Happy Thursday, friend! Welcome to an interview with author Sahasra Nistala about her debut novel, DreamRealm Unleashed. I am looking forward to making time for this Middle Grade Fantasy. Let’s learn more.
Get to know the author: Sahasra Nistala
Hi Sahasra! Welcome to Armed with A Book. Tell me and my readers a bit about yourself!
Thank you for having me! I’m a high-school student from California who is totally obsessed with middle grade fiction. I don’t think I’ll ever grow out of my Percy Jackson era, especially with the new show out. I also write for a teen comedy magazine and my school newspaper. In my free time, I like to draw comics and read.
What inspired you to write this book?
It started during the pandemic, when my brother told me a story about getting trapped inside a video game. I turned his story into a comic, and it was so much fun that I expanded on the plot and storyboarded a couple of sequels. At that point, I realized that I actually had the material for a novel.
How long did it take you to write this book, from the first idea to the last edit?
It took me three years to get from the first idea to the very final draft, but I spent the first year playing with the idea and improving my writing by working on unrelated poetry and short stories. Writing the first draft took around a year, and I decided to make some major structural edits, so the second draft took around thirteen months to complete. After that, I spent a couple months copyediting.
What makes your story unique?
Being trapped in a video game is a fairly common trope, so I wanted to write about a video-game apocalypse that involves the entire world, not just the protagonist and her team.
Who would enjoy reading your book?
I think my book would appeal to young readers who like fantasy or apocalypse stories with lots of action and humor, like Percy Jackson or The Last Kids on Earth.
Did you bring any of your experiences into this book?
While I wish I could say I’ve been on a world-saving adventure before, Springsnet is based on my town, and Springsnet Middle—the school my protagonist goes to—looks exactly like the middle school I went to. I also tried to slip in a bunch of references to different San Francisco attractions.
What’s something you hope readers would take away from it?
I just hope people have as much fun reading DreamRealm Unleashed as I had writing it!
Do you have a favourite quote or scene in the book that you find yourself going back to?
My favorite scene is when the protagonist and her friends come to a magic arcade and team up to defeat a pro gamer––it’s the first time they really start working together well as a team, and there’s this moment of hope where it’s like, “Okay, we can actually do this.”
What is something you have learned on your author journey so far?
Worldbuilding is the best part! There’s nothing more fun than making a playlist or moodboard to match your story, and those tools can come in handy later when you’re trying to finish your first draft.
What’s the best piece of advice you have received related to writing?
A few years ago, I was told that I should really outline before writing. I used to think of myself as a pantser, but I ran into a lot of dead ends that way. I started drafting a lot faster after I made an outline of the major plot points I wanted to hit and let myself be spontaneous with setting description, action scenes, and dialogue.
If you could give a shout out to someone(s) who has helped in your writer journey, please feel free to mention them below!
I’d like to give a shoutout to my parents! They’ve really supported me on this journey and I couldn’t have done it without their encouragement.
Where can readers find you on the Internet?
You can find me on Instagram (@literally.sahasra) or my Medium.
DreamRealm Unleashed
Middle Grade Fantasy, 2024
Twelve-year-old Tara is good at one thing and one thing only: slaying her enemies.
You know, in a video game. DreamRealm is a kids-only haven for young gamers, and it’s the reason Tara simply hasn’t had time to mourn her sister. But she can’t ignore everything else, like the fact that her childhood friend is now an unbearable enemy, or that her GPA is sinking lower than her self-esteem. Just when it seems life can’t get any worse, DreamRealm is released from virtual containment, trapping all the adults in an alternate dimension.
To get the world back to normal, Tara and her friends must embark on a monster-filled quest across San Francisco and rack up enough points to get to the top of a global leaderboard. Enter the Minors Establishing A New Order of Society, a teen-run organization that doesn’t want the adults to return. When Tara learns that the MEANOS’ leader caused the car accident that killed her sister, it’s game on.
Hungry for revenge, Tara vows to beat the MEANOS to the finish line. She fights giant dragons, finds treasure, and heroically fends off teens (they’re smellier than the dragons, that’s for sure). With the help of her neighbors, a kid who runs a magic arcade, and her actually-not-so-bad frenemy, she gets closer and closer to finishing the mission. But as her inner boss battle looms, she must come to terms with her past before she’s captured—or else, it’s game over.
Content notes: Loss of a sibling; mild fantasy violence including an instance of fist fighting
Book Excerpt from
DreamRealm Unleashed
“It’s a dragon,” Clay says, his voice trembling. First time, huh?
