Realms Review: 'Stardust'

Imagine that the magical world of Faerie was next door to your village and the only thing separating the two was a wall. That's how the village of Wall got its name, and no one is allowed past the wall except once every nine years during the market. This is the story of Stardust, a novel written by Neil Gaiman. Would you go in search of what's beyond the wall?
          Tristran Thorn, a boy who's half fairy and doesn't know it, has no interest in what's beyond the wall until he and Victoria, the girl he's in love with, spot a shooting star. Tristran offers to find the star for Victoria in exchange for whatever he desires. She agrees, thinking Tristran would never go beyond the wall, and that even if he did, he'd come back shortly. But Tristran is in love and determined. He just didn't expect his months-long journey to be filled with quite so many fantastical things, like man-eating forests, candles that transport you miles in the direction you walk in, murderous witches, and treacherous princes. And, of course, the biggest shock comes when he realizes that the star isn't a lump of rock, but a young woman.
          A promise to a loved one leads to a perilous journey, the uncovering of Tristran's real identity, and the fate of Stormhold hanging in the balance. We give Stardust 4 out of 5 stars. The story and the world are incredible, and the magic lasts with you long after you've turned the last page. The characters motives are something we can all identify with, though we felt there was room for more development. Nonetheless, it's a fun tale we recommend to anyone over the age of fifteen.
          Stardust came to our attention after watching the beloved film adaptation starring Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer, which adds new life and depth to the characters (and a lot more humor!) than what was portrayed in the book. Still, the novel offers more perspective into the story that the film was unable to touch on. Both version are enjoyable and we recommend them both to you.

For a look at the film adaptation, view the trailer below:

May 2015 Young Adult Fantasy Releases

Good afternoon, Travelers!

How are you this Wednesday? We are excited to be researching what we can do this summer to make a printed second issue of Realms a reality! Please tell us what you think of the magazine on our social media or comment on the website. Moving on, we know you're here to take a look at some of the enticing May 2015 releases.
          Below you will find five YA fantasy books or publications that we think are fantastic. This is purely opinion, and if you know of other books that released this month that are earth-shaking, please comment below and share the book/publication with the world! Nothing shows author appreciation like spreading the word. 

Realms, Issue No. 1

May 1, 2015:

Realms Young Adult Fantasy Literary Magazine – Step into the Realms, where magic and fairy tales become reality. We can't promise that every story has a happy ending, but we guarantee each one is intriguing.
          Come, join the sea riders, whose serpentine sea beasts guide them through the deeps. 
          Keep your eyes peeled for the follower. 
          Should you hear an earsplitting roar, do not be afraid; the dragons are not here to harm you. 
          Tread softly, carefully, around the fairy pool. 
          Do not go near the grim grimoire, particularly when it talks to you and whispers promises. 
          If you were told that rules are made to be broken, we hope you had the good sense to laugh at that; otherwise, you might be in the raven king's clutches....
          This is but a taste of six stories in the magazine. You can read all of the ones here and the rest on our main website.

May 5, 2015:

Crimson Bound
by Rosamund Hodge

Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge – When Rachelle was fifteen she was good—apprenticed to her aunt and in training to protect her village from dark magic. But she was also reckless—straying from the forest path in search of a way to free her world from the threat of eternal darkness. After an illicit meeting goes dreadfully wrong, Rachelle is forced to make a terrible choice that binds her to the very evil she had hoped to defeat.
          Three years later, Rachelle has given her life to serving the realm, fighting deadly creatures in an effort to atone. When the king orders her to guard his son Armand—the man she hates most—Rachelle forces Armand to help her find the legendary sword that might save their world. As the two become unexpected allies, they uncover far-reaching conspiracies, hidden magic, and a love that may be their undoing. In a palace built on unbelievable wealth and dangerous secrets, can Rachelle discover the truth and stop the fall of endless night?
          Inspired by the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, Crimson Bound is an exhilarating tale of darkness, love, and redemption.

A Court of Thorns and
Roses by
Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas – When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin-one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.
          As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow over the faerie lands is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin-and his world-forever.

