Fierce Middle Grade Fantasy Reads
Good morning everyone,
Come find me at Brenda’s Log Cab Library where I discuss writing a series that is broken down into trilogies and involves head hopping (also known as point of view switching).
What are your thought on the matter? Do you love seeing different characters weigh in on a story or do you prefer to stick with one protagonist/antagonist throughout?
Jötunheim – Giant-land. The giant’s home is north of Gloomwood Forest. The giants are known for their master craftsmanship, farming, and love of music. Giant artisans make gorgeous furniture in miniature (full-size for humans.) Giants are poor musicians, but they love music and iPads.
Álfheim – Land of elves. The city is built in the trees surrounding a wide glade near Gloomwood Forest. The light there is always silver from the frosted glass architecture of their buildings. The elves domesticated bears, wolves, reindeer, and winter-wyverns. Elves thirst for knowledge and are particularly interested in various sciences. They’re adapting to human technologies but focus most on water and solar energy extraction.
Elleken – Home of the ellefolken. Ellefolken or elk-folk are forest folk who prefer living around alder trees. Some would say they are cousins to the elves and there is much intermarrying between the two groups. The ellefolken live in the midst of Gloomwood Forest. A special place to them is a glade called the Golden Kings. Most of their population is female. There are three males at any time: the king, the heir, and the spare.
Under Realm – Queen Helena’s turf. The realm is a prison, hidden inside a mystical void whose barriers are defined by the roots of the Elleken kings. The dragons of the world have been hunted and entrapped in the realm. The Gjöll river flows between the Under Realm and the real world, spanned by the Gjallarbrú bridge. You will need a special pair of shoes to cross the bridge to enter the realm and you’ll have to find a way to get them off your feet to leave.
Trolgar – Mountain-troll kingdom. Hidden underground between human civilization and Gloomwood Forest lies the kingdom of mountain-trolls. Their king has a deep connection to the mountain and bedrock. He can make the mountain grow stalagmites as tall as buildings. The trolls are very good hunters and lead a Wild Hunt to track down threats to the realm.
Glomma – Olaf’s river. Olaf is a river-troll with an agenda. He controls the Glomma and can demand tribute from all who can cross it. Mountain-trolls vary from river-trolls in appearance and mannerisms. Olaf is a solitary creature whereas the trolls in Trolgar are very social and live in a city. Don’t get on Olaf’s bad side!
I started my writing career as an elementary kid with a penchant for fairies. Young as I was, even back then I was writing a book series in which every book relied on the world-building I had created. I was a bit haphazard in my approach, after all I was a kid, but I took the lessons I learned and funneled them into the next project, and the next, and the next.
These days I write about fantasy adventures set in Norway, following a group of kids as they take on bad guys in their attempt to save the world. Each book builds on the last and adds new dimension to the world I’ve created. Have you ever wondered how to do that yourself? From my experience it takes time and patience, trial and error, research, and a willingness to explore the world as if you were the reader and not the author.
Let me take you through the journey of how Zaria Fierce came to be.
If you’ve followed me for some time, you may have heard the story of how I started the books with my main character, but I had no idea what to do with her. Zaria was an enigma waiting for me to puzzle out. I tried placing her in different places and with different settings, but nothing gelled. It was pretty frustrating because Zaria Fierce had become like a friend to me. She and I were on a journey together, but every start proved to be the wrong move.
Eventually, I had an eureka moment. Zaria and I landed in the middle of Norway. Immediately, the setting felt right to me. Zaria had a home. She didn’t have much else, but she and I had made progress. We were no longer searching in the dark for a place to start her story, we had found it and it was just right, as Goldilocks would say.
Next, came figuring out her antagonist. We had tried several things along the way in our search for the right setting, but nothing had panned out. I didn’t want any of those bad guys. They were too pedestrian. So Zaria and I wrote about going to school and seemingly out of nowhere a bridge appeared and then a troll! It wasn’t out of nowhere though. I have loved Norwegian folklore for a long time – one example of this is that my favorite ride at Epicot was the Norwegian ride when it was Maelstrom. I had a rich background to draw upon and I immediately followed up by reading other folktales.
It’s been a few years and a few books later from those humble beginnings. Zaria and her friends have encountered a lot on their adventures. We have seafaring trolls, giants with whale pods, wyverns that can fly, wyverns that can swim, ellefolken princes who transform, a witch in the woods without a name, and a changeling who wants to be human.
Speaking of that changeling, Aleks Mickelsen is going to be taking on the mantle of storyteller in the next three books. We’ll be seeing the world through his eyes. It’s been so much fun to dive back into the world Zaria and I created together. Aleks’ stories will plumb the depths of the world and bring out new facets. We’ll meet troll kids and befriend new creatures and face new bad guys. I hope you’ll join us on the next Fierce Adventure – Aleks Mickelsen and the Twice-Lost Fairy Well!
