At a book event in the summer, I was asked who I would most like to meet. I think my audience expected me to say J. R, R. Tolkien, Terry Brooks, or any one of a dozen fantasy authors that I look up to in awe. I admitted I would like to meet them all, but if I only have one choice, I would not choose an epic fantasy author.

If I could meet only one person from my Heroes/Heroines list, it would be Malala Yousafzai. I wrote a blog post a while back about her – She is Malala and I am Crying – so I will not write here why she is such an amazing woman. I have the honor of serving and meeting incredibly brave people who risk everything for a better world. There are also people in positions of privilege who leverage their resources to create a better world – I would love to meet Melinda and Bill Gates or Warren Buffet, for example.

We as fantasy readers and authors have the privilege to live in two worlds, the real and the world created by the author we are reading, or the world we have built as authors. As fun as the latter is, we have an obligation not to ignore the former.

A reader told me last month how much she enjoyed my social justice themed novels: The Accidental Activist and Unwanted Heroes. She said that perhaps in this political environment, I should be focusing on that genre rather than my elves and dwarves.

I know this person and am sure she did not intend to rebuke me, but it did strike a cord. I work in the human rights environment and writing fantasy has offered a balance to the intensity of the day job that consumes so much of my waking hours. Even if the six-figure book deal and movie rights landed in my lap tomorrow, I do not think I would want to turn my back on the inspirational grantee-partners I advocate for every day.

It is a tough balance to maintain, but I think we all need to find it or we risk getting burnt out. I hope we all find a way to make this a better world for ourselves, our children and all people in the world. But to maintain momentum, we each need our escape: family, walking the dog, a good book, TV, the gym.

Many  find it in the company of elves and dwarves, It was intentional that I included issues of power, gender and racial discrimination, addiction, violence and other issues, that are sprinkled throughout the Wycaan Master series. I was writing these books for my sons as they grew into young men and always wanted them aware of a society’s flaws.

Reading Book 6 in the summer of 2015. End of an era.

I do not feel I need to explain why I write fantasy in this troubled world, though this blog post is evidence that apparently I do. I feel comfortable with a foot in each world, balancing myself to deal with the challenges and uncertainties of two precarious worlds.

I wish you good balance too.

Alon / elfwriter

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Alon Shalev is the author of the 2013 Eric Hoffer YA Book Award winner, At The Walls of Galbrieth, and five other Wycaan Master books all released by Tourmaline Books. The link above takes you to the Kindle versions. For all other eReaders, please click here.

More at http://www.alonshalev.com and on Twitter (@elfwriter).

Download a FREE copy of Alon’s latest novel, Kingfisher: Slave to Honor, as publisher gauges interest – http://bit.ly/2sq72DG. Help secure a book contract by reading and leaving a review.