Pitch Wars: Why I Wrote This Book

Greetings, Pitch Wars hopefuls and mentors who decided to grace me with your presence! Generally, I leave the vulnerability to my characters but when it was suggested I write about why I wrote my Pitch Wars (future) submission, I knew I had to challenge myself. The origin story of my book is rather dark but I tried not to get bogged down in the gritty details.

The tragedies in my life are inconsequential even if they define everything I am. You see, as a child, my developing psyche was too impressionable, too scarred from the horrors.

I couldn’t cope with reality.  

So, I built a new one.

I traded my life for Wonderland, to slay the dragon and ride a unicorn. I destroyed the Ring, danced with the Fair Folk, and attended Hogwarts. Vanquishing all sorts of evils, both internal and external, I got to play hero.

Fiction, in all its world-shaping glory, became a solid foundation I desperately needed. Fairy tales painted a vividly coloured world, one full of tragedy transformed to wonder and possibility. Shrouded in fantasy, I learned to accept the inexplicable and believe in dreams.

After living a thousand lives, it’s impossible to remain unchanged.

I started seeing stories everywhere, mind whirring with the limitless potential. My kingdom of books raised me to such a vantage that, even the most mundane aspects of life (whether act, object, or place), had a sense of magic. Every little thing felt like it had something to say. A voice, just begging to be heard if only we’d ask the right questions, if only we really looked.

And so, a story teller was born.

In my darkest hour and deepest depression, a small spark appeared. Tiny and hardly noticeable until it became a raging inferno of voices and plot.

It was impossible not to listen.

Pyre, my YA Fantasy, became the funeral rite my lost soul needed to move on.

It yanked me, word by word, from the blackest abyss.

Why this manuscript?  

Because the voices in my head wouldn’t shut up.

Because writing is my way of exorcising demons. 

Because the splendiferous terror and magic I’ve always seen in nature demanded expression.

Sharing any more would become very spoiler-heavy and reading a book is about the journey, finding your own truth in someone else’s world and making it your own.

Thank you for sparing a moment of your day to read. 

I encourage you to check out Jennie's inspiration for her YA Fantasy, Protectors, here.