A BIT ABOUT ME
I was born in Berlin, Germany, but came back to the US when I was just a baby. Early in life I found a love for telling stories, but when my parents told me to stop lying I kept them inside my head. When I got older (and hopefully wiser) I decided to turn those ‘lies’ into stories again. I began a serious (if you can call fantasy ‘serious’) writing career in 2010. The Secret of Avonoa is my first published novel with book two, The Shadow of Avonoa, following shortly after. Book three in the Avonoa series took some time, but The Heart of Avonoa is NOW AVAILABLE!! I also have a couple of modern-day sci-fi novels that I plan to re-vamp into young adult novels when my dragon series is finished. I currently live in Minnesota (yes, by choice) with my husband and our three kids.
A LITTLE MORE IN DEPTH
Meet HRB Collotzi - Fabulist
My love of writing started with a perceptive English teacher in high school. I wrote a short story for an assignment in her class (if I ever find it, I'll try to post it here!) and she loved it so much she told me I just HAD to join her creative writing class. Unfortunately, I was busy doing so many other things (band, dance, karate, working full-time as a CNA, just to name a few) that I couldn't fit it into my schedule. But I never forgot her encouragement!
Later in life, I jotted down some short stories meant strictly for my family. I don't know that I'll ever post those because they are very personal. But that's all I ever did from 1997-2010. Until....
In the summer of 2010 I was struck with the science-fiction idea of a woman who can read minds, so I borrowed my husband's laptop and haven't given it back since. (I'm building this website on it!) In 2011, I wrote the sequel to the first science fiction novel and even submitted a few queries to agents about it. I still plan to re-work it into a young adult novel. But first, I had this crazy idea about writing a novel from the viewpoint of a dragon.
In 2012 I started work on The Secret of Avonoa. I love everything to do with dragons, knights, unicorns, elves, you name it! So I couldn't stop myself when this idea turned itself into a book. I love the characters of Avonoa. They all have distinct histories that I've never been able to put into words, but I can feel in my heart.
Dak/Hiro is easily my favorite. He's definitely the type to leap without looking, the same way I've always been. I've learned so much through his eyes and hope to learn so much more! I already have themes, story ideas, outlines and titles for all five books in the Avonoa series. I'll give you a peek into Avonoa by listing the titles I've come up with for the series.
#1 The Secret of Avonoa
#2 The Shadow of Avonoa
#3 The Heart of Avonoa
#4 The Traitor of Avonoa
#5 The Krusible of Avonoa
Please see My Books page for links to Amazon for the Avonoa series. If you have any questions about me that I haven't answered here, send me a note on the Contact page. I'm glad to get to know you! Stop by again soon!
RELIGION AND MY WORK
It's been brought to my attention that I've failed to specify my religion on my website. While I don't think my work should be judged upon my personal beliefs, I do think it's important to share them.
I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I have "Mormon" listed on my Twitter account because that's the common name most people know us by. If you have any questions about my religion or beliefs you can contact me through my contact page or look up any questions on Mormon.org. There's a link below.
However, my fantasy novels do not directly reflect any Mormon doctrine or beliefs. In fact, the peoples of Avonoa believe in a multiple god system. I don't share this belief. I did this to challenge myself to keep my own beliefs out of the story. I would ask that any readers keep an open mind and open heart while reading any work of fiction. Please try to appreciate the themes I portray in my stories; ones of acceptance, understanding and love.
INTERVIEW
To hear more about how jiu-jitsu affects my writing and some of my difficulties in the writing process, listen to my interview on The Speculative Fiction Cantina with S. Evan Townsend! Click on the link below!