Lani Forbes, the author of the award-winning young adult fantasy series Age of the Seventh Sun, died last week in Boise, Idaho. She was 35.

Her death was announced in a news release by her publisher, Blackstone, which said she had been battling neuroendocrine cancer. Forbes, the daughter of a surfer and librarian, worked as a trauma counselor, providing treatment to women who had been abused by their partners. Her first book, The Seventh Sun, was published in 2020; the follow-up book in the series, The Jade Bones, came out the following year.

The final book in her trilogy, The Obsidian Butterfly, is slated for publication next week. In a starred review, a critic for Kirkus calls the novel “a page-turner from start to finish” and “a pulse-quickening, soul-aching, and truly satisfying end to the cycle.”

In an essay published last November in Publishers Weekly, Forbes wrote about her struggle with cancer.

“I choose to keep writing, to keep creating in the face of my cancer diagnosis, because it brings me joy,” she wrote. “It gives me a sense of purpose, a sense of connection to the world around me. It helps me feel like I am contributing something of worth and value, something that my children will be able to read and see their mother in after I’m not here anymore, whenever that may be.”

Forbes was remembered on social media by her admirers. Literary agent Samantha Wekstein wrote, “Rest in peace @LaniForbes. You were so kind, so giving and such a rare talent. You will be missed.”

And author Elizabeth Van Tassel tweeted, “Her light shined so brightly into any corner of darkness. I can picture her now dancing by the ocean in heaven. Pray for her young family and her GoFundMe is here.”

Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.