As a child, I pitched my first tent in the uncharted wilderness of the back patio. My friends and I built snow forts in winter and landed space ships in summer. Dolphins and mermaids swam in our neighborhood pool. Buffalo roamed the playground. Vampires lived in the basement. We turned bicycles into flying horses and made time machines out of cardboard boxes. Nothing was beyond the reach of our imagination.
At the age of eight I visited my parents’ family in Germany for the first time. There I discovered a land of fairy tales made real: rolling hills, snowy mountains, deep forests, and foreboding castles. Witches and dwarves haunted every corner, and a handsome prince always waited around the bend.
Early on I fell in love with stories, books, and writing. Not so much to escape, but because they provided a perfect complement to my already escapist existence.
In high school my passion turned toward the sciences, but I never lost my love for adventure. During college I had my first taste of the tropics, spending a summer doing research in the llanos of Venezuela. Parakeets flew in glittering flocks. Caimans splashed underfoot. Every moment brought a new and awe-inspiring discovery. This experience set me off on a long and fulfilling career in animal behavior and field ecology.
Through it all, I never stopped reading and writing. I poured my years of exploration and introspection into journals and numerous unfinished stories. In November of 2007, a curious dream sparked the opening lines of what would become my first full-length fantasy novel, Eolyn. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I had opened the door to yet another exciting world: the world of publishing.
Today I balance my life as an ecologist and writer. I treasure all living things and weave many fantastic creatures into my stories. The worlds I create are a strange amalgamation of medieval Europe and colonial America, with misty forests, vast savannas, and steamy jungles. They are populated by brave heroines, noble heroes, and twisted villains. They reflect the magic I’ve known all my life, of dance and music and play, as well as the hardship that I and many of the people I care for have encountered along the way.
These stories come from the heart. I give them to you in hopes that you will make them your own.
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Karin Rita Gastreich 