the keepers choice: story behind the story

In my last post, I shared that I have a new story out in the world: The Keeper’s Choice! Which if you are interested in reading, along with 8 other fantastical tales in this beautiful anthology, you can do so via ebook here or paperback here.

I also said in that post to look out for a “story behind the story” post which is what I’ll be sharing today!

For those of you that have followed me for a while or heard me talk about my writing,
you would know that my passion lies in contemporary fiction.

I have been very blessed by books from authors like Francine Rivers and Kristin Hannah who write stories following characters set in our world that are raw and relatable and real- stories where you can easily put yourself in the characters shoes and feel what they are feeling. Those are the stories I want to write. But, some of my favorite books are also fantasy. The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia… the authors of these worlds have spun amazing tales with characters that though unlike us in many ways, face extreme hardships like our own and teach us incredible lessons that we can still apply to our world. I have admired and treasured stories like these for years, but never imagined I could write anything similar.

Well, one day at my writers group I said something along those lines. I incessantly told my friends that I DON’T write fantasy and I’ve NEVER written fantasy and I probably WON’T ever write fantasy…. it turns out there are no words that make creatives angrier than words like DON’T, NEVER and WON’T and my group encouraged me fiercely to not limit myself and give it a jab at least once… so, last Summer, when I was dealing with a bout of writers block, I decided there was no time like the present to shake things up and to try my hand at fantasy.

And thus, the KEEPER’S CHOICE was born.

A once mighty kingdom… A dragon fire’s wreckage… Sickness…. Heartache… Guilt.
Two unlikely characters—a sixteen-year-old girl named Maria and the village’s unconventional doctor, known as the Keeper, Calkina—form a strange bond, while other ties, like the one between Maria and her father, begin to break and tensions rise across the kingdom. What will be done to repair the dragon’s damage, and who will they turn to for help?

The Keeper’s Choice as it’s title clearly suggests, is a story about the difficulty of direction during a time of despair—where the right path is rarely clear, and love, duty, and survival often pull in opposite directions.

To my surprise, writing fantasy wasn’t as difficult as I imagined.

While my story doesn’t fall under the category of high fantasy, it does carry whispers of dragon’s, fairies, magical medicines, and characters while in a world unlike our own, face challenges very similar to the ones we do. If anything, The Keeper’s Choice is medieval-era inspired. And as is typical with my writing, it is more character driven than plot driven, but… it was accepted into a fantasy anthology, so that tells you it fits in the genre!

It was actually incredibly liberating to write something that I once previously claimed I don’t, never and won’t ever write. And I hope this encourages you to not limit yourself as well, whether that’s in a creative endeavor, or otherwise.

While I still foresee contemporary fiction being the hallmark of my repertoire, I’m excited to try my hand at other genres and continue writing stories set in the world of the Keeper—a series I’m calling The Keeper’s Chronicles. I may or may not have another story tied to this one being published later this year, so keep an eye out for that announcement!