I suppose one obvious answer to that question is that a lot of readers love the escape it offers from the real world, so you have a large ready market. And these past two years have certainly heightened a need for that kind of escape for many of us.

Still, I was surprised when I turned my hand to a New Adult fantasy. In the past, I’d only written fantasy for Middle-Grade readers. (Alligators Overhead, The Great Time Lock Disaster, Some Very Messy Medieval Magic are three books in the Adventures of Pete and Weasel series. Sign of the Green Dragon is a stand-alone MG) So why did I suddenly craft a fantasy for the adult market?

I decided that besides providing a haven from modern news, fantasy would let me address polarizing issues without directly challenging prejudices. Fantasy can be quite sneaky and quite effective when a writer tackles such emotionally charged issues as say, bigotry or superstition. Let’s face it, being hit on the head with personal biases, only angers people and sends them into fight mode, right?

Fantasy would also offer me a chance to do a bit of teaching. My good guys could go up against my bad guys and show how right-thinking, honorable people deal with the bigots and superstitious folks in their world. SPOILER ALERT: The good guys win in my story, so there’s hope for a better future, and joy in knowing justice and happiness are possible in the end. Yay!

While this is semi-new territory for me, I feel pretty comfy in the fantasy nook, and I’m looking forward to sharing the story when it’s finished.

Do you read fantasy? Write it? Why? What makes this genre appealing to you?

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Quote of the Week:

“One day, you will be old enough to start reading fairytales again.” C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia