Welcome! I’m a New Jersey-based children’s author, focusing primarily on middle grade and young adult contemporary fantasy. My stories don’t involve elves and sword fights, faraway realms and rings of power; they instead take place closer to home and challenge perceptions of “the way life works.”

Akin to Diana Wynne Jones, Madeleine L’Engle, and J. K. Rowling, I enjoy fantasizing about how magic and different systems might occur right here in the world that we’re living. Growing up, I was inspired by creation myths, classic mythology, and theories of the universe; these curiosities now form the basis for many of my stories and ideas.

With this blog, I’d like to share with you my thoughts and experiences along my writing journey. I’m currently in the middle of writing a middle-grade fantasy series. This path to first publication is a difficult but entirely rewarding one.

I also aim to share photos, discoveries, and general tidbits that showcase how incredible this world of ours is. Life is precious, unique, and filled with wonder. Children realize this; they are experiencing the world for the first time and know it to be filled with infinite possibility. The rest of us just need a reminder from time to time!

I appreciate you taking the time to check out my blog. Please feel free to comment and promote lively discussion, or message me personally using the “Contact” form. Thanks for stopping by!

~Erica Deel