My love for fantasy started when I was a child. I had always loved magical things, fairies and worlds of wonder. While I may not have understood this when I was really young, by the time I was 13 years old, I knew I wanted to learn more and if I could, experience some of the magic.
My path to better understanding magical worlds began at that age because I started playing a role-playing game called Dungeons and Dragons. A leader in our neighbourhood had played and became our dungeon master. He was perfect for the role.
Stumbling my way through my first campaigns, I learned about different races (human, dwarf, elf, hauflin [halfling in this game] ) and their attributes and shortcomings. I learned about casting spells, magical items and magic in general. At first, I read the dungeon master’s copy of Dungeon Masters Guide, then I bought my own to keep as a reference and so I could read it at home. I studied this book and what went into this game as much if not more than the subjects at school. In fact, I recall one day when our dungeon master walked into the Lounge of the Boys and Girls club, found me and few other members studying his books, and said, “If you guys put this much effort into studying for school, you’d all get 100s.”
No school subject intrigued me as much as Dungeons and Dragons, so that wouldn’t have happened. I still got 100s in a few subjects (Science and Social Studies) but that was because they were easy and I had great teachers, not because I studied hard.
Dungeons and Dragons, the original version of the game, the archaic one set in mediaeval times with horses, swords and no electricity was the best game I ever played. It was simple, organic, and, in many ways, a way of life I longed to live. I transformed the dream of living this life into stories, and I wrote Shadows in the Stone in my mid-teens. I think by the time I was 16, the novel was completed. It went through many changes since then, but that’s where it started and why it is dear to my heart.
Shadows in the Stone begins the journey in the world of Ath-o’Lea. If you love traditional fantasy set in archaic times, similar to the one in Lord of the Rings, take a peak. You may just love it like I do.
A life without scars is a life unlived.
Shadows in the Stone is available at Amazon and is available to Kindle Unlimited Members.
Diane McGyver 