A talented author from the small rural community of Herbert has recently released her first book, titled ‘When Shadows Fall.’
The young adult fantasy novel, written by Lindy Enns, follows the journey of an anxious teenager grappling with panic attacks and various insecurities. When her sister is taken, she embarks on a treacherous quest to save her, facing both external dangers and her internal struggles along the way.
The inspiration for Enns’ book came from a dream she had during high school. In the dream, a friend of hers was given a writing prompt titled ‘When Shadows Fall,’ which sparked the idea of a world where dangerous shadow creatures emerge when the sun sets.
Years later, Enns came up with the concept of emotionally powered machines and realized it would perfectly complement her existing story idea. She began to develop the plot, weaving together the elements of her dream and the emotional machinery concept.
Although she currently resides in Regina, she fondly recalls her upbringing in Herbert. After graduating from Herbert High School, Enns has strong connections to the Southwest.
Writing and storytelling have been lifelong passions for Enns. As a child, she aspired to be an actress, a singer, and even a teacher. However, her love for crafting stories and her desire for a creative outlet she could pursue at her own pace led her to focus on writing.
Her writing journey began in grade three when she wrote her first chapter book. By grade six, she was already tackling epic fantasies.
Over a decade has passed since Enns took her writing ambitions seriously, and the release of her debut book has been a dream come true.
“It's an amazing feeling,” she stated. “You pour so much of your heart and soul and sweat and tears and just hours and hours and hours of work into something.”
‘When Shadows Fall’ is Enns’ first fully published book, but it isn't her first attempt at getting published. She previously wrote a middle-grade fantasy titled "Mulgrin's Quest" and queried it to agents. At the time, it didn't align with market expectations, however, the experience motivated her to work on ‘When Shadows Fall.’
“I made the decision beginning of last year to self-publish,” Enns elaborated. “I had always planned to traditionally publish my book, and then I had a break from writing when I was dealing with some of my own things and when I came back to it, I was just about to start querying ‘When Shadows Fall’ to agents, and I just started really looking at it and asking myself, ‘Is this the direction I really want to take?’
“I like the idea of having my own creative control, deciding when a book is released, if it gets a sequel, how many sequels, when the sequels come, what the cover is like, and just all those things, but it was also a very intimidating decision.”
Now, finally having her book available for sale and receiving such positive responses is an immensely gratifying moment for the dedicated author.
One of the remarkable aspects of "When Shadows Fall" is the relatability of its main character, who battles anxiety, social struggles, and self-doubt. Enns believes that many readers will find encouragement and inspiration in the character's journey to overcome personal hurdles.
“I feel like in a lot of the books we read, the main characters have struggles, but they're not typically struggles of that nature, specifically in fantasy adventure,” she explained. “I think other genres you would see that more often, but the characters are usually very brave and adventurous and confident, and I think there are a lot of people who can relate to a character that has these struggles about how to just get through her day and to interact. She has social anxiety, but she also has a lot of self-doubt, she really dismisses her strengths and focuses on her weaknesses.
“She's not brave, and she's not the first person to jump in or speak up or the person you would ever expect to go on an adventure, but when she does, when she pushes herself and challenges herself, she really learns that she is so much more than her fear and so much more than her anxiety.”
Upon release, ‘When Shadows Fall’ debuted at number one in its category of Fantasy Adventure for Young Adults.
‘When Shadows Fall’ currently has a 4.67-star rating on Goodreads and a 4.3-star rating on Amazon.
“I really hope it's a book that speaks to people who struggle with their own anxiety or have any of those kinds of struggles in their life, I hope they find some inspiration and encouragement in this book and with these characters,” Enns concluded.
To purchase the book, click here.