May 12, 2015:

End of Days
by Susan Ee

End of Days by Susan Ee – End of Days is the explosive conclusion to Susan Ee’s bestselling Penryn & the End of Days trilogy. After a daring escape from the angels, Penryn and Raffe are on the run. They’re both desperate to find a doctor who can reverse the twisted changes inflicted by the angels on Raffe and Penryn’s sister. As they set off in search of answers, a startling revelation about Raffe’s past unleashes dark forces that threaten them all.
          When the angels release an apocalyptic nightmare onto humans, both sides are set on a path toward war. As unlikely alliances form and strategies shift, who will emerge victorious? Forced to pick sides in the fight for control of the earthly realm, Raffe and Penryn must choose: Their own kind, or each other?

Off the Page
by Jodi Picoult

May 19, 2015:

Off the Page by Jodi Picoult – Meet Oliver, a prince literally taken from the pages of a fairy tale and transported into the real world. Meet Delilah, the girl who wished Oliver into being. It’s a miracle that seems perfect at first. Sure, Oliver doesn’t know that you shouldn’t try to open your locker with a dagger or that there’s no such thing as “the ruler” of the local mall. But he also looks at Delilah as if she’s the only girl in the world—the only girl in any world—and Delilah can’t help feeling that being with him is a dream come to life.
         But not every story can have a happy ending. Because the book wants Oliver back. And it will turn both worlds upside down to get him. 
         Oliver and Delilah will have to decide what—and who—they’re willing to risk for love and what it really means for a fairy tale to come true.

Let us know how you rate each book/publication and what you thought of them! We're curious to know, or email us with your review and have a chance at being featured on Realms News!

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April 2015 Young Adult Fantasy Releases

Hello, Travelers!

Today we are compiling a list of Young Adult Fantasy titles that are releasing this month. To make your search easier, we're picking out the books that look the most appealing to us. Please note that this short list does not (at all) encompass the many various YA fantasy books that will be released this month. These are the select few we've stumbled across. So, if you know of any others, please comment below with the title and the description!

April 11, 2015:

Dragonfriend by Marc Secchia - Stabbed. Burned by a dragon. Abandoned for the windrocs to pick over. The traitor Ra'aba tried to silence Hualiama forever. But he reckoned without the strength of a dragonet's paw, and the courage of a girl who refused to die.
           Only an extraordinary friendship will save Hualiama's beloved kingdom of Fra'anior and restore the King to the Onyx Throne. Flicker, the valiant dragonet. Hualiama, a foundling, adopted into the royal family. The power of a friendship which paid the ultimate price.
           This is the tale of Hualiama Dragonfriend, and a love which became legend.

April 21, 2015:

Becoming Jinn by Lori Goldstein - Wishing doesn't make it so, Azra does.
          Azra has just turned sixteen, and overnight her body lengthens, her olive skin deepens, and her eyes glisten gold thanks to the brand-new silver bangle that locks around her wrist. As she always knew it would, her Jinn ancestry brings not just magical powers but the reality of a life of servitude, as her wish granting is controlled by a remote ruling class of Jinn known as the Afrit. To the humans she lives among, she's just the girl working at the snack bar at the beach, navigating the fryer and her first crush. But behind closed doors, she's learning how to harness her powers and fulfill the obligations of her destiny. Mentored by her mother and her Zar "sisters," Azra discovers she may not be quite like the rest of her circle of female Jinn...and that her powers could endanger them all.

April 28, 2015:

The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey - For fans of Cassandra Clare's City of Bones or Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone, The Girl at Midnight is the story of a modern girl caught in an ancient war.
          Beneath the streets of New York City live the Avicen, an ancient race of people with feathers for hair and magic running through their veins. Age-old enchantments keep them hidden from humans. All but one. Echo is a runaway pickpocket who survives by selling stolen treasures on the black market, and the Avicen are the only family she's ever known.
          Echo is clever and daring, and at times she can be brash, but above all else she's fiercely loyal. So when a centuries-old war crests on the borders of her home, she decides it's time to act.
          Legend has it that there is a way to end the conflict once and for all: find the Firebird, a mythical entity believed to possess power the likes of which the world has never seen. I will be no easy task, though if life as a thief has taught Echo anything, it's how to hunt down what she wants...and how to take it.
          But some jobs aren't as straightforward as they seem. And this one might just set the world on fire.

