Jordanna Sparkburn's homeworld, Tiikae, was a small planet that had been sparsely populated by settlers for about a century. She was raised with the expectation of someday taking the place of her aunt and mentor as the San Tekka deputy overseeing matters on the planet.
During the year following the Great Hyperspace Disaster, Sparkburn met Sylvestri Yarrow, another human female who was about two years her junior. Yarrow's mother, Chancey, left the young woman on Tiikae under the pretense that she was to study repairing hyperdrives and sublight engines with Roy and Klanna, a family of Ugnaughts. Sparkburn had left her speeder bike with them for repairs, and Yarrow was partway through repairing the repulsorlift when Sparkburn came to check on the progress. Yarrow and Sparkburn quickly fell in love and had a happy month as a couple, spending the days together and staying up late to watch auroras in the night sky. Yarrow had begun to entertain the thought of her mother never returning and moving in with Sparkburn, but she learned that the Yarrows' starship, the Switchback, would be arriving to collect her. The night before, Yarrow asked Sparkburn to leave and tour the galaxy with her; Sparkburn, however, was unprepared to abandon her responsibilities and leave her home. She told Yarrow she could not go with her, and when Yarrow's mother returned for her, Sparkburn did not show up to say goodbye.
Jordanna Sparkburn debuted in the 2021 novel The High Republic: Out of the Shadows, written by Justina Ireland. Although she is described as having a sandy complexion with freckles, the first official illustration of Sparkburn in the fifth episode of Star Wars: The High Republic Show depicted her as pale with freckles that were faint and difficult to see. Sparkburn went through several design iterations, Justina Ireland wanted to give her more feminine traits to make the character look less evil. Concept art for Sparkburn was drawn by MinJi Yoon.
- The Art of Star Wars: The High Republic (Phase One)
- Star Wars: The High Republic Character Encyclopedia
- "Launchpad" — Star Wars Insider 224