Hunterdon County author Stephen Johnston brings forth a new adventure in the genres of sci-fi and fantasy, featuring a fierce, colorful, and pretty unexpected hero. “VR Nana – Volume 1” is the first book in a series of light novels. The book begins the story of Anna Ruth “Nana” Joyce, an Irish-Catholic grandmother with an outspoken personality who is invited by her entrepreneur grandson to try out his new virtual reality gaming world, FAILTÉ. Assisted by grandson Sean, adult daughter Anna, and Sean’s office assistant Christine, Nana Joyce dives into the virtual world and reemerges as a noticeably younger warrior woman named Rita Marie, complete with long red hair and a Claddagh-emblazoned breastplate.
The adventure starts innocently enough, with Rita acquiring a mysterious axe that levels up her stats and gives her hyper-powered elemental abilities. She ends up assembling an adventuring party composed of herself and an eclectic group of characters. They journey to a frontier town, only to find that the players who make up the town’s population have been compromised. As Rita and her party fight the enslaved townspeople, Sean, Anna, and Christine discover in the real world that the game, and Nana’s life, are being threatened by someone looking to sabotage Sean’s business.
The story is structured as a light novel; a type of novel that originates from Japan. They are basically novels with illustrations dispersed throughout that depict the story’s characters in manga/anime style. Furthermore, this story is a take on the light novel-specific genre, isekai. This genre usually involves the main character(s) ending up in another world, be it in another dimension or, in this case, virtual reality. Stephen drew from his own light novel reading, and became inspired to write his own and draw its illustrations.
The protagonist is modeled after Stephen’s real-life Nana, the late Anna Johnston. According to Stephen, “Many of Anna Ruth/Rita’s quirks and sayings were straight from her. She always supported my creativity and passion.”
“VR Nana – Volume 1” is printed by BookBaby in Pennsauken, New Jersey, and is available here.
Stephen, a graduate of Rider University, is the co-owner of Irish Setter Book Publishing, Tabhair Records and Music Publishing LLC, and SonDad Studios. He has co-produced five music albums along with his father, local musician Thomas Johnston, including the soon-to-be-released “Traveling Companions”. Stephen has also written a soon-to-be-published graphic novel based on a cartoon series he is creating.
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