Since I’m basically back-tracking for these next few days, I decided to do a whole blog on what exactly got me to be such a huge fantasy nerd as I am today. To do that, we must start at the very beginning.
Birth: Both my parents are huge nerds in their own way. My mum is big into Star Trek and my dad is into Star Wars. My mum loves Narnia and my dad loves Lord of the Rings. I don’t think he’s read the whole series but at very least he’s seen all the movies multiple times. I have no idea how they manage under the same roof, but they do it anyway.
Age 6: My mum reads my brothers “the Hobbit” while I listen in. Being that young, I probably shouldn’t have. Do you know how much the great and majestic Thorin Oakenshield’s death traumatises a six-year-old? Do you?
Actually, if you don’t know, that’s ok. Few do. If you don’t know that he died… I’d say sorry, but that book’s been out for nearly a century now. You should really catch up on these sorts of things.
Anyway, just so that you know, that messed me up for years.
But it got me a really good start into fantasy, so I’m not too upset about it.
Age 9: My parents get the entire Narnia series on audiobook. I become obsessed and listen to the whole thing about fifteen times. Oh, and the books? I read each book about three times. I had some issues with self-control. I mean, I still have those issues, but I used to have them, too.
Age 11: I read my first full novel, Eragon. I adore it and won’t even put it down while walking through Wal-Mart. I read the second book very soon after. I heard how the author was only fifteen years old when he published Eragon. Interesting.
Age 15: I try my hand at short stories. I make one in particular that my family loves – a story about three American and one Canadian soldier travelling through strange alternate dimensions, which turned out to just be my brothers and my cousin playing make-believe. Basically, it was Suckerpunch‘s dream sequences with guys instead of girls.
They tell me it should be longer. I promise to do so, eventually.
Now: I have finally finished the first draft of Dark Soldier, which looks nothing like its original version except for two characters from the original. But it’s been an epically awesome journey up until this point, I’ll give it that. And I’m finally going to be reading the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy coming this year. It’s just embarrassing that I haven’t.
For those interested in checking out the book, click here to go to the book’s official Facebook page.
And once again, I’ve made what could’ve been a short blog very long and drawn out. It’s like I took a medium-sized children’s novel and stretched it into three movies. But no, that’s just ridiculous. I mean, what kind of crazy person would do that?
Gabriel to Earth 