A.L. Bowker was raised on reading. She began writing in middle school when her seventh grade English teacher introduced the concept of a Writer’s Notebook and she realized she could form a story rather than just read one. Having always “made up stories” in her head, she took to the concept right away, and has had some form of a Writer’s Notebook ever since. In High School she was a part of the Creative Writing club and had her first few stories “published” in the yearly magazine.
It wasn’t until several failed attempts at college (everything, she justified, would make her a better writer instead of… well, writing) that the Lord “turned her upside down, shook her, shook her again for good measure, and a story she had been clinging onto came tumbling out”. With the help of her husband, friends, and family, she independently published her first novel, The Voice of Elyon, in 2022 through Kindle Direct Publishing. Her stories combine faith and fantasy – she frequently describes them as “a weird blend of C.S. Lewis and Tolkien”. But make no mistake! Her characters are blatantly Christian, without the allegorical references to “the Maker” or “the Creator”. No, they are following Christ and are very vocal about it!
The characters she writes about go through the wild ups and downs indicative of Christianity – albeit in a fantasy setting. One concept she feels strongly about and that she implements into her writing is that stories shouldn’t always end with a wedding and a “happily ever after”; in fact, in most of her works, the characters are married or get married at the beginning! Marriage and life afterwards is its own unique kind of adventure, and provides a vehicle for clean romance with perhaps the slightest tinge of spice. (Don’t worry, moms – this is Closed-Door romance!) Overall, she loves writing about her faith journey in a fantasy setting; after all, every follower of Christ will have their own ups and downs, and as C.S. Lewis famously wrote in an essay about writing fantasy: “Since it is so likely that (children) will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. Otherwise you are making their destiny not brighter but darker.”
Thank you for visiting, and may the Lord encourage you today!