book details

Book: Agartha's Castaway (a free Kindle eBook) by Chrissy Peebles

categories: Book, Teens, Love, Romance, Shipwrecked, Island, Castaway, Action Adventure, Young Adult Fantasy Adventure

Chrissy Peebles

about this book: My inspiration came from my desire to share my overactive imagination…to entertain. I had been writing lots of picture books, but I really wanted to write a young adult novel. And here's how it all started:It was a hot summer day and I went to an exhibit at the zoo called, "Dinosaurs!". Eighteen of the automatons stood along a prehistoric promenade around Waterfowl Lake, moving their limbs hydraulically and bellowing through implanted speakers. Some of them were huge and lifelike, especially the T-rex. Watching the robotic reptiles was so much fun and we learned so much about the mighty lizards. My daughter looked up at me with her big brown eyes and pigtails and said, "Mommy, you should write about dinosaurs."

I thought long and hard about that statement. I thought it'd be fun to take three normal, contemporary teenagers and throw them into a fantastic, not-so-normal situation. You know, really throw them out of their element. I thought dinosaurs could do just that. I've always loved dinosaurs and I didn't think there was anything like that in the young adult genre. I could even make it more unique by throwing in a sci-fi twist and a crush. I really loved the idea of my main MC having a massive crush on one of her friends. Maybe I was even mimicking my own life.

I pondered. What would happen if one was stranded on a deserted island with a popular dead-drop gorgeous MTV reality star? The ideas brewed in my head all day long. I really wanted to come up with something original and different. So I just started brainstorming and writing like a mad woman, and then my characters emerged: Mike's a championship surfer, Jack's a popular jock, and Casey is trying to find herself as she sheds her tomboy image. Idea after idea kept popping into my head and suddenly I was writing the book.

My main goals were to entertain, snag the reader's attention, and never let go. I knew the best way to accomplish this was to write about what I loved—fantasy. Fantasy is my favorite genre to write because I've always had a vivid imagination. I love it so much because I can weave or spin any storyline I want, create my own fantasy world and characters, and let my imagination spill over. There's nothing more fun than that!

My first book series was such an amazing journey, but now, I've explored other genres in fantasy. I've written about boarding schools in haunted castles to time travel romance, and now zombies.