This is why I depend on many sets of eyes to spot the little typo-beasties that slip under my scrutiny. The trouble is that the correct sentence is in the back of my thoughts, and what my eyes are reporting is only a guide – I’m reading as much from the memory of what it should be as by sight. When I review my own work, I’ll look at a sentence like “They jumped onto wagon” and my brain inserts the missing word without telling me. As an English teacher, I’d pick up the errors in something I was marking almost without trying.

It’s really difficult to spot the typos in our own writing, no matter how many revisions we do. (Above: The mountain fortress of Kultûhm) It is my hope that readers will be taken on a similar journey and that Dawn of Wonder will be found a worthy contribution to the epic fantasy bookshelf. Writing this book was a magical journey for me. (Above: The mystery in the Drumly forest) In my imagination I experience all the emotions of life as well as the tingling of wonder – a voice returning from childhood like a lost friend, a voice roused from years of sleep.

And I may not actually be standing in the forbidden shadows of the great northern forest, but there’s a prickle at the back of my neck none the less as leaves begin whispering to each other. I might not actually be running my hand over the crumbling stone of ancient fortress walls, but I really am spellbound as I consider the possibilities behind the towering barrier. One of the greatest things this genre has taught me is how to rekindle that sense of wonder.

Wonder and fantasy have much to do with each other. The fantasy genre, especially epic fantasy, opens a secret door to discovery on so many levels, from exploring the histories, hopes and motives of people to braving the shadows of lost and forbidden realms. When I finally found it, I also found the title of the book. It was something more engaging than atmosphere, more real than imagination that I was searching for. As I wrote, I began to realise that, yes, it was that, but it was also more than that. Have you ever wished you could capture a moment, but not just the moment, the feeling that made the moment what it was?ĭawn of Wonder was written to be an epic adventure and a far-reaching tale of mystery and love, but I wanted it to be more than that, I wanted to capture something I couldn’t quite define.Īt first I thought it was atmosphere I was after – that wrap-around feeling that causes you to lose yourself within a story.

The wakening book 2 jonathan renshaw