Guest Post: Atonus Perry

Pure Escapism

“I had read tons of science fiction. I was fascinated by other worlds, other environments. For me, it was fantasy, but it was not fantasy in the sense of pure escapism.” - James Cameron



When asked how I can write about an entire world of fantasy, my answer is “how can I not”? Sinexia: The Mark of Perillius is rife with people, plants, and animals that were created in the bowels of my imagination. I was a mere lad when I began designing life that only existed in the universe of my mind. My mom would come to the school and the teacher would pull out stacks of work that I had not done. It wasn’t that I could not do them. I just enjoyed looking at the characters in my imagination more than boring math problems. That particular incident happened in second grade. I was seven. I hated school in those days. Once I had gotten what I wanted from it, (which was reading all of the stories in the second grade reading book, as well as select portions of the science book) I would immerse myself in my own thoughts. Once I ventured to the land inside my head, boredom was no longer a problem.

In the years that followed, my daydreams would grow in complexity, scale, and detail. They all involved me and my friends and family gaining some sort of superpowers, or were about whatever girl I was crushing on. Sometimes it was both! During one point in my life, my daydreams co-existed completely with my consciousness. This means that I was able to daydream while going about my everyday life. I remember taking a test in high school while watching beings with amazing battle prowess engaging in a battle of epic proportions. I got an A on the test. In those days I had to focus to turn off my imagination. I still have awesome daydreams, but now I choose when to turn them on. I draw from them the material that exist in my writing.

How can I write about an entire world of fantasy? How can I not? I have no choice. My imagination needs an outlet. Also, Peter Parker (Marvel’s Spiderman) is always going on and on saying “with great power comes great responsibility.” If that is true, then maybe I have a responsibilty to share my imagination with the world. – A.P.