“I write stories of hope for others who, like myself, can often feel that we live in a broken world.”
- Michael Somerville, Author
They say that it is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness.
Lacking candles, I tell stories.
My stories, written for my children, imagine a magical, heroic, broken world that is on the mend. It’s a realm that I hope you will love to discover and explore along with me. Let’s go!
A new world to explore.
For almost a decade, the Broken Realm has been growing in my mind. Now, it’s yours to explore as well. Take a look.
Enter the Broken Realm.
Find a new favorite.
If you’re like me, you are always looking for great books and uplifting stories that you can share with your family. The Tales from the Broken Realm are just that … or they are trying to be.
Take a look. And then, let me know how we can make them better.
Why should grown-ups tell fairy stories?
Perhaps because we still hope for “happily ever after.”
J.R.R. Tolkien said it well in his thoughts “On Fairy Stories”…
“The eucatastrophic tale is the true form of fairy-tale, and its highest function …
It does not deny the existence of dyscatastrophe, of sorrow and failure: the possibility of these is necessary to the joy of deliverance; it denies (in the face of much evidence, if you will) universal final defeat … giving a fleeting glimpse of Joy, Joy beyond the walls of the world, poignant as grief.
It is the mark of a good fairy-story … that however wild its events, however fantastic or terrible the adventures, it can give to child or man that hears it, when the “turn” comes, a catch of the breath, a beat and lifting of the heart, near to (or indeed accompanied by) tears.”
Michael Somerville is the author of several short stories, as well as an in-progress high-fantasy series called the Tales of the Broken Realm. He loves telling stories of hope about ordinary characters doing their small part to help heal a broken world. By day, he pays the bills as a hands-on storyteller and project manager, leading and envisioning professional teams in the "real-world", even as he is busily building and illustrating imaginary worlds in his evenings and on the weekends.
Outside of work and writing, he enjoys a wide range of hobbies, including playing music with his family and friends on keyboard or guitar, drawing, sculpting, painting, sewing, and blacksmithing, or walking the length of the Appalachian Trail in his home neighborhood in the Shenandoah Valley, where he serves as a Board member on his local civic association.
Most important to Michael are his family and his church. Michael and Jessica celebrate their 20th anniversary in 2026 and are happily raising three wonderful daughters. He serves actively in his local church, playing music on Sunday, teaching the older elementary kids, and leading a small group of wonderful saints. He hopes to hear "Well done" one day, and plans to keep serving his true King until then.
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