The Erlandian Chronicles was born when a friend suggested writing Fantasy Romance. It was an interesting idea, but at the time, I wasn't so sure what to write or where to go with it. My first attempt leaned towards being a Paranormal Romance, which is something I might try at some point, but which wasn't the focus of this story. So, I started over.
I am a sucker for the rich guy/common girl trope, but I am also someone who enjoys female characters who kick ass. I never quite like it when the female characters are portrayed as weak (mentally more than physically). Anyway, I'm drifting off. I knew I wanted the story to start in our world; a mundane, magic free environment, so that the change would be somewhat shocking. How it came to pass, I cannot remember, but I ended up making Hadley an auctioneer, someone who is interested in history, and not just our history, but Erlandian history. And then there is Nathaniel, known in his world as Narathaen, who is in a position he absolutely loaths to be in.
See, in the Erlandian Chronicles, both worlds existed side by side at one point in time, until the humans became too greedy, and the rest of the (now) fantastical creatures decided they'd had enough and cut the human world from their own, not without consequences, of course. This means that Erlandia has always existed alongside our world. Perhaps unfairly so, but Erlandia has always been aware of us; some of its inhabitants even visit our world from time to time, but the other way around, Erlandia is more or less like Atlantis, although it's not quite a myth. Items from that world have been found in ours, but due to human's cynicism, most question the authenticity of such items.
In Erlandia, different fantasy creatures live side by side, and magic is as common as air. At least, common enough that everyone can use it, even though the elves are rather specialised in certain types of magic. Someone who has an affinity with earth magic will have trouble wielding fire magic, for example. It's not entirely impossible to do it; it's just a lot harder. Some can siphon magic off of others, others can exchange it or 'loan' it. And then there are those who can read minds, move objects, change appearances. Anything you can think of, it can be done with magic.
The capital city, Kerrallan, is a mix of the modern day and mediaeval times cities such as we have in the human world, but their technology is far more advanced than ours. At the same time, things that are common for us (such as mobile phones) are uncommon for Erlandians. So, in a way, they have advanced, and they haven't.
I'm not sure I consciously chose for this concept, though. As a discovery writer, things come as I write, so the world developed the further I got into the story, and I rather liked where it went. After all, that's the beauty of writing fantasy; it can be anything you can come up with it, within certain parameters, I suppose.
Soulborn, the Erlandian Chronicles, is available here .
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