An Awfully Big Adventure
They say that in time, we all must grow up.
Put away your childish fantasies. Keep your feet on solid ground. Don’t dream too big. I heard them all from childhood to adulthood, during that transition when we are expected to leave behind the dreams we held dear and focus on the reality that is life.
Some may say that I listened to the voices of doubts, accepting that reality meant living in a world without magic or mermaids or secret portals into Narnia-esque landscapes. Others will claim I merely tucked those dreams away into the recesses of my mind, letting them build an imagination that doesn’t believe in the impossible. To say that I grew up, would be the truth. To say that I stopped dreaming, would be a lie. Dreams are my escape, the magic I know exists somewhere, and they are where The Never found its birthing place.
It is no secret that one of the dreams that I hold dear is that of Neverland. The child who never grew up, the girl whisked away on an incredible adventure, the world where imagination is celebrated and understood. What better dream is there? But still, in the back of my mind, there was always that lingering question – what happens next?
And thus, The Never was born.
Surprisingly, the book that began as a fantasy of the boy all grown up transformed into an exploration of a woman’s self-journey. The Never tells the story of what happens when one woman casts aside the limitations of the so-called real world and instead embraces the imagination that helped her heal after the traumas of her childhood.
Writing The Never allowed me the rare opportunity to step back into a childhood that was all too short and be among the stories that keep my dreams alive. It was an adventure to write, as I eagerly followed the twists and turns the story took me on, and reveled in the surprising direction that led to a broken mind and the fantasy that healed so much hurt. I realized, in the creation of this world, that The Never itself is not just a place, but an ideal, a sanctuary for any mind searching for an escape from a shattered reality.
Perhaps one day I will find The Never. I must admit I never stop looking for the faeries in the forest, the sea creatures that keep my feet firmly planted on the shore, the shadow in the night waiting to whisk me away.
I hope you too enjoy the trip into the impossibly possible, and in the end, let your dreams take flight.
The Never
“Out of nothing, we create something.”
Arianna has spent her entire life being called a dreamer, an artist who created a world no one else can see. And for her entire life, she has taken the medication that keeps that world – and the one who brought her there – at bay.
Now an adult, Arianna reawakens that part of herself kept locked away in the darkest corners of her mind. When she hides her medicine from her fiancé’s ever-watchful eye, he returns – the shadow in the night who collects her for an adventure known only in her fantasies.
But something is different about this world called The Never. It is no longer the cheerful place filled with light and laughter that she knew as a child. Now, the sea creatures drag their visitors into the depths of murky waters. The natives battle to the death against the tribe of children. And the pirates, led by the feared captain called The Hunter, seek out Arianna for their own sinister plans.
As Arianna goes deeper into The Never, she discovers just what her connection to the land means – and must choose between her life rooted in reality, and the world where anything is possible.
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About Author Kristina Circelli
A lover of the written word since the time she first picked up a pen, Kristina Circelli shares her passion for fiction in her multi-genre novels.
Circelli is the author of several fiction books, including The Sour Orange Derby, a young adult novel about family and childhood imagination steeped in southern traditions; Beyond the Western Sun and Walk the Red Road of The Whisper Legacy, which centers on Native American cultures and the legends that come to life in the spirit realm; and The Helping Hands, a book that follows a gang of friends who rescue abused children.
Currently, Circelli works as a copywriter, author, book editor, and creative writing professor at the University of North Florida, where she received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in English. She resides in Florida, with her husband and two kittens.
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