I fell in love with reading about 12 years ago, and after writing Drupal: The Guide to Planning and Building Websites, I realized that I might want to try writing fiction as well. A colleague suggested that I signup for National November Writer Month (nanowrimo.org) and write 50,000 words in November of 2011. That many words can feel a little overwhelming if you haven't done it before, so I did a quick word count on the largest chapter in my Drupal book and found that one chapter was over 50,000 words. It was then I realized I had nothing to fear ... Ha! By the end of the month, I had written a light romance. I used that experience to explore different story telling strategies, and to work on changing from a technical writer to a story teller. A fellow meetup writer volunteered to give me some feedback on the romance and it was positive. That's when I sat down and started writing the real story I wanted to tell. The process of planning and writing this fantasy epic has been a challenge and a joy. The Gifted series is my first serious attempt at writing fiction, and I am excited to share it with you. I hope you like it.