Salt Lake City-based author A.M Isle will sign her books, “Blood of Celentra” and “Life of Celentra,” from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday at Park City’s Barnes Noble. Credit: Scott Iwasaki/Park Record Salt Lake City-based author A.M Isle invites readers to a magical world known as Celentr a. And she is doing that through a book-signing tour throughout Utah that will stop in Park City from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday at Barnes Noble, 1678 Redstone Center Drive. “I’ve always had a dream of becoming a published author, but the tour, particularly being in Utah, means a lot, because it’s where I’ve grown up pretty much most of my life,” she said. “I’ve already been to these different Barnes Nobles and it’s been cool to walk in and be able to tell people about my own story.” The fantasy series is Isle’s love letter to those who have been told they were “too much” to be around. “I knew I wanted to tell a story about these types of people, and having them be the people the world actually needs in order for it to be saved,” she said. Isle, herself, has been called “too much” all of her life. “That came from a lot of different sources including teachers and people who meant well,” she said. “So, I wanted this to be a story about people that had to learn that being ‘too much’ was exactly enough that the world needed.” Isle also felt she wanted to push against those stories where characters need to reject the darker pieces of themselves to make the world better. “I don’t want people to feel they need to do that, because those darker pieces are what makes us human, and we have to be able to accept those pieces,” she said. “I want people to feel comfortable going into ‘Celentra’ no matter who they are.” “Blood of Celentra” is Salt Lake City-based author A.M Isle’s debut fantasy novel. The book is the first in a 10-volume series that Isle has been thinking about since she was in middle school. Credit: Scott Iwasaki/Park Reecord Isle has already published “Blood of Celentra” and “Life of Celentra,” the respective first two books in her 10-book “The Warrior of Celentra” series, and plans to release the third book, “Breath of Celentra” in January. The story, full of history, magic and myth, takes place in a world frozen in time through grief, Isle said. “That concept came about because I felt that grief is, one, something that doesn’t get talked about enough, and, two, something that is typically swept under the carpet,” she said. “So to have a whole world that is frozen in grief is a powerful message in how grief can shape who we are and change us.” One of the main characters, Sahora, is a girl who has learned to lock up her feelings. “I wanted to (showcase) someone who wanted to have nothing to do with emotions, so when she’s thrust into this world where emotion is where people get their magic, it flips her whole ideological sense of self onto its head,” she said. “Sahora struggles from being told that her emotions are a weakness and then, at another point, is told her emotions make her restless. So, I really wanted her to be a character who had to reckon with her emotions, and accept the parts of herself she considers broken.” Isle started writing the series when she was a middle-school student, so Sahora started off as a middle-school kid. “As I grew up, Sahora stayed a middle-schooler, and that didn’t feel right,” she said. “So, when I finally wrote this version of the book that is out now, I had to ask myself who Sahora was.” Isle sees much of herself in the character. “I would definitely say she gets her sass from me,” Isle said with a laugh. “Another thing we share is her consistent relentlessness in pushing forward no matter what.” Isle knew from the get go that she wanted to write a 10-book fantasy series.  “When I started, I had to plan things out, because I knew I wanted every character to have their own arc,” she said. “So, every book is dedicated to a specific character, region and shard. I did that because I feel every one of these characters deserves to have a central voice in the series. In book one, you meet pretty much every character who will be a main character by the end of the series, and I wanted every voice to matter, so they can flourish by book 10.”  Isle’s senses of storytelling came through a number of influences including “Cirque du Freak” author Darren Shan and “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling, whom she loved before Rowling’s anti-LGBTQ+ views were made public. “I would say Darren Shan influenced me the most, especially with his concepts about fate and destiny,” Isle said.  Another of Isle’s personal mentors was the late Irene Peterson.  “She was an English and journalism teacher, and I was the editor of my high school’s newspaper,” Isle said of Peterson. “She was one of the biggest influences in me learning to trust my voice and ability to write.” Peterson passed away in 2019, according to Isle. “In her will, Ms. Peterson said I got the first pick of her personal library, and she also gave me a jade heart necklace that I wear all the time,” Isle said. “During her funeral, her family said she had one student who she treated like her own daughter, and they said my name. It was a really big honor.” While Isle looks forward to publishing the full “Warrior of Celentra” series, she is enjoying these book-signing tours. “I love connecting,” she said. “I love being able to talk with people about things that they like in fantasy and things they don’t like in fantasy. I also like hearing about people’s days. They can come up and tell me they’re having a great day or a bad day. I want to hear all about it, because I love taking those moments to get to know somebody and hear what they’ve got to say.” Isle said her younger self would not believe her dreams of becoming an author are coming true. “If I could tell that middle-school student that the series would become a reality and the story and characters that she had been holding so long in her heart is finally out in the world, she would probably cry really hard,” Isle said with another laugh. “She’d be an absolute mess. So, I want to say if anybody has a story they want to tell or get out into the world, they should do it, because the world needs it.”  Book signing with A.M. Isle, the author of ‘The Warrior of Celentra’ When: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday Where: Barnes Noble, 678 Redstone Center Drive. Cost: Free Web: welcometocelentra.com The post Locally based author introduces ‘The Warrior of Celentra’ appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less