Now it is time to tell you what it was really like writing, editing, and publishing this book. So sit back and find a comfy chair to relax in with a warm cup of tea or chocolate, it is about to get real in here.
Words by author Aaron Lee Yeager:
I began writing The first Wysteria book in 2004. I was a student at UVU, training to be an airline pilot when I came down with Rheumatic fever.
What is a Rheumatic fever? Some weird martian nano-virus? Nothing so exotic. It's strep throat. Common strep throat. But, if you have the wrong genetics, your body cannot tell the difference between the strep cells and the cells in your joints and heart valves.
Suddenly at 27, I found myself with severe arthritis, blood pressure so low I was bedridden for nearly a year, and a mountain of school debt acquired to learn how to fly, but could never be legally employed as a pilot for the rest of my life.
The original inspiration for the story was the song, "As long as you love me," by the Backstreet Boys. I wanted to write a different kind of love story, a love story that deals with the difference between what you want and what you need. The interplay between Athel and Alder was central to the story.
The series was designed to be a metaphor for the various stages of my life.
In book one, we see Athel reveling in the freedom of youth and dodging responsibility. In the second book, she would become a mother and accept the responsibilities of adulthood. In the third book, Athel deals with the crushing realities of leadership and failure.
These are things we all go through, it is the human experience, my life told in metaphor. I am not Athel, but when you read Athel's story, you know me. In many ways, I consider The Isle of Wysteria series to be my most intimate and personal work. Sometimes I shy away, reluctant to let people read something that shows my heart and feelings so rawly.
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