About the author...
I am an indie author passionate about sharing my love of faith-filled fantasy through my stories. My first book, The Kairos Quest, made this dream a reality, but it was a long journey to get there. Continue reading to learn about my story!
Preliminary Info-Dump
I am Lauren Graves, twenty-one years old, student by day and fantasy author by night. I was born and raised in the beautiful state of Idaho, where I live with my parents and my younger sister. After being homeschooled and graduating in 2021, I studied English, business, and graphic design for the next three years. I've had a large variety of jobs for the last several years, including website development, jewelry-making, teaching at my local elementary school, and running my own hobby business through which I sell candy and wool animal sculptures. Meanwhile I have had a host of side-quests, like horseback riding, watercolor painting, and earning a black belt in martial arts.
​
I have been a Christian for my entire life, and remain devoted to pursuing God's calling for me, whatever that leads to. While I am making plans for the next few years, I know that it is ultimately up to God to decide what I end up doing!
The Call to Adventure
In 2018, I already knew that I wanted to write stories. But not just any old stories, like the mysteries and superhero cartoons I was messing around with. There was a story that I wished that I could read, but no one had written it. I wanted a high-flying fantasy adventure. Dragons were a must. I wanted lovable, relatable characters that I could root for. I wanted a story grounded in faith and without all of the other yucky stuff that middle-grade books were starting to have. No romance.
​
When I couldn't find this story, I decided that I had better write it myself. It was harder than I thought.
​
Way harder.
​
Five years, four complete re-writes, and many tears and sleepless nights later, I held the book that my fifteen-year-old self would have snatched from my hands. The Kairos Quest was published on October 26, 2023, and I became a real author.
​
"That is, I wrote the books I should have liked to read if only I could have got them. That’s always been my reason for writing. People won’t write the books I want, so I have to do it for myself." — C.S. Lewis
The Future is Coming
So, what does the future look like, you ask?
​
Well, it was fairly early in the process of The Kairos Quest that I realized it would need more than one book to tell the rest of the story. I decided to follow book one with two more, and so the Realm of Dragons Trilogy was born. But as I learned with my first book, stories take a long time to write. And then there's all the editing, and the cover design, and the formatting... so getting Book 2 published is taking a lot longer than I thought. However, be assured that two more books are in the works!... just in this series...
​
But Lauren, I hear you asking, are there going to be any more books after the Realm of Dragons Trilogy?
​
Well... let's just say that I'm definitely not going to stop writing books, unless God calls me to something else instead. For the time being, I can see myself writing books for years and decades to come. Perhaps something for younger kids is coming... something with... fabric... and mystery... and adventure...
​
Meanwhile, I like to constantly juggle multiple things at once, so I am also planning on starting an editing and formatting business. For more information, please take a look at the "Services" page of this website.
​
So, that's my story so far, and my vision for the future! I don't plan on winning any awards or making any headlines with my work, but that's not the purpose. My purpose in writing is to write the stories that I wished I had when I was young. Now I can share those stories with others.
​
Thank you for being here and supporting what I do. Now, as the dragons say, ero'ros! (let's go!)