About

About Jonathan Fashbaugh

I write to open doors. The ones in the background, half-hidden in shadow. The doors you glimpse for only a moment before the scene changes. Those doors and what lies behind them captivates my mind.

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As a child watching Alice tumble down that rabbit hole, in Disney's animated Alice in Wonderland, I barely noticed her fall. I was entranced watching the doors, windows, and hedge maxes of the world she was exploring, each one a portal to the unknown. I wanted to stop the film and crawl into the screen to see what waited behind every single one. That hunger to know what exists just beyond the frame is what I carry into my writing.

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Curiosity is part of the DNA of story. The worlds authors build should be so rich, textured, and alive that readers want to wander off the main path. They should wonder about the shopkeeper who appears for one paragraph, the ruins mentioned in passing, or the song humming in the background. Every detail should whisper: there's more here, if you want to look.

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The worlds I create breathe. Even the mundane settings should have edges that extend off the page and reward attention and wonder. Having said that, I trust my readers' intelligence and imagination. I give them reasons to pause, to question, and dream up their own answers. Together, we create amazing stories.

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In my novels and short stories, curiosity is celebrated. The phrase "I wonder..." is the beginning of magic.

I will create for the child who couldn't stop thinking about those doors and for anyone who has ever wanted to step off the path and explore. I will never stop opening doors.

And I will never stop inviting you to look inside.