Hi everyone! For today’s #FandomFrenzy I am super pleased to have a guest post for you from the lovely Rachael at Books Inter Alia. I love that Rachael has provided us with something a little bit different for this week. Please give her post about fictional worlds a read!

Fictional Worlds – Guest Post

By Rachael Dewhurst

When first asked to write about a fictional world I’d like to find myself in, my mind leapt to Hogwarts and the magical world of Harry Potter. There can be no denying that a pang of disappointment is felt when I leave the stories and am reminded that I can’t summon items with a swish and a flick, or ride a hippogriff. If I wanted to make this guest post quick to write, Hogwarts would be my answer, and by not submitting this as my final answer, I fully admit that I’m not one-hundred percent convinced I’m being truthful. However, I really wanted to take this opportunity to consider other options, primarily because, in my mind, and I would hazard to posit that it’s the same for many other people, I realised that somewhere, a link had been forged between the idea of fictional worlds and fantasy. This jump does a disservice to the settings created by authors who don’t write fantasy.

I am not a huge fan of fantasy. Instead, my bookcase and shelves house predominantly contemporary Young Adult and general fiction. Even these genres although firmly rooted in reality offer escapism and experiences that we may not otherwise be able to experience. So, I turned away from the fantasy part of my shelf to face the rest; to the many contemporary adventures I have enjoyed over the years. And almost immediately my thought process changed. I started thinking about the people whose world I’d like to be in, and the people I’d like to show me around said world.

There are many fantastic people I have met through the pages of my books but one particular community of people peaked my interest. I bought Readers of Broken Wheel Recommends on a whim. Once I saw the colourful cover, the bright and inviting turquoise and yellow, I was hooked; especially when I read the blurb and discovered it was about a book-loving, bookshop owner in Sweden.

I have always wanted to visit Scandinavia and honestly, all of Katrina Bivald’s characters were fascinating and  – after a warming period for some individuals – left me wanting to spend more time with them. I know this isn’t necessarily an inspiring answer, but for me, the characters make the world; in much the same way as great company can make an evening. All the characters we are introduced to, from protagonist Sara to George, Grace, and even Amy all leave you with a sense of friendship and warmth – who wouldn’t want to be immersed in that? Furthermore, all of them were so developed and dimensional (the love that Katrina Bivald pours into each facet of them is undeniable) that, whilst you would go with a good sense of who they were, you also know that the longer spent with them, the more you’d discover. These are not characters that stop when the book ends. But, being a bibliophile and someone who is always keen to have a chat about books, reading, and the importance of them both, the most significant pull is the chance to be involved in fostering a love of books and to be able to see people develop that love for reading in their own ways. I think that sounds like a really nice world to be in.

A huge thank you to Rachael for such an informative piece about fictional worlds and the ones she would like to adventure in. It’s really interesting to have someone not pick a fantasy world for this feature!

You can find out more about Rachael on her blog, Instagram and follow her on Twitter too!

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