In honor of serial release of our first epic fantasy novel, Overture of Shadow, Laura discusses the impact of fantasy adventure on her young mind.
I blame Anne McCaffrey for the way my life turned out.
Back in the days before the internet ferociously devoured all my free time, I was an impressionable child living in my own little world. Precious books of all sorts from the humorous Amelia Bedelia—which was at least partially responsible for my love of wordplay—up through the works of L. M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series, with her evocative descriptions of simpler times past, were stacked haphazardly on shelves in my bedroom and any random horizontal surface that got in my way.
It wasn’t until seventh grade that I serendipitously came across a used book which my Junior High School library had put on sale: To Ride Pegasus. The cover intrigued me: a scantily clad woman with dark hair streaming behind her, holding on to the hands of a redheaded boy on her right side and a very determined looking prepubescent blonde girl on her left, as the three flew through the air surrounded by nothing more than a pale pink bubble. I was compelled to lay hands upon the slim volume and eagerly read the summary on the back. It hooked me like a fresh wiggly worm would a hungry halibut.
Twelve-year-old me considered this book of short stories as fantasy, because of course the winged Pegasus was a fantastical, mystical creature, and at least the first of the four stories therein was set in modern-day, late-twentieth-century alternate New York. Even better, some people had psionic powers, such as telepathy and precognition. Surely, those were fantasy powers, right?
To Ride Pegasus was, my friends, merely the beginning of my long and involved journey into the unknown—the worlds of the future instead of the past, of what might be instead of what was. The words and worlds of Anne McCaffrey—be they Pern, Ireta, Petaybee, or Callisto—never ceased to intrigue and inspire me to explore further, both within books and without. I became a devoted fan of both fantasy and science-fiction, of Star Trek, Star Wars, and Stargate; of Heroes, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and Harry Potter. Much of science fiction has a fantasy element in it. Here there be dragons, sandworms, wormholes, and telepaths.
That first foray into the unforeseen future transported me to a new level of consciousness and an unrepentant appreciation for what might be. The future may yet be unseen, but our imagination for what it might yet be abounds.
It was because of my love of Star Trek that I met and married my husband back in the early 1990’s, but that’s a story for another day.
Bless you Anne, for starting it all.
I recall reading that book back in the previous millennium. But, of course, I read everything I found that had her name on it.
I haven't re-read her stuff in quite a long time, I just don't have enough time to re-read all my old favorites and try to keep up with some of the new stuff any more.
Your nostalgic journey from Pegasus to Pern highlights storytelling’s power to spark imagination and drive audience engagement. Keep sharing—what book first ignited your world-building dreams?