Craigieburn local Shelley Cass has grown from an embarrassed student who struggled to learn to read, to a successful author celebrating the release of the second book of her fantasy trilogy.
‘The Raiden’ is the follow-up to ‘The Last Larnaeradee’, and follows protagonists the Three while their country prepares for war and they prepare for “the battle of their lives”.
Ms Cass said that her travels have inspired her work.
“My travels to different places have often sparked inspiration for different settings I’d love to write about,” she said.
“A trip through the rainforest in Port Douglas, and a beautiful sinkhole garden in Mount Gambier inspired my ancient Sylthanryn City [in the novels] to come to life.”
Ms Cass said the trilogy, named “A Fairy’s Tale”, was inspired by self reflection.
“Things I felt in the angsty days of teenagedom, things I daydreamed so vividly that they just had to be painted onto a page in words [inspired me],” she said.
“Characters’ moods could reflect my moods because scenes did not always get written in sequence.
“But a deep undercurrent, and then a driving plot point of my novel was a focus on our world.
“I was often most worried, and most moved, by what I could make of the state of nature and humanity.”
‘The Raiden’ is available now.
