The Feyland series is a what-if, based on my early years reading fairy tales, and more fairy tales, and then later playing a lot of computer games. Gaming lets you lose yourself in the world of digital space, and even though when I started the Feyland series in 2009 there wasn’t any kind of immersive gaming (no Oculus headsets, etc.), I imagined that the technology would come. I set the books in a near-future so that my characters would get pulled deeply into the game world… and then further, all the way into the Realm of Faerie. 

Because fairyland has always been a place between, where dusk and dawn gather, I believe that the real/not real experience of gaming also falls into that liminal space. If anything could open a gateway to Faerie, why not an immersive game?

I drew on many elements of faerie lore, including ballads and tales collected from the British Isles, weaving them in with the high-tech aspects of gaming. People’s connections with one another are essential, so I added lots of friendship and some romantic complications along with fast-paced adventure, all suitable for younger readers.

Some day, I think there will be faeries in space, brought along by humans in some kind of folded reality bubble. So it delights me to think of the Feyland series on the moon. Who knows, maybe some of those tricky creatures will escape, to scatter moondust into our dreams…

Anthea Sharp writes USA Today bestselling science fantasy and fairytales. Find her at www.antheasharp.com