Writing a book gives your characters the power to awaken in a magical kingdom, prevent a fictional civil war and find meaning from painful real-life memories of home.

Released on Jan. 17, “Wondrous” is a fantasy adventure novel written by Travis M. Riddle. The English Rhetoric and Writing ‘14 alumnus first started writing this novel when he was a student at St. Edward’s University.

Originally from Cypress, Texas, Riddle first started writing short stories in elementary school modeled after cartoon series ‘Samurai Jack.’ He would handwrite them on paper and staple the pages together for his mother to read. In middle school, he would novelize dialogue from video games, such as Final Fantasy IX, also drawing fantasy elements from the Harry Potter book series to create mystical stories that were about 200 pages long.

“I found a script of the game online with all the word-for-word dialogue,” Riddle said. “Then I would write the scenes out. From there was when I started to transition into my own stories.”

In high school, he would write edgier contemporary fantasy novels that would take place in real-life settings. At the time he would think of a central idea and then outline each chapter, which was a tedious process that became boring. He later found what worked best for him was to have a planned beginning, middle and end with major scenes, and then use what he has written in the first half to sway the themes and underlying details for the second half.

He started writing “Wondrous” during a fiction-writing workshop class with Michael Yang during his sophomore year at St. Edward’s. Generally most students in his class wrote short stories, but Riddle instead presented chapters of his longer book.

“Up until that point, the only person who had read anything I had wrote was my mom,” Riddle said. “So it was really helpful to have other people read it, without caring about my thoughts and my feelings, and just provide feedback and criticism.”

St. Edward’s writing professors Mary Helen Specht helped him improve the quality of his characters’ dialogue by pointing out repetitious phrases that could be omitted, while Carrie Fountain ingrained specificity to give readers a better sense of the character or the town they are in.

While he was in school, Riddle would not work on the book for months at a time, which is part of the reason he didn’t finish the first draft until late 2015. Three close friends then made suggestions, and he wrote a second draft that was then revised by a developmental editor for general big picture suggestions.

In May of 2016, he finished a third draft and contacted a cover artist, and started putting together a website, researching the self-publication process, contacting book-bloggers to rate and review the book, and promoting his release date on social media.

When writing a full-out fantasy book like “Wondrous,” he has the challenging task of creating an entire world and the people in it, as well as their cultures, history and geography. The book revolves around Miles, a young Austinite who awakens in the treacherous kingdom of Rompu. Certain memories of his sick grandmother, quarreling parents, and an icy school therapist help trigger magical abilities that he must use to conquer a monstrous creature and prevent a civil war.

“Wondrous” is now available in paperback and ebook through Amazon, and Riddle is in the process of writing another novel. In addition to writing, Riddle also working in the book department of the State Bar of Texas, where he helps format and edit law manuals for publication.