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir - Laia is a slave.
                                                                 Elias is a soldier.
                                                                 Neither is free.
          Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.
          It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire's impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They've seen what happens to those who do.
          But when Laia's brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire's greatest military academy.
          There, Laia meets Elias, the school's finest soldier––and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he's being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined––and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley - [This] soaring YA debut is a fiercely intelligent, multilayered fantasy where Neil Gaiman's Stardust meets John Green's The Fault in Our Stars in a story about a girl caught between two worlds...two races...and two destines.
          Aza Ray Boyle is drowning in thin air. Since she was a baby, Aza has suffered from a mysterious lung disease that makes it ever harder for her to breathe, to speak––to live. So when Aza catches a glimpse of a ship in the sky, her family chalks it up to a cruel side effect of her medication. But Aza doesn't think this is a hallucination. She can hear someone on the ship calling her name.
          Only her best friend, Jason, listens. Jason, who's always been there. Jason, for whom she might have more-than-friendly feelings. But before Aza can consider that thrilling idea, something goes terribly wrong. Aza is lost to our world––and found, by another. Magonia.
          Above the clouds, in a land of trading ships, Aza is not the weak and dying thing she was. In Magonia, she can breathe for the first time. Better, she has immense power––but as she navigates her new life, she discovers that war between Magonia and Earth is coming. In Aza's hands lies fate of the whole of humanity––including the boy who loves her. Where do her loyalties lie?

If you know any YA Fantasy titles you're psyched about this April, share them with us!

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*All descriptions were provided on Amazon.

Realms Review: 'The Foretelling'

Imagine a world where women ruled the lands, where women went to war with men and won, taking prisoners and killing the rest. In The Foretelling, by Alice Hoffman, women are feared by men, but the protagonist, Rain, is curious about her role in this tribe of Amazon-like women.
          Due to the traumatic circumstances surrounding Rain's conception and the brutal birth Rain's mother, the chief, went through, Rain's mother rarely looks, let alone speaks, to her daughter. As the daughter of the tribe's leader, Rain is determined to learn her role and be a great leader like her mother. But, more importantly, she tests her boundaries to prove she's worthy of her mother. Determined to be accepted, she accomplishes amazing feats, but also tests the limits of her own culture, even making contact with a boy outside her tribe.
          Despite The Foretelling being listed as a children's book in some stores, we strongly believe that this is actually a young adult novel for several reasons. The protagonist is a teenager, though quite mature for her age due to her culture's expectations of her. The story has several coming-of-age elements to it, as well, and there is a lot of dark content. The book also released before the YA category (target audience) took off in publishing. If released today, we're 99% certain it would be released as a YA title.
          Hoffman weaves a story that imbeds itself in your heart as you root for the main character and long to see what happens with Rain's various relationships with those around her. And a little bit of magic, woven in so carefully that it seems a normal everyday thing, never hurts, especially to us fantasy-lovers. We rate The Foretelling with five out of five stars for Hoffman's incredible storytelling, diverse characters, and ability to make it a truly unforgettable tale.

Realms Review

Tips for Writers: Worldbuilding

Discworld, imagined by Terry Pratchett

Worldbuilding is a giant in the realm of fiction. Often, people like to ignore it at first because it requires enormous effort on the author's part, but the truth is, there's no escaping it. Even if you're writing realistic fiction, you need to factor in worldbuilding, because that's what explains why everything in your book is happening now. We are going to focus on how it can help your Young Adult Fantasy writing.
          Let's make a list of things to consider, shall we?

