WHY WE WRITE

I love discovering what motivated an author's decision to pick up that pen or strike that first keystroke to begin their first book. For Anna Del C. Dye, writing children's fantasies restores part of her own lost childhood, and hopefully enhances those of a growing generation. I'll let her explain in her own words.

Anna Del C. Dye:
My life started on a September spring morning in South America. I was born exactly fifteen minutes after my non-identical twin sister. Life was happy enough for my siblings and I until one day, right before my sixth birthday, my mother left in an ambulance and never came back home. I grew up with my four siblings and my father who never re-married. He has been a hard man to please and love, for as long as I can remember.

I graduated from high school and became a professional seamstress. I love to sew and it was obvious that I had a knack for needles and patterns. I had learned how to create and alter patterns, how to do beadwork and tailoring. This has given me the opportunity to help with the cast of four theater productions and I love every second of it.

Though reading was not very tolerated in my home, my father would bring home some books and we devoured them. In them, we were introduced to imaginary places that no one could take away from us.

At nineteen I met my husband a native from Idaho. He brought me to the States and introduced me to his large family. Every one of them accepted me, and soon his mother took me under her wing. I did not speak any English then and life was interesting at times, especially trying to plan a wedding in a tradition that was unknown to me. Still everything was perfect. Well… as perfect as it could be with two weeks to have it all done.

About a year later our first son was born. Right before he turned one, we returned to my country where our second son and our only daughter were born. We returned to the U.S. when it was time for our oldest son to start pre-kinder. It was at this time that I fully learned English and how to drive, because the kids needed to get to school. My husband went back to the University full-time and graduated two and a half years later, in accounting.

It was about this time that Hardy boys and Nancy Drew become my favorite books and I built my own collection. It helped me greatly with my English and the love for books. I had always had a good imagination and my husband has asked many times to write books for children, but I did not felt secure enough and put it off.

We soon bought our home and started to do foster care. We wanted to adopt more children. One day, a little boy came to our lives and we loved him so.

I write fantasy because life is too real and serious already. Our imagination is the limit and living the life of one of the characters in a book, is a great therapy. It usually motivates us to try things that we may not do other wise. To have the guts to stand up to what is right and to make wise choices in our own real lives. Most of all… that this is a great way to teach a mass of young adults in a fun way that we do have choices in our lives, no matter where we start. We can be born in the humblest of circumstances and rise above all. No one can take away from us our minds, our imagination, our integrity, nor our resilience. Is when we give up, that we tell other that they can live our lives for us. For as long as it is a book to be read and something to be learn, no one can stop us from doing so. The moon is the limit and all we have to do is to learn how to touch it. It will not come to us, so we must learn how to go to it.

Years ago my second son had introduced me to the world of Tolkien. It took me a while to get the hang of it because it was a different English than what I was accustomed to. But, soon, I was hooked and loved it. Then, “The Lord of the Rings” movies came out and I was taken to the world I had envisioned in my mind. They left me hungry for more. What happen to Legolas, to Gimly? when they went home. What of their families? Their kingdoms? I was so taken with their world that I wanted answers Tolkien could not given to me, so… I started to created lives for them and found very real people. That is how The Elf and the princess was born, to answer my question and to have them live new adventures through the pages of my books.

How is Emerine’s Nightmare different from your other published books?

It has a boy protagonist and the theme is darker than I am accustomed to.
Since all know me as the sweet young adult author who writes Elf series and Princess Romances, this Halloween-y tale really breaks the mold.

It is about an 11-year-old boy who is a genius and his parents don’t know it. He is so bored with the pretence of his normal life that he decides to have an alternate life. His genius helps him create an almost human robot and the two of them travel the galaxies investigating crime.

But what about your Elf series?

No. My elf series is too close to my heart and, like I have said before, there are 7 books in that series. The next stand-alone book, the fifth in that series, is called “The Royal Elf of Abalon.”

When will we see it on the market?

It is in the editing process right now and will come out about April of next year. It is so fun to write that I can’t help it. And I do appreciate your time and that of your readers.

My pleasure, Anna. Where can readers find Emerine’s Nightmare?

You can find Emerine’s Nightmare in the following electronic formats:

Barnes and Nobles
Kindle
Nook
e-book
The Kindle and Nook are only $3.99
and the e-book $2.00.
The first two are available at the normal sites, the e-book from my website. Enjoy.
…And to you, Happiness forever!!!