I've always loved reading fantasy— even in the days before it was recognised as a genre! When a friend introduced me to J R R Tolkien, I found that The Lord of the Rings was the story I'd been longing for all my life. But unfortunately, neither he nor anyone else wrote anything to compare. So when an idea for a story came to me, I decided to write it for myself.
That was years ago (I refuse to say how many!). Modern Fantasy has now grown into an important section of fiction, with much variety (Links to my personal favourites are on the right.)
But I have never come across a story quite like mine, so I persevered in trying to tell it the best way I could. I don't claim it ranks among the very best, and certainly nowhere near the master, Tolkien himself, who still stands head and shoulders above the rest. But my story is just the kind I like: set in a time long ago, in places I love, but as they were before modern life spoiled them; about a simpler time, when battles were fought hand to hand, and good and evil were easier to tell apart; but most of all, about the best of what makes us human— courage, endurance, friendship, love.
I put all this into my first story, which grew from one book into two, and finally expanded into three. This is The Trial of Cyrhision, romantic, ‘high’ fantasy. It's gone through many phases and rewrites, and finally has been published by Writers' Exchange.
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