• Environment: including the way the ecosystem works in particular areas of the world, the temperature, the defining features of the landscape, and more.
• Cultures, Politics, Religions: unless you're writing a Utopian novel, the characters in your story probably belong to different cultures, have different beliefs about certain topics, dress certain ways. Remember, your characters are individuals, and just like in the real world, even the most similar people probably don't agree on everything.
• Basic Infrastructure: what do your people eat? And don't say "stew." Stew is so common in fantasy books, but how bland is that? Know your world. What is grown? How do people get around? How do they dispose of things? How does the economy work and who holds the power? What does the average person do for a living?
• History: even though you've made this world pop into existence, you want to make it look like any other world, one rich with history. Civilizations don't just suddenly exist. How did your world get to the point it's at today?This is may not seem important to the now of your story, but it is. The history of your world explains why everything is happening now, rather than one hundred years ago or one hundred years from now.
• Mimicking Ethnic Groups: you want to create believable people with accurate portrayals of society. In an article we found that may also help you, "7 Deadly Sins of Worldbuilding," by Charlie Jane Anders, it's said "If you decide that instead of Belgians, you're going to have an alien species called the Bzlgizns––who are basically Belgians except they've got antlers––you still have to try and make them well-rounded and as nuanced as possible." In other words, you can't just create a race and give them no personality. They can't exist for the sake of existing. They have desires, goals, and practices that make them who they are. 
• Knowing How Certain Powers/Inventions Impact Society: if there is magic, or a crazy new invention, you have to consider the aspects of society it will impact. You can't introduce something and not expect everyone to be affected by it. 

Now, don't feel too overwhelmed by this list. Odds are, you've probably imagined a lot of it, and the rest are suggestions for you to work on to give characters a more realistic feel in a much larger playground. A lot of these also pertain to worldbuilding from scratch, which some of you may not necessarily be doing. For example, if your fantasy story is set in our world, then a lot of the history and culture and infrastructure is there. You should still do your research, but you don't have to start from the beginning.
          A good example of this is in The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. The human world is still there, and the Shadowhunters do behave similarly to most humans when not hunting demons. Therefore, Clare's worldbuilding consists mostly of defining Shadowunter history, some aspects of their culture, and how their power works in relation to the rest of the world.
          For some, it is easier to create a "worldbuilding bible," so to speak. In this document, you write down all the aspects of the world, even the ones you may not necessarily use in the book, to further define your story and make the characters and reactions more believable. Your worldbuilding bible could contain a map with lists and histories of all the places, along with the cultures in those areas and how they interact with other places/people/species, etc. Honestly, this article would be way too long if we went through every possible aspect to include, but we've handed you the basic tools and it's time to start digging!
          What's in your world?

Other Resources:

"25 Things You Should Know About Worldbuilding" by Chuck Wendig

"Brandon Sanderson Teaches Fantasy Writing and Worldbuilding" by Nathan Smith

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Realms Review: 'A Great and Terrible Beauty'

Many of us are used to stories where magic is defined by rules. In fact, most, if not all, magic has rules, but what if you didn't know them? What if you had to figure them out on your own? Libba Bray's A Great and Terrible Beauty does just that. Gemma, the protagonist, stumbles across a magical world she has discovered through visions. She, and three other girls, unravel their powers there, and discover when they return to their world that the magic lasts for a little bit outside the strange world, but doesn't last forever. It wears off, leaving them wanting to return, but an evil also lurks in that world.
          Bray's elaborate and beautiful settings hook you in and make the reader lust after the magical world and Victorian England, where most of the story takes place. The characters are all well-developed and exceed your expectations as you read on and learn they are more than their stereotypes. Felicity is not just the snobby leader, but a girl who dreams of being more than she's allowed to be. Pippa may be beautiful and seemingly stuck up, but she hides a terrible illness she's afraid of. Ann seems to be a weak sidekick, but she also has a quiet strength. Gemma, the protagonist, is not easily manipulated, and finds her own sense of leadership along with her sense of self; she changes immensely throughout the whole trilogy.
          For a novel with well-written and strong female characters, as well as a dangerous plot full of unexpected twists and turns, A Great and Terrible Beauty might be the right story for you. The beginning, we found, was a little slow, but if you can plough through it, we promise it picks up, and we promise you won't be disappointed. We give this book four out of five stars.

Realms Review

Author Interview: Mats Strandberg on 'The Circle' and Fantasy

Realms Young Adult Fantasy Literary Magazine: Will you give us a brief background about who you are and where you’re from?

Mats Strandberg: I come from Fagersta, a small industrial town in the middle of deep forests. It has a lot of similarities with Engelsfors. Except there’s no apocalypse there, as far as I know. I moved to Stockholm on my own when I was sixteen, and after high school, I started working as an entertainment reporter for TV and magazines. My first novel was published in 2006. I love horror, reality TV, Vermont, art, I eat way too much ice cream, and I got married this past week.

