69 books like The Dragon and the Stone

My faith is core to who I am. I love Jesus wholeheartedly and believe true fulfillment only comes through a relationship with Him. I believe we are all created on purpose for a purpose. I want every person I come in contact with to know that they are powerful, chosen, loved, and never alone. I also love creating and reading real and fictional stories that have a message. I believe that stories can seep through our layers and speak to the deepest parts of who we are. The books on my list are the ones that seeped deep down into my heart.

My faith is core to who I am. I love Jesus wholeheartedly and believe true fulfillment only comes through a relationship with Him. I believe we are all created on purpose for a purpose. I want every person I come in contact with to know that they are powerful, chosen, loved, and never alone. I also love creating and reading real and fictional stories that have a message. I believe that stories can seep through our layers and speak to the deepest parts of who we are. The books on my list are the ones that seeped deep down into my heart.

I have been writing for more than a decade specifically in fantasy. My mind was filled with tales of magic, heroes, and mythical creatures for decades. When Christ called me it was like learning how to fit my creativity and imagination into this box. Except, He is the box from which all creativity comes. As for my expertise concerning the Word of God, I have studied the Bible from beginning to end and I have prepared and preached a number of sermons. I will one day be a full-fledged pastor, and writing is a part of the job. I have a unique blend of fantasy and Christ. 

I have been writing for more than a decade specifically in fantasy. My mind was filled with tales of magic, heroes, and mythical creatures for decades. When Christ called me it was like learning how to fit my creativity and imagination into this box. Except, He is the box from which all creativity comes. As for my expertise concerning the Word of God, I have studied the Bible from beginning to end and I have prepared and preached a number of sermons. I will one day be a full-fledged pastor, and writing is a part of the job. I have a unique blend of fantasy and Christ. 

I grew up on a steady diet of Disney movies, and while I knew they didn’t stay true to the original tales, that didn’t stop me from loving them. Fast-forward through an MFA in genre fiction from Seton Hill University, and I landed a gig writing study guides for fiction novels, where I put my love of fairy tales to good use. In particular, retellings fascinate me because they bring something new to something old. The books on this list stayed with me because of their deep ties to stories that shaped who I am, and I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

I write adult and young adult fantasy. I’ve always been fascinated with the concept of magic. While growing up in China, I often found myself immersed in fantasy literature based on Asian history, mythology, and legends. I enjoyed getting lost in the rich imaginary worlds where the characters came to life. These tales fed my imagination and inspired me to create my own magical adventures. Writing has allowed me to expand on the ancient legends and mythology that I’ve always loved. Moreover, I’ve enjoyed creating lifelike characters, especially strong women who inspire young girls.

I’ve always sought to escape this world for another; one more exciting. Whether it was reading, or playing D&D, I constantly looked for new places to explore. Building my own has become one of my favorite things about writing. What starts as a simple ‘What if...’ turns into a place I find myself in daily. I’m no longer just an explorer, but a builder, and my craving for unique worlds hasn’t gone away. I’m still learning, still creating new worlds beyond my first, and always still walking new ones. I hope you love escapism as much as I do, because these books will transport you.

I have always loved fairy tales, myths, and fantasy, having developed a vivid imagination during childhood because we lived far from friends. When I began studying French, I discovered a love for medieval legends such as Tristan et Yseult.  During trips to France, I explored troglodyte caves of the Loire Valley and prehistoric grottos, such as La Grotte de Lascaux. The more I researched legends and myths, the more my fantasy world of paranormal romance and shapeshifting warriors evolved.

I was born and raised in Mumbai, India, and as a kid I loved to read. But I never saw myself—an Indian girl like me—represented in children’s books before. I didn’t realize how much it affected me until I began writing my first novel at age 23. When I did, I wrote the entire first draft with white characters and set it in a western country. I believed my Indian culture and my experience as an Indian kid was not worth writing about. I was so wrong! Now, with the novels I write, I’m passionate about representation, especially South Asian representation because all kids deserve to see themselves and their cultures in the books they read.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel like a bunch of different personalities all wrapped up in a trenchcoat. Which one is the dominant me? Maybe funny and cheerful, maybe quiet and reclusive, maybe ambitious or adventurous – or maybe I’m all of these things? I think I’m drawn to witches because they're so surprising: a witch might be helpful, or she might try to eat you. It’s that unpredictability and mystery which intimidates people, so a witch is considered scary – until she’s not – and when I open a book about a witch, I never know what to expect!