About the Storyteller

Hi! Welcome to This Side of Storyland. I'm Karis, a writer who's addicted to stories and chocolate in equal measure. I started writing before I could read, and so far I've written and self-published four picture books: James and his Red Boots, I am the Queen Today, Edward Duck, and My World. When I die (which will hopefully not be soon), I want my legacy to be that of a storyteller.

When I first named my blog, I simply thought the title sounded cool. But, having pondered what it might mean, I think it means that we can never quite get past the words on the page into Storyland. So we write more words, which then become not only the portal through which we glimpse Storyland, but also the expression of our longing to get there. One of my favorite Storylands to get lost in is Wonderland. 

Some of my favorite books:

• Beauty, by Robin McKinley
• Ella Enchanted, by Gail Carson Levine
• Howl's Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones
• Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke

Some of my favorite authors:

• Jane Austen
• Fredrik Backman
• Kristin Cashore
• Barbara Kingsolver
• Daphne du Maurier 
• Marissa Meyer
• Tricia Levenseller
• C.S. Lewis
• Kasie West

Thank you for visiting my strange and random blog. I'm delighted you're here! If you like what you read, please leave a comment! And thank you to everyone in my life who taught me to dream that I could be a storyteller.

"We are the music makers, / And we are the dreamers of dreams, / Wandering by lone sea-breakers, / And sitting by desolate streams; – / World-losers and world-forsakers, / On whom the pale moon gleams: / Yet we are the movers and shakers / Of the world for ever, it seems." 

– From "Ode", by Arthur O'Shaughnessy