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<\/p>\nEvery writer gets asked: “Where do your ideas come from?” <\/p>\n
There are times when that\u2019s difficult to answer, but not in this case. I know exactly where the inspiration for this book started. Honestly, The Storyteller Chronicles all started because of my nieces, nephews and stepsister who wanted to see themselves as the heroes of their own story. Literally.<\/p>\n
As a screenwriter and self-published author, much of my work explores dark, complex and mature themes. However, all my nieces and nephews were aged eleven and under at the time, and obviously couldn’t read or watch said stories, so they kept asking to read something I had written. The more insistent they became, the more I couldn\u2019t not write them a book. If only they read the book and loved it, I\u2019d be happy and proud to say I wrote something that they could proudly say their uncle wrote.<\/p>\n
I knew I couldn\u2019t write anything family-friendly under T.J. Ryan because many of my readers were fans of my romance novels, and a middle-grade book was seriously not what they would expect. So I decided to write under a new pen name: my real name, Ted Ryan. Essentially, I was starting fresh in a new genre.<\/p>\n
The Storyteller Chronicles follows Lauren, a teenager who expects another dull summer holiday with her stepmother, father, and a lively group of nieces and nephews as they visit her reclusive grandmother\u2014the international bestselling author of the Nevermore series. Feeling out of place amid the chaos, Lauren discovers an old book with her name written inside, declaring her the \u201cStoryteller.\u201d<\/p>\n
But things take a dramatic turn when a vengeful warlock is accidentally released from the attic, transporting Lauren and her family into the magical world of Nevermore. With everyone but Lauren trapped under an enchantment, she must face dangers she once only read about in stories to reunite her family. Lauren\u2019s journey is one of discovering her own magical abilities and fighting to protect the fragile boundary between imagination and reality.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I started thinking about the books I loved as a kid: Harry Potter, His Dark Materials, and The Chronicles of Narnia. What did they have in common? Fantasy, adventure, found family, and magic as a literal escape for the characters.<\/p>\n
I had a rough idea of a story where characters enter a magical world through a portal in a book. Early drafts even had the characters in a fairytale retelling, but that felt too restricting.<\/p>\n
Instead, I paid homage to that initial idea by making Silas heavily influenced by Rumpelstiltskin \u2014 a nod to the darker, mysterious aspects of fairy tales. There are also elements inspired by classics like The Wizard of Oz and The NeverEnding Story, along with other stories I loved as a young reader.<\/p>\n
You may notice that Lauren comes from a big family in the book. That\u2019s because they were all named after my nieces and nephews, which was an absolute joy\u2014seeing their reactions to their names in a story. Their characters were also inspired by their real-life counterparts, which made it fun to reimagine their dynamics as siblings and cousins in a fantasy world.<\/p>\n
Other characters in the story are based on real people, too. Without diving into an entire family tree, Lauren and her family relationships mirror my own family\u2019s dynamics in many ways.<\/p>\n
Lauren, the heroine, was inspired by and based on my stepsister, to whom I dedicated the first book. I\u2019ve always believed the quiet heroes are the bravest\u2014and often the most interesting to read and write. Lauren is a teenager who understands the weight of trying to rescue her enchanted relatives, and yet she does it anyway. Her courage isn\u2019t about recognition or praise; she simply knows it\u2019s the right thing to do.<\/p>\n
My mother and her husband make cameo appearances at the beginning of the book, and I even surprised my aunt by using her likeness for a character in Nevermore who made Cinderella\u2019s stepmother look reasonable. But the biggest creative liberty I took was including my deceased grandmother, as a tribute to her memory. She wasn\u2019t a bestselling author, but I like to think I captured her quick wit and distinctive mannerisms in the story.<\/p>\n
The scenes between Anne and Lauren quickly became some of my favorites to write \u2014 moments that I\u2019m continuing to explore in The Storyteller\u2019s Curse, the sequel I\u2019m currently working on.<\/p>\n
Writing The Storyteller Chronicles took me two and a half years, and during that time, I realized this couldn\u2019t be a standalone story. Yet, I had my doubts about publishing it. Seeing my nieces and nephews\u2019 positive reactions helped me understand that this was a story worth sharing. After getting my family\u2019s blessing, I decided to go for it.<\/p>\n
Growing up listening to Stephen Fry narrate Harry Potter, I knew how important it is for stories to be heard as well as read. So, I was thrilled to work with Laura Jennings on the audiobook version. She not only perfectly captured Lauren\u2019s voice but brought the entire cast to life. Now, I\u2019m officially writing the sequel.<\/p>\n
What I once thought would be one or two books has grown into a five-part series: The Storyteller Chronicles, The Storyteller\u2019s Curse, The Storyteller Academy, The Storyteller\u2019s Reckoning, and The Storyteller\u2019s Legacy.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why I\u2019ve decided to use my platform here on Vocal to offer readers an exclusive look into my writing process.<\/p>\n
Subscribers will get early access to drafts, sneak peeks, behind-the-scenes insights, and more through two ongoing series: Author Diaries<\/strong> and Screenwriter Diaries<\/strong>. It\u2019s my way of sharing the creative journey \u2014 from the first sparks of inspiration to the final polish.<\/p>\n So, if you\u2019re curious about how these stories come to life, subscribe now!<\/p>\n The first Author Diaries entry is already live and features an exclusive first look at the prologue of Book Two. Expect more articles coming very soon!<\/p>\n Thank you for reading \u2014 and remember, The Storyteller Chronicles: Book One is available now on Amazon <\/a>in eBook, paperback, and Kindle Unlimited, as well as in audiobook format on Audible<\/a> and iTunes. Also, from today it’s on sale for 99p\/99c for a whole week!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every writer gets asked: “Where do your ideas come from?” There are times when that\u2019s difficult to answer,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":245321,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3938],"tags":[3444,91722,77,15748,95259,5598,16,15,10513,78061],"class_list":{"0":"post-245320","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-books","9":"tag-chronicles","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-i","12":"tag-storyteller","13":"tag-the","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-why","17":"tag-wrote"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114812120285577516","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245320\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/245321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}