Why I want to write fantasy...

Of all the books I've read as a kid, one novel always stuck out in my mind. The memory is blurred, but I'm pretty sure I was around 7 or 8 years old and I was at some store that sold books with my mom. I saw a book with a unicorn on the cover and had to have it. I have read this book more times than I can count, and at 22 I'm still in love with it. This book was Into the Land of the Unicorns by Bruce Coville.

I still have the book and it rests comfortably in my bookcase. It is bent and tattered with love. I remember doing a book report on this novel at some point in elementary school. I also remember being upset because I couldn't write about it for however many other book reports I had during grade school. This book became a part of me, and has helped me become who I am today.

On top of the book, it said "The Unicorn Chronicles". I assumed this meant that this book was part of a series. For the longest time, I never saw the next installment of this series. I remember working at the public library in my home town I was putting some books away in the children's section and I saw this book. I looked around the shelf for another book from this series, but the book stood alone. This was either during my junior or senior year of high school. I had pretty much given up on my search for the continuation of this series until last year around this time. Something made me look up The Unicorn Chronicles and I was pleasantly surprised.

There were two other installments of this great series out. I asked for them for Christmas and read the second novel of this series, The Song of the Wanderer, after rereading the first novel. The second book was just as good as the first. I finally learned what happened next in the life of Cara Hunter. The images and colors of the land of Luster burned bright in my mind. The characters still held a special place in my heart. It was everything I expected from Coville.

I still have yet to read the third book in this series, Dark Whispers. I have a bad habit of waiting a long time to finish something I greatly enjoy. I never want them to end. Coville released the last installment of this series, The Last Hunt, June 1st of this year. I have yet to get the novel, but I will add it to my collection soon enough.

I believe Bruce Coville is one of the main reasons I want to write fantasy children/young adult novels. Into the Land of the Unicorns made such a strong impression on me when I was a kid, and I want to be able to do the same for kids of future generations. Writing fantasy is hard. You have to take an idea that is far beyond reality and make it real, even though it is believed to be fake amongst most of the public. Writing fantasy for kids is different though. Kids have not had enough experience in their lives to close their mind off to the idea magic and the surreal. Coville does a great job in making his readers believe that somewhere out there, Luster exists.

I hope one day I will be able to meet him and thank him for everything he has done for me through this series. He lives right in the Syracuse area, two hours from where I currently live, so hopefully I can catch some event he will be attending in the near future. I want him to sign my copy of Into the Land of the Unicorns.

I think tonight I will suck it up and start reading Dark Whispers. Hopefully re-entering the world of Luster will help me to create my own world and start writing soon. Coville has already had such a huge impact on me, hopefully he can be the final push I need to dive into the world of fantasy writing. The Unicorns Chronicles has the power to reopen up my mind to a world of magic.

Thanks Mr. Coville, you're the best.