The dragon stares at us from about thirty feet away. It’s about the size of a bus, with amber eyes, red scales, and very, very sharp teeth.
Crap.
“Run!” screams Raylinn, taking off into the brush next to the highway.
“No, don’t!” I yell, but it’s too late. The dragon notices, its tongue out and nostrils flaring. Provoked, it belches a barrage of flames in our direction. The air fills with smoke.
“I think we can run now!” screams Kitty, following Raylinn.
Behind me, a line of cars catches on fire, knocking me off my feet. Raylinn’s car burns, taking all of our supplies with it. I pull my shirt over my nose and get back up. I didn’t break any bones, at least. I’m thirty seconds away from being mauled when I find a wooden rod on the road and throw it at the dragon.
Any DreamRealm player knows that dragons are as distractible as puppies. Any second now, it’s going to go off and chase the rod. Aaaaaaany second now.
Instead, the rod freezes in midair, vibrating and shimmering with blue light. Suddenly, it zaps the dragon in the eyes.
Seemingly blinded, the dragon curls inward. I duck and slide into the brush, where everyone else is waiting. Under the cover of dying bushes, we watch as the dragon blinks stupidly and continues stumbling around.
The rod reappears in my hand. It’s a wand. I realize that now.
“Hold on,” I say. I pull out my phone and open up the leaderboard. Surprise, surprise. The MEANOS have already racked up a thousand rems.
Raylinn leans over my shoulder. “What’re rems?”
“They’re kind of like the DreamRealm currency and XP, all in one,” I explain out of habit. “You can use them to buy skins, upgrade your weapons, level up…and apparently, get into Portal Park.”
I tap on the MEANOS’s team in the leaderboard. There’s around fifteen people on their team, and I only recognize two of them: Dennis and his twin sister, Maisie. So far, the MEANOS have slain two dragons and completed a side quest.
I click down to where our team is: 1108th place. My attack’s earned us fifteen rems.
I look up at everyone else. “Guys, I know how we can earn more points.” They follow my gaze to the highway, where the dragon is prowling around, snarling.
“Easier said than done,” Raylinn says. “We need a plan.”
“Clay can distract it,” I say. “Kitty and I can take it down. And you can…watch, I guess?”
Raylinn shrugs. Any plan that doesn’t involve certain death seems to be fine with her. Clay, on the other hand, grumbles about getting the worst job, but even he doesn’t complain. Instead, he picks a pair of gauntlets off the ground, puts them on, and aims at a car.
I grind my teeth. If he wanted to explode vehicles and take chunks out of our health bars so badly, he should’ve stuck to Fortnite. He shoots before I can tackle him, and I watch as the shot sails towards the car.
And then it bounces off a side-view mirror and whizzes just above the dragon’s head. It takes me a moment to realize what happened, and I have to admit: that’s a pretty good aim.
“Come on!” Kitty screams, and I realize it’s time for me to go up. I almost give Clay a friendly smile. Almost.
Kitty and I run out onto the highway, and the scent of smoke cuts through my nose. There’s also at least five different car alarms going off, which isn’t exactly helpful. The dragon is still distracted, and Kitty, who found an Instant Garden packet on the road, tears it open and scatters seeds all around us. Vines crawl up my leg.
“What are you doing?” I hiss, blasting the glorified weeds away with my wand.
“Sorry!” says Kitty. “In the actual game, all you have to do is press a button—”
The dragon snaps its drool-covered teeth at us, and I notice that its scales are glowing. Crap. That means it’s extra hungry—and extra aggressive. I take a step back and blast it in the eye again. I guess it’s prepared now, because it turns away so that the shot sinks into its thick skin. The dragon swipes at me, and I fall backwards.
“Tara!” yells Kitty. She takes a step towards me, but the dragon lurches. Its teeth get closer, closer—
Suddenly, a blast of light comes straight into the dragon’s right eye. I look behind me—it’s Clay, making himself useful. Kitty takes the opportunity to throw her seeds into the dragon’s mouth, and it gnashes its jaw against the growing vines.
I twirl my wand in my fingers and wait. Clay and I share a glance, and I realize he knows what I’m thinking. He nods and keeps blasting his gauntlets at the dragon’s face.
Now’s my chance. I get on all fours, crouch by the dragon’s underbelly, and strike as hard as I can. If this doesn’t work, I’m dead—but the dragon shrieks and starts to curl in. I back away, awestruck, as it sinks to the ground.
Raylinn bursts forward and sticks her sword into the dragon’s back. Just like that, it’s over.
Interested?
Find DreamRealm Unleashed on Goodreads, IndieStoryGeek, Amazon.
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