Similar to how the Harry Potter series made reading cool for boys, the Twilight series got thousands of teenage girls hooked on reading again. An entirely new generation of readers discovered how exciting and captivating a fantasy book series can be when the author does a good job creating a world they can relate to and engage with. Stephenie Meyers gave a great boost to fantasy authors everywhere when she created characters that were gorgeous on the outside, but essentially monsters on the inside, albeit ones who had a sort of moral code.
In crafting my Legends of Orkney series, setting the fantasy world to be exciting and interesting to readers is one of the most important elements. Creating characters that have hidden depths, that are not what they appear, similar to Ms. Meyer’s vampires, is an essential part of the mystery of crafting a good story. By populating the fantasy realm of Orkney with witches, gods, and other quirky creatures, I hope to draw those reluctant readers in and make them hooked on the cool universe I’ve created so that they escape from the mundane world into the fantasy world.
