Zak MT (Mark Timothy)/(Empty) Standridge is a celebrated independent author & staff writer for ’Chromakey: the magazine of Sci-Fi & Cult TV’. tekrealm@gmail.com
1st-person, in my opinion, is EXTREMELY difficult to pull off unless it's a bio of some kind. Ben's style is to throw you straight into the narrative of a mindset, then let you work out the kinks with your own imagination.
A shy young boy magically travels back to 1885 and takes part in the world’s first and greatest scavenger hunt.
It can be difficult to immerse a reader into a new world. When you have a premise of seriousness (abuse, dark human nature) as well as the fantastic (elves,etc) it can be intrinsically accessible as well as imaginative. Fun even if you don't play RPG!
Surviving abuse leaves no soul unscathed, and this is especially true of Ptielieren, an elite elvish bodyguard involuntarily integrated into an aversive-heavy culture. Strength can exist absent a ringing victory and weakness does not signify defeat.