Realms: Did you begin your writing career more interested in journalism or in novel writing, and how has that changed?

Mats: I have always had a dream of becoming a writer. There are a lot of pictures of me as a kid sitting by the typewriter. I was almost published when I was seventeen years old, actually. I had written a book that was a complete rip-off of everything I loved at the time; Donna Tartt, Bret Easton Ellis, Stephen King, The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer, and, erm, V. C. Andrews. So there was a lot of incest and coke sniffing ballet dancers…. It was a hot mess. I’m so, so glad the publishing house said no in the end.

Realms: You co-authored The Engelsfors Trilogy with Sara B. Elfgren. How did the two of you come up with the idea of the books and what made you decide to write it together?

Mats: Sara worked at a movie production company and she liked the two novels I had published by then. She asked for a meeting and I was really impressed. Nothing really came of the meeting but we instantly realized that we had a lot of common ground; we both loved really good teenage drama, for instance My So Called Life, Veronica Mars, Twin Peaks, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Freaks and Geeks. We also talked a lot about Curtis Sittenfeld’s novel Prep. We decided we should try to create something together, something about a group of teenagers in a small town with a lot of preconceived notions about each other, who are forced to get to know each other––and themselves––through some sort of mission or project. We had a lot of different ideas about what this project could be. When we realized that they could be witches, forced together to save the world, everything just fell into place. Creating this story was like putting everything we love about pop culture in a big blender. And, also, write the kind of books we really wanted to read ourselves, about characters we really loved.

Mats Strandberg, co-author of The Circle
Photo by: Magnus Liam Karlsson

Realms: What are some of the positive aspects of working with another author on a series and what are some of the challenges?

Mats: Well, there are many amazing things about being two authors. It could have gone horribly wrong, I suppose, but we were lucky. Ideas get twice as good in half the time. I loved reading Sara’s chapters, and I loved reading my own chapters after Sara had edited them. We both edited each other’s texts, over and over, until we couldn’t tell the difference anymore. It’s fun to have someone to play pretend with. We really spent most of our waking hours together in Engelsfors for five years. People often ask if we disagreed a lot, and of course we did. That’s the whole point of collaboration. When we really disagreed, it almost always turned out that none of our ideas were really that strong. That’s when we came up with totally new plot twists and stuff together, which often became our favorite parts of the books.

Realms: What appealed to you about writing from the point of view of YA characters?

Mats: A lot of things. High school itself is such a great arena. It’s a place where you are forced to spend day after day with people you have nothing in common with except being born in the same year. It was also really good therapy writing these books. I have really understood myself at that age so much better––and was able to forgive myself for a lot.

Realms: The books shift point of view between the six witches who make up the main characters, and a couple other characters, as well. What made you and Sara decide to tell the stories from multiple points of view, instead of one?

Mats: That was one of the most fun parts about writing. To play with the characters’ differences, their backgrounds and personalities, and their different views on everything that happens to the group. Also, with more characters, you can take more risks as an author. If you only have one POV, that character has to be relatable, understandable, and preferably likeable for as many readers as possible, which often makes the main character quite bland. I don’t know how many people would pick up a book that was told from only Anna-Karin’s or Vanessa’s POV. Here, the reader almost becomes a part of The Circle.

Realms: Out of the six witches, do you have a favorite?

Mats: I honestly don’t. It changes all the time. The mix of them was what I loved the most. For instance, after writing a lot about Minoo or Anna-Karin, who are very introverted and over-analyzing, it could feel like a relief to write about Vanessa, who is just as smart, but is more spontaneous and driven by instinct rather than logic.

RMV Film, started by Benny and Ludvig Andersson

Realms: Did the Swedish film adaptation of The Circle follow the plot of the book closely? Did you enjoy the film?

Mats: Yes! Sara wrote an amazing script with the director, Levan Akin. And we are both executive producers, so we were both very involved in, for instance, casting. Also, this is the first film made by RMV Film, a production company started by ABBA legend Benny Andersson and his son Ludvig, so they have been just as eager as us to make this film as awesome as possible. I’m so happy with the result. A lot of changes have been made, of course. But the film is so true to what’s important; the characters and their emotional journeys, and the core themes, like the importance of empathy.

