“Inspiration is a magical moment of connection with the vast database of collective human unconscious, or with an unknown and divine intelligence”, says Greek fantasy author and illustrator, Lila Kissa.
In September 2011, Lila woke up with her mind bursting with ideas, after a lucid dream. In that dream a whole fantasy universe has been revealed to her in such detail that it was overwhelming! She immediately began to write everything down in fear she might forget. And that was the beginning of the fantasy journey of her life! The Dreamworld has just been born!
In her “Angel Eyes” series of five novels the reader is initiated to the esoteric stairway of the Dreamworld through the magical eyes and actions of young Amoria of Alerio, who is born with the gift of seeing dimensions beyond “Matter”.
“Astral projection” is explained in her first book, “Guardians”, and we’ re off to the unseen Realms. The “Aethereal Realm” is the residence of elemental beings and local deities. They are responsible for the function of nature’s energies. The “Astral Realm” is the residence of angelic and demonic archetypes. And the “Realm of Ideas” is the residence of the creators called Aeons. Following Amoria in her ascending journey, we meet otherworldly people like her guardian-angel Miho, her guardian-demon Sed, elder elementals, “Archon” demons, “Nobili” angels, astral phantoms, and learn all about Amoria’s technique, the “Deconstruction” of archetypes.
As the story continues, we visit the cities of the Astral Realms, like Zebul and Araboth, we go the to Abbey of Farfa Managros in the “Rooftop of the Stars” seeking answers from wise mentors, we fight alongside the angels of the Seveth Eloh in the dangerous Straits of the demonic sea of Zarkamaden. Our adventures are many!
“Fantasy world building needs to be believable and have consistency to work out for the reader”, explains Lila. The dimensions of her Dreamworld are more than believable, having detailed rules concerning their function. The numerous characters with their powers, props, weapons and backstories make the readers part of the fantasy team. Amoria’s goal becomes our own. We need to prevent a fight to the death between Miho and Sed, to solve a riddle written in an unknown language, to unfold our full multidimensional self, to reach Theth -the capital of the Realm of Ideas- where the Aeons are waiting for our help.
Lila illustrates herself her characters, her maps, her fantasy locations and the scenes inspired from the plot, that are found in her novels. It’s worth to say that all of her novels are part of the same Dreamworld. “Inari: The Seven-Hearted Dragon” is a Japanese inspired myth that unfolds in the Material Realm as well as in the Aethereal of Satsuma, historically placed in Edo period. Lila loves mythology and is largely inspired by it, but she comes up with her own original myths in her books. “The Roaring Forest” is inspired by the Slavic Pantheon and the Russian fairytale of Baba Yaga. In the latest series “Underworld” she uses a story retelling technique to bring together archetypes from Greek mythology, religions and international tradition, combining past and present. The goal of this dark fantasy series is to put on the spotlight great social problems such as the violence against the weak, underprivileged and different. The motto of the fantasy protagonists is: “All those who acted with malice, will be forever punished”. The first novel of the series – “Azrael’s Immortals”, a volume dedicated to women has been awarded with two “Everlies” in the Fantasy Festival in October 2022: 3rd place for both “Best fantasy book by Greek author” and “Best book cover by Greek author”. It’s worth mentioning that Lila’s cover was of the few original illustrated covers competing.
For the future she wishes to participate in European Festivals with her work, to see her novels being published in English, to perfectionate her own fantasy language, the “Aeonin”, and to continue making people dream even more through her art of Fantasy!