Local Woman's Fantasy Book Comes To Life In Nearby Stores

Portage's Amanda Ylva has been writing as far back as Middle School, with the dreams of creating her own universe in the world of written word. Now those dreams have come to fruition, as she has published and gone local with her new Fantasy Fiction: Queensdaughter. Currently there are copies available at the Barnes & Noble in Portage on S. Westnedge Rd and in Grand Rapids. The book touches on major social issues, while creating a wonderous new world.

The story follows Navette after her home is destroyed by a primordial being, and she discovers that she's the daughter of the previous queen. She travels north to the capital for safety, but becomes wrapped up in a world far bigger than she imagined. Meanwhile, her sister Ivy and dozens of villagers remains in the ruins of their home and have to make a new way of life.

The book is geared more towards adults (college-level), but is open to all, and she says would be great for fans of Christopher Paolini or Naomi Novik. When asked about the inspiration of the books and when the writing process began, she elaborated on the genesis of its inspiration:

It's hard to say when exactly I started Queensdaughter, because it went through unrecognizable changes. For the current version, I could say mid-high school, about 7 years ago. I started writing in 6th grade (with really bad fanfiction), and decided to try something original and that's when I knew that I wanted to write a book

She went on to tell me the importance of some of the underlying social issues we deal with that are touched on in the book:

I want to say that this also is about feminism and LGBT rights, but I also really wanted to write a book in which discrimination doesn't exist - so many people, including myself, are tired of reading about homophobia and the like, so it simply doesn't exist in this book and powerful women and queer/LGBT people are taken as completely normal. One of the secondary themes that will come out more later is respect for nature - which is incredibly important to me. The whole society of the book reveres nature, but the antagonists threaten to destroy everything that is held dear.

Anyone interested in buying the book can also purchase it on her website.