Realms: Do you plan on writing or co-writing any more YA Fantasy books in the future?

Mats: I am sure I will! And Sara and I will definitely work together again.

Realms: What are you currently working on?

Mats: I am working on a non-YA horror novel that will be published in Sweden this fall. It is set on a cruise ship on the cold waters between Sweden and Finland, and it all happens within twelve hours at night. It’s a great setting for horror. You can’t get off the boat, and the phones don’t work….

Realms: Which author(s) influence you the most?

Mats: Probably Stephen King. I started reading him when I was ten, and he really made me fall in love with horror and fantasy, and putting it in a familiar every-day life.

Realms: Outside of the world of reading and writing, what is your favorite thing to do?

Mats: Hanging out with friends, really. Talking.

Realms: If there was the kind of magic in this world that is in storybooks, what would you want to be or be able to do?

Mats: I would love to be able to fly. I have dreamt of that ever since I saw my first Superman movie when I was a kid. If that doesn’t work, teleportation would be very practical, too.

The Circle is the first novel in the Engelsfors Trilogy, written by Mats Strandberg and Sara B. Elfgren. Six witches––Minoo, Vanessa, Linnéa, Anna-Karin, Rebecka, and Ida––are drawn together by an invisible force on the night of a blood-red moon. Though they are nothing alike, they must learn to work together to discover their powers, save the world, and survive high school.

For more information about the trilogy, visit the World of Engelsfors. You can follow Mats Strandberg on Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram. Sara B. Elfgren can also be reached on Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram. The Circle is available through The Overlook Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other bookstores.

Realms Review: 'Book of a Thousand Days'

What's more terrifying than death? Being locked away in a tower for seven years. Dashti, a maid to Lady Saren, is locked away with her mistress in a tower after Lady Saren refuses to marry a man she despises. Dashti is the protagonist in Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale, which is written in the form of a journal entry. Food begins to run low and they both suffer from extreme heat and cold. Lady Saren's two suitors come to them from time to time: one who is welcome and brings hope, and one who is downright terrifying.
          In the days to come, they will need to figure out why the guards of Lady Saren's kingdom have stopped coming, how they can escape, and if the hopeful suitor will help them. Hale's beautiful writing weaves this re-told fairy tale on the Asian Steppes with intrigue, suspense, love, and surprise. There is murder, distrust, disguise, and hope, but who can Dashti and Lady Saren trust?
          At Realms, we give this story five out of five stars for its ability to take an old story and transform it into something original, its strong protagonist (and characters, overall), lovely world-building, and the thrills of the built-up suspense. You will not be able to put it down. Your opinions of characters will change in between the beginning and the end. You will want Dashti to have her happy ending, but will she obtain it? Read the highly recommended Book of a Thousand Days by master storyteller Shannon Hale to find out.

Author Interview: Elizabeth J. M. Walker on Dragons and Teenagers

She Dreamed of Dragons cover

Realms Young Adult Fantasy Literary Magazine: Will you give us a brief background about who you are and where you’re from?

Elizabeth J. M. Walker: I live in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. I currently work as a freelance journalist/photographer for an online community newspaper. I grew up being involved in dance and theatre, including writing scripts for dance theatre shows. Dancing often finds its way into my stories, including She Dreamed of Dragons. I’ve always loved books and writing.

Realms: For those who don’t know, can you give a brief synopsis of your debut novel, She Dreamed of Dragons?

Elizabeth: She Dreamed of Dragons follows a young dragon mage named Trina as she unwillingly attends a competition to find a new prince or princess for the fantasy world of Dorlith. The novel is a YA fantasy adventure, but is also suitable for Middle Grade readers.

Realms: What was it that inspired you to write She Dreamed of Dragons?

Elizabeth: When I was in high school, I remember watching the very first season of American Idol, when “reality TV” was first becoming popular. I thought it’d be fun to write a fantasy story about young people attending a competition to find a new prince/princess.

Realms: What appealed to you about writing from the point of view of a YA character?

