What drew you to fantasy specifically?
When I was fourteen, we were given a project in English class to write a story. I wrote a full fantasy epic and got an A. My teacher wrote, and I’ll never forget it: “This is just like Tolkien. It’s fantastic!” That was the moment something clicked. I'd already been imaginative, building worlds and stories. I was the kind of kid who played Dungeons & Dragons at thirteen and created my own maps and quests. Growing up doesn’t mean growing out of fantasy—it means reshaping it. Some stories stopped feeling real to me. Even though I love dragons, they began to feel overpowered and implausible. I wanted a world where magic existed, but reality still mattered. That’s Teloshka. It’s as grounded as Earth, but with a layer of the unknown you can live in through the prose.