I’ve always loved fairy tales. Not the tame, formulaic, happily-ever-after stories that you find in Disney movies or after-school specials. Nope. I’m talking about stories with blood-stained ruins and dark forests where not even the trees can be trusted; where people are capable of heroic acts of beauty and heart-wrenching betrayals; and where things aren’t always as they seem.

Perhaps most of all, I like fairy tales because there is only one guarantee: life is dangerous. We hurt each other. The decisions we make have lasting consequences. Fairy tales don’t insult us by making it seem as if we can avoid all of that. Instead, they show us that the stakes are real—and that despite the pain, life is beautiful, and very much worth living.

After reading my kids these fairy tales, I started making up some of my own. These grew into two books about a land called Valmar where a boy and a girl discover just how beautiful and dreadful life can be. If you or your kids love to dream about dragons, riddles, sea serpents, trolls, secret tunnels, and particularly brave children, read on. I hope you have as much fun reading excerpts from the books as I had writing them.

Oh, and a third book in the series is in the works.