Misguided Trust by Lauren Wagner
- Dan
- Jun 12
- 3 min read
Learn all about Lauren Wagner's world building for her novel Misguided Trust. Also, don't miss out on the giveaway!
World Building: Creating that Uneasy Feeling
The world I created in Misguided Trust grew from that uneasy feeling many of us share—when reality starts to feel just a little too close to science fiction. I began with a question that haunted me: What happens if we take away something people depend on the most? From that question, a society slowly took shape in my mind—not one marked by explosive collapse or dramatic tyranny, but one that had quietly taken a wrong turn. A place where control and fear masked themselves as order, where compassion had been replaced by cold efficiency.
Rather than building a world of extremes, I focused on subtle shifts—rules that don’t spark outrage, but slowly numb people; systems that erase individuality under the guise of protection. I didn’t want a traditional hero at the center of it all. I wanted someone real. Someone like Sara—just a woman who’s tired of pretending everything is fine, who knows something is deeply wrong when she must prick her finger and send a blood sample to the government just to prove she is taking her medicine. In Misguided Trust, sickness is a death sentence. Health inspectors swab people at random for sickness. And if found you are carrying something? Taken away. Just like that.
My goal was to create a world that feels uncomfortably familiar, where the true danger lies in the quiet compromises people make every day. And maybe, in the end, leave readers with one lingering thought—maybe there’s still time to change direction.
Misguided Trust Blurb
Following a catastrophic nuclear war, Sara lives in a town where the government controls every drop of water. Strict rationing tightly regulates residents’ lives, and to fall sick is to be executed. Sara’s life becomes more dangerous and complicated when she first hides and cares for a small boy who has fallen sick, then takes him in when his parents are taken by the authorities.
Determined to care for the helpless child while struggling to keep alive the memory of her long-dead best friend, Sara leans on her friend’s older brother, Josh, an employee of the domineering water company that controls the water rationing. But Josh is under suspicion, and the city’s enforcement unit begins to observe their daily activities. Despite knowing that she’d be executed if her actions were known, Sara finds herself deeply and distressingly attracted to the lead investigator, navigating a complicated romance and finding a glimmer of hope in a world long dominated by fear and control.
Misguided Trust Excerpt
United Region Water Laws: Established May 2167
Water restoration and conservation laws formed with the intent to restore and maintain the physical and biological integrity of the nation’s waters are our nation’s highest priority. Any ill citizens will be removed from government-proclaimed safety zones for the public’s well-being.
Black SUVs line the street, their dark tinted windows and their sparkling silver rims reflecting impending doom. But the windows cannot keep out the screams. Not the cries, nor the banging from inside the vehicles. It’s random health inspection day, and dozens of citizens have already failed, by the count of SUVs.
Josh stands to greet me with a kiss on the cheek, his silence speaking louder than words. I smile back and try to ignore the ominous SUV’s and to ignore what is happening.
“Sit down. Don’t draw any more attention to yourself than necessary,” Josh says.
My pulse is pounding, and my chest rises and falls quicker than I can control. Sweat drips from my brow. My stomach is tied in knots. I assess my body for early signs of illness. No sore throat. No muscle aches. No nausea. All I can do is wait in silence. Our words would be lost anyway, so I sit down at the table.
Giveaway
Lauren Wagner will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner.
Author Bio
Lauren Wagner’s love for reading started as a young adult after discovering her town’s public library. After carrying out piles of books at a time, and re-reading them over and over again, she discovered her love for writing. She writes fantasy and science fiction as well as post-it notes about her future stories.
She grew up in the western suburbs of Chicago where she presently resides with her husband and two children. She currently teaches upper elementary students to love and obsess over written works of art.
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