JM VanZuiden

After showing my wonderful wife, Ayla, the first five chapters, I was surprised by her response, being a very critical reader and having a dislike of fantasy fiction. Her reaction encouraged me to continue, and the idea began to form of publishing this work as a creative platform to provide regular people with insight into the mind of us damaged warriors.

The Shadows of Illyria series began in a truly bizarre way. I am an Iraq War combat veteran and had begun receiving treatment for PTSD at the VA's Vet Center. One day, my Therapist suggested finding something I enjoy that I could do when I found myself dealing with the haunting memories of war. I have written for years and always found joy in doing so, especially as a means of expressing my thoughts more clearly. I combined these ideas into a project to express the feelings that myself and so many others experience both during the fight, and the lasting effects afterward. From this simple concept, I began writing the first novel and was amazed at how therapeutic it proved to be and how easily the story developed as I wrote, despite being a work of fiction and having never story-boarded any of it.