https://gincoleman.com/