Elizabeth: I write YA because the teenage years are such an interesting and life-changing part of life for everyone. Things like first romantic relationships, feeling like you’re growing up and changing into a new person, and making choices that will ultimately affect you for the rest of your adult life can all happen while you are a teen. It can be exciting, wonderful, frightening, and stressful––or a combination of all of the above and more. For a writer it creates a wealth of material for stories, whether they are contemporary fiction or fantasy.

Realms: What is it about Trina, the protagonist who is a dragon mage, that you think readers will find relatable?

Elizabeth: Even though Trina has magical powers, I still wanted her to be a very down-to-earth and “normal” character. I think some readers would be able to relate to her feeling awkward and unsure of herself, but her confidence grows throughout the story.

Realms: What would you like your readers to take away from the book?

Elizabeth: I would like readers to be able to enjoy a fun, fantastical story. However, on a deeper level, a lot of the book is about accepting others’ differences and accepting who you are.

Realms: Do you think adults have something to gain by reading YA stories?

Elizabeth: I have never stopped reading YA, even though I’m no longer a teenager. I think it’s an important part of life where many interesting stories can be told.

Realms: Currently, your book is only offered as an eBook and/or PDF. Are there any plans to have it available in paperback or will there be any sequels?

Elizabeth: I believe Musa Publishing is gradually adding all of their books to a Print-On-Demand option. A few of their books are currently available with this service, but She Dreamed of Dragons has not been added yet. Hopefully within the next year or so it will be available as a paperback.

I have ideas and outlines for sequels, but have some other manuscripts closer to being finished that I would like to work on before fully committing my time to a She Dreamed of Dragons sequel.

Realms: Since you are also a contributing author in our upcoming issue, we would like to know your opinion about us. Do you think it is important to broaden the YA Fantasy genre and open it up to short stories, poetry, and other writing forms?

Author Elizabeth J. M. Walker

Elizabeth: I think there are a lot of wonderful YA fantasy novels out there, but not too many places that focus on fantasy short fiction for the YA audience. I think it’s great that Realms is around to provide readers with some great fantasy short fiction and poetry.

Realms: Do you believe there is magic in the world? What kind?

Elizabeth: If you look in the right places….

Realms: What is it about YA Fantasy that draws you?

Elizabeth: Ever since my dad read The Hobbit to me when I was little, I loved reading about fantasy worlds. I enjoy reading to escape, and reading about a fantastical world is the best way to do so. There are all kinds of fun and magical ideas waiting to happen, but at the heart of good fantasy stories there are always great characters that bring everything together.

Realms: Which author(s) influence you the most?

Elizabeth: When I was a teen, the first YA fantasy stories I fell in love with were the Song of the Lioness Quartet and The Immortals Quartet by Tamora Pierce. I think she has influenced a lot of current authors who write about strong female heroines in fantasy settings. Some of my other favourite YA/MG fantasy authors that I find inspiring are Kristin Cashore, Maureen Johnson, Eoin Colfer, and J. K. Rowling.

Realms: What is your favorite YA fantasy story?

Elizabeth: I guess I would have to say Harry Potter. I think the first book came out when I first started high school, and the last book came out after I was done with high school for quite some time. Like a lot of people, I feel as though I grew up with the books, and Harry and his friends. I have a lot of fond memories of borrowing the books from friends at school, discussing the books while waiting for the bus, going to see the first couple movies together, watching the DVDs and bonding with new friends while living in university dorms, and the final book being delivered in a special box on a Saturday, even though we usually don’t get mail delivered on Saturdays.

Realms: If there was the kind of magic in this world that is in storybooks, what would you want to be or be able to do?

Elizabeth: I think it would be pretty amazing if we had fantastical healers who could heal every disease. And…I’ve always wanted to be able to teleport, so I wouldn’t have to spend time driving everywhere. I could also travel the world for free and be able to visit family more often.

She Dreamed of Dragons is a YA fantasy adventure that follows Trina, a struggling dragon mage, as she competes in a competition to find a new prince or princess for the fantastical Kingdom of Dorlith.

She Dreamed of Dragons can be purchased at:

Musa Publishing

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

Elizabeth J. M. Walker is also the writer of “The Sea Rider,” a short story that will be featured in the first issue of Realms. You can read an excerpt on our website.