The Dark Backstory Behind My Next Novel
Jan 30, 2026 1:11 pm
Yasin was my first online friend. We met when we were 9 on Neopets, back when most kids didn’t have internet access and strangers online were assumed to be serial k*llers. Even as a kid, he seemed impossibly accomplished: teaching me video editing and creative writing (things that eventually became my career), publishing poetry, taking stunning photographs, and by 14, speaking six languages with plans to interpret for the UN.
We didn’t talk often, but our friendship lasted decades. Then one day I realized he’d gone quiet. Eventually, I learned he’d suffered an anoxic brain injury. I still haven’t heard from him, and I don’t know if I ever will. It’s hard to imagine someone so young and gifted coming so close to the end. Hard to imagine my first friend gone.
And you know what? We still haven't met in-person. We always dreamed of it. That's why I wrote this book, to relive those childhood fantasies we had together. It's for Yasin, and for anyone who’s ever cared deeply for someone they only knew through a screen.
You're the first to hear about the heartbreaking truth behind this book. 😅 But if that feeling means something to you, I hope you’ll support my Kickstarter launching in less than a month, We Met in Yggdrasil.
On a more positive note, I'm putting together the cool swag for the Kickstarter project. I'll reveal them next time; I think you'll love it. In the meantime, here are a few fantastic projects I’d love to share:
PROJECT RECOMMENDATIONS
For those who love badass heroines, secretive half-elf bounty hunters, dangerous worlds beyond the portals, and magical creatures of all descriptions.
A steampunk saga of resistance, rebellion, and revolution. A coming of age dystopian novel in a 980 page special edition.
If you love Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next, Terry Pratchett's Discworld, or Douglas Adams' genre-bending humor, you'll love the expanded Curse Breaker Universe.
A fallen courtesan & an outcast mage clash over a relic’s power--forcing them to choose between power, loyalty, & the fate of a realm.
Until next time!
Stefanie
