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Today, we have author Sheenah Freitas featured on the blog’s ‘Indie Saturday‘ for her YA high fantasy novel The Chosen (Zincian Legend, Book 1).

Sheenah Freitas writes:

It’s September and I’m here to kick off fantasy month for Indie Saturday!

So, what makes a fantasy a fantasy? Like all literature, it has characters, plot, and setting. But unlike all literature, fantasy has a myriad of creatures that we can only dream about: elves, dragons, goblins, orcs, and even witches. Fantasy has been told for generations in the form of fairy tales, legends, and myths. So it’s no wonder that fantasy has captured the imagination of countless people throughout the years.

When I set out to write The Chosen, I wanted to re-create the epic tales of myth. Mythology has always fascinated me and there was something remarkable about the hero’s journey. All of the trials, all of the loss, and the victories really resonated with me. They were what made the hero a true hero at the end. But even more than that, I was fascinated with the gods.

Before I began work, I realized that I wanted to recreate those epic mythological quests. Initially I wanted to use the Greek gods, but then I stopped. I realized that I didn’t want to re-create another Greek tale; I wanted to create something that paid homage to Homer and Virgil. So I decided that the best thing to do would be to create my own mythology from the ground up.

I studied many different mythologies and religions to see if I could find something to use for the basis of my mythology. I knew, that like the Greeks, I wanted a pantheon of gods to oversee my fantasy world but how did they get there? Have they always been there since the beginning or like the Greek gods, or did they, too, have a beginning? It took some time (and a History channel documentary) for me to realize that Gnosticism was what I was looking for. I began to write down events and back story to help flesh out the mythology of my world and once I was done and saw what I had accomplished, I decided it was time to bring in my characters.

When it came time to build my characters and the actual adventure that would revolve around the mythology that I had built, I looked to anime. There are many shows in anime that pertain to some sort of quest and though it might be the most mundane quest ever, it’s the characters that draw you in and keep you glued to the show. It was that quality that I was looking for. I wanted a group of four characters that, despite everything, would be there for each other at the end of the day.

The result of my research and planning is something that I’m really proud of and I hope that readers enjoy it when they read it. As my debut novel, I learned a lot of the dos and don’ts of writing and it’s been a real treat creating something that I love that might even inspire someone to pick up a pen and starting writing something for themselves.

Thanks for having me, and readers: thank you for taking the time to read this post. Have a wonderful day!

A neek at heart, Sheenah Freitas has a love for the whimsical and the magical. She looks to animated Disney movies and Studio Ghibli films for inspiration because of their innovative twists on fairytales, strong story structures, and character studies. When not writing, you might find her in a forest where she’s yet to find any enchanted castles.

The Chosen (Zincian Legend, Book 1) by Sheenah Freitas (Paper Crane Books) is available at Amazon in Kindle and Paperback formats.

Book two The Number (Zincian Legend Trilogy, Book 2) is also out on Amazon!

You can also check out Sheenah’s Amazon Author’s page for a listing of her other books!

To learn more about Sheenah, follow  Sheenah on her official website/blog: http://sheenahfreitas.com/, Facebook page: Sheenah-Freitas, and Twitter: @sheenahfreitas. Drop by and say hi to her!

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Do you want to be a featured ‘Indie Saturday’ author too? Go here for more info!

Read an embedded sample of “The Chosen (Zincian Legend, Book 1)” after the jump!

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