As a child, I had no interest in reading until I came across a copy of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis. I was enchanted. By the time I'd finished the other books making up The Chronicles of Narnia, I was hooked on reading. I went on to read J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

In homage to these authors of epic fantasy, I began writing my first fantasy novel at the age of ten. I called it Passage to the Underworld. I had completed the first draft by age 17. I actually entered into discussions with one publishing house during my senior year in high school. Unfortunately, the publisher went out of business, and the manuscript ended up languishing in a cardboard box in my parents' attic.

Several times over the intervening years, I have re-worked this manuscript (as I described in my memoir, Teaching Amidst the Neon Palm Trees). But the book remains unpublished.

After I complete the next round of revisions on Retsamdros, I plan to resume work on Passage to the Underworld.

Other Fantasy Novels:
Retsamdros