Harriet Arden Byrd grew up roaming the woods, playing Mowgli, or imagining herself as some sort of fantasy creature.
Born in San Francisco, she was raised in various places much farther north along the West Coast. By the time she was well into adulthood she’d lived all across Canada and the US, with long stays in Northern Europe and southern Mexico.
From a young age Harriet adored fantasy novels, and she knew Tolkien’s hobbits and elves well, Lewis’s Pevensies, and Arthurian tales in many forms. Certainly these stories helped to shape her adventurous character, but there is one thing which bothered her more and more as the years went by.
When Harriet was ready to write her own book, she did not include military glory. She situated her protagonist in a world where war has never been a concept at all. It is important to document our history, of course, and, so far, we are a warlike species. But if we continually focus on fighting and killing as the entertainment factor in our sci-fi and fantasy stories, how will we ever learn peace?
Aru's Realm is a fantasy novel in a literary style. A fun look at perspectives on the nature of reality, it also speaks to class discrimination and other abuses of power. This is a beautifully visual story. Each chapter enfolds the reader in the emotions and sensations of a different color. Read more description of Aru's Realm using the link below:
