Guest Post by Dianne Lynn Gardner

Today on StuckInBooks, I have Dianne Lynn Gardner, the author of Deception Peak (The Ian's Realm Saga #1), as a guest on my blog.  Please welcome her.

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From Goodreads:

Teenage Ian Wilson follows his father through a portal into a deceptively beautiful Realm, where horses run free, the wind sings prophetic melodies, and their computer avatars come to life.

But separation from his father puts Ian in peril as he’s abducted by a tribe of dragon worshipers and forced to find his courage.

As he struggles for his freedom and embarks on a perilous search for his father, Ian meets the true peacekeepers of the Realm and learns of a greater purpose for his being
in there

What is YA Fantasy and why Deception Peak?

By Dianne Lynn Gardner

 

YA is a term used to categorize reading material that is appropriate, and popular with young adult readers anywhere between the ages of 12 (depending on their reading abilities) and older. It’s a well known fact that kids like to read ‘up’, or more advanced than their level, whereas adults read up, down, and anywhere in-between. Many adults, in fact, read YA making the category extremely popular.

A YA novel is usually under 80,000 words and almost always targets the heart of the teenager. On the average, they’re emotional books that speak of trials and sufferings young people experience as they leave their world of innocence.

What makes Deception Peak (the first book of the Ian’s Realm Saga) a YA Fantasy is exactly that. The main character, Ian Wilson, a fifteen-year-old high school student is suddenly taken from his comfort zone and thrust into a world of insecurity with a father he thought he knew.

The reader follows Ian into an enchanting forest of another Realm and deeper into a land of mystery and deception. His journey soon proves to be a series of perilous events that demand choices he never thought he would have to make.

Why do I write YA?

I have a passion for young people. I empathize with them.

I’ve been asked, “If you could go back in time, what age would you choose?”

I can tell you right away, it would not be my teenage years. Those years were the most difficult times in my life. Looking back, I remember feeling as though I was not understood, not realizing I lacked the ability to communicate. I was scared to death to face the future for fear of what lay ahead, but I wanted more than anything to grow up. Somehow I expected that reaching the age of 18 would miraculously transform me into an adult. At least, I had hoped it would. I was sorely disappointed.

I know there are young people today struggling just as I did.

Ian has a tough time of it. One calamity after another befalls him through the entire trilogy. But by the time he learns his mistakes, and how to correct them, he has grown into a strong and wise young man with a purpose.

The Ian’s Realm Saga is a work that seeks to offer encouragement for young people. It’s just a fantasy story, but I remember some of my most uplifting moments happened when I closed the last page of an inspiring novel.

Deception Peak is only the beginning. The next installment of the trilogy, The Dragon Shield is due to come out the beginning of 2013, and the third book, Rubies and Robbers will follow.

There are four short stories that will be published before the The Dragon Shield that interweave the history and magic of The Realm, that are titled The Tale of the Four Wizards-Patriarchs of the Realm.  The first story Silvio will be released in November of this year. Watch for it on Amazon!

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