Squared image of J. G. Velez II

Without the support of my loving family, friends, and fiancée, none of this could have been possible.

As a little person, I always assumed being creative meant coloring, painting, that sort of thing. Never did I imagine that creativity meant so much more. I simply did my homework, watched cartoons or played with my LEGOs, and went to bed, not giving the art of illustrating with words a second thought.

Fast-forward a bit to high school, and my obsession with writing presents itself during a computer science period (I swear I paid attention during this class...); in there I took a crack at writing a play, one that I based on a dramedy novella my mom and I used to watch together, La fea más bella. At the time, I very much liked 18th century history, which I still do, and wrote A Political Romance, a short story set in England. I drew other inspirations from another passion: gaming, well video games to be exact.

These involved exciting multiplayer online role-playing games (mmorpgs) that typically have open world settings such as World of Warcraft, the Elder Scrolls Online (a favorite of mine!), and Guild Wars. As energized as these worlds made me, motivation also came from the Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Lord of the Rings universes.

When not writing I enjoy music and attending concerts, gaming, going to bars and places with good food, or you’ll find me at Disney California Adventure stuffing my face with many delectable treats.

I live in SoCal with my fiancé and two pet budgies, Cosmo and Gimli.

Why Gylranor?

Wanting a realm of fantasy I could call my own, and inspired greatly by the successful origin stories of the creators for these universes, I embarked to create A Story of Gylranor, a series full of extensive lore and mysteries at every corner. I began work on book one in 2012 and set off to complete the four-part series, which I did during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s been a journey to say the least, and I couldn’t be happier to share what I’ve worked so extensively on. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!