Fantasy author Tyler Edwards struggled to connect with kids his age when he was growing up. Feeling rejected and alone, he became depressed and suicidal. Edwards says, “I remember reading The Hobbit, and the strangest thing happened. I was lost in this otherworldly adventure that took my mind off the struggles I couldn’t overcome. Stories became an escape. A safe place I could retreat to when life was too much. I loved writing them, reading them, and listening to them, I couldn’t get enough. Since I was eight years old, I’ve been writing stories in notebooks, dreaming of worlds and characters in hopes to one day create stories that someone else might find an escape in during their time of need.”
In the first book of Tyler Edwards’ Outlands Saga, Jett Lasting struggles to find his place in a world where drawing attention to yourself can get you killed. To survive, he must avoid guards, beggar gangs, and an ever-growing tension that could drag the whole city into chaos. Imagine Jett’s chagrin when he unwittingly becomes entwined in a plot to overthrow the government in which his choices could lead to the freedom or the death of everyone he’s ever known or cared about.
Q: What’s a memory of a story or book that made you realize you wanted to be a writer?
A: I remember as a kid my mother would read stories with me every night. The Call of the Wild, The Hobbit, The Book of Three, James and the Giant Peach and getting lost in these adventures. As I got older, I wanted to create those stories, those worlds for people to get lost in.
Write on the World 