Press Kit

Short Bio

Isabelle Knight is the middle-grade fantasy author of the Enchantria series, which she began writing at age ten and published during her middle school years. A lifelong book and cat lover, she now resides somewhere in a book-filled apartment, surrounded by an unimaginable number of stuffed pandas and enough books to start her own bookstore. When she’s not writing about creepy shadows, daring heroines, and magical adventures, she’s talking about books, writing, and other writerly ramblings on her YouTube channel!

You can find her books on the Books page of this blog.

Long Bio

I wanted to be a lot of things when I grew up. Ballerina, chef, pop star, DJ, magician, author, and more. As you can see, author wasn’t exactly super high on that list. Sadly, I never became a ballerina, chef, pop star, and I have long since forgotten all my card tricks, though there may still be a chance of that happening!

A fun fact about me is that I wasn’t always an avid reader! It’s really shocking to so many people, but I believe seven-year-old me would’ve much rather stayed home to binge watch TV than read books. This was mainly because, at that time, I didn’t have that many books that interested me! However, I still recall the day when my mom bought a really heavy Oxford dictionary that also came with a free copy of The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden. I took that book and practically devoured it in three hours. And then I went back for countless re-reads!

I guess that goes to show that there’s a reader inside everyone – you just need the right books to bring them out! And a little later in my life, when I was around eight, I managed to get an ebook copy of Gail Carson Levine’s Ella Enchanted. Again, I still didn’t have that many books, and I wasn’t that huge of a reader. But Ella Enchanted was the first book I’d ever read that I really, really loved, and if my memory serves me right, I’ve read it about 50 times to this day! I loved staying inside Ella’s world, with the ogres and the fairies and the magic, and I especially loved reading the author’s note at the beginning of the book that told how she, as a kid, used to hog the bathroom in her apartment just to read!

But it wasn’t until two years later that I actually became an avid reader. When I was around nine or ten I really wanted to see a certain movie, except my parents wouldn’t let me. In compensation, they gave me the books. Those books were the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan, and I stayed up so late, just turning the pages to find out what happened to Percy and his friends!

Ever since then, I began practically scouring online bookstores to find books to beg my parents to buy and finally, they caved in and got me Kindle Unlimited, where I devoured the Warriors series by Erin Hunter (it remains till this day, one of my favorite books) and found countless other books. Through reading all those books, I began to start really learning about the world, way more than I’d learned through school, and through those stories, I began to learn about the power of courage, hope, friendship, and resilience, and I just found the prospect of the power of storytelling absolutely amazing.

Now, as a kid, I’d always had this idea for a certain book called Enchantria. It involved a dark, evil kingdom and guardians who had to defend a different kingdom – the kingdom of Enchantria – from those dark forces. And so, that summer, when I was ten years old and super bored, I decided, “Why not? I read so many books, writing is gonna be a breeze!” So I sat down, and I still remember how I looked my dad in the eye and said, “I’m gonna write a book.” I don’t quite remember what his reaction was or if he thought I could pull it off, but to this day, I can really, really clearly remember me saying that.

Little did I know that that first prologue I wrote was going to turn into a first draft, which would turn into a book one, which would turn into a whole series!

But even then, I still didn’t really take writing seriously. It was… a difficult journey. There have been a lot of ups and downs, even before I started to publish. I always got writer’s block, and I never really thought about what I’d do once this series was finished. Go back to my ordinary life?

Well… that didn’t quite happen.

In February of 2024, I finished the first draft of book two in the Enchantria series, and I published it (yes, I naively thought that my first drafts were BRILLIANT and I didn’t require revisions) under a different pen name, and I got started on book three. And it was also in February of 2024 that my dad also bought me a craft book on writing that i’d been wanting for a really long time – Writing Magic by Gail Carson Levine.

It arrived one afternoon in a surprisingly light package (it wasn’t as big of a book as I thought it was going to be), and I just curled up on my bed and started reading it. And it had me hooked. The way Gail Carson Levine spoke about writing made it sound fun. It showed me how amazing writing could be, how much creativity and freedom is involved in it! It was then that I realized that this was exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to be a writer.

Now, since that day, a floodgate of ideas has opened up, and it’s been both amazing and also super hard. I got deeper into the publishing process, and it was there that doubts and fears started to get to me. Suddenly it seemed like there were so many rules on writing! Suddenly it seemed like I wasn’t good enough. Suddenly, I had bad reviews, internet trolls, and had my books pirated.

And it was… scary.

So many times I’ve wanted to give up. So many times I’d tried to hold on to my dreams and hopes of one day becoming a successful writer.

Honestly? I’m still working to figure this journey out. 🙂 But no matter what, I know I can count on you guys for support! And I shall definitely try not to quit halfway through the journey. ;D

Random Fun Facts!

Well, I’m not sure if any of you guys are interested in this, but hopefully this shall be fun to read!

Favorite color is blue – more specifically, Prussian blue, cerulean blue, and of course, night sky blue! I also do like bluish violet. And lavender!
Favorite books of all time are – Ella Enchanted, When You Trap a Tiger, Skandar and the Unicorn Thief, Jennifer Chan is Not Alone, Warriors, and The Peach Thief! Oh, and Keeper of the Lost Cities!
Favorite authors of all time are – Gail Carson Levine, Tae Keller, A.F Steadman, Shannon Messenger, and Linda Joan Smith.
Zodiac sign – Scorpio, if you’re talking about astrology. The dragon if you’re talking about the Chinese zodiac.
Tried and failed many times to grow plants. Somehow, when I raise them, they never live past two weeks. 😮😔
Have been stung by a jellyfish in Thailand and have also capsized my canoe by the rocks, also in Thailand! Survived MOSTLY unharmed.
Favorite food would be Thai noodles, pad thai, and dan huang su. And pizza.
Favorite word: Hope!
Favorite animals are pandas, cats, penguins, flamingos, unicorns, phoenixes, dragons, griffons, and any other mythical creature you can think of.
Ravenclaw! Well, I’d be either in Ravenclaw or Slytherin, but the test on Pottermore said I’m in Ravenclaw so…. 🤷‍♀️😁
My favorite scenes to write are soft, peaceful ones! The hardest scenes for me to write are epic, fast-paced battles. Which you see a lot of in my books, so…..

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take you to write a book?

It depends on every story! Each story is unique and some are more complex than the others. It took me six months to write the first draft of Enchantria: Guardian’s Heir and it took another three months for me to revise and edit. The other books came way faster, often in around three months which I still cannot believe.

Do you write every day?

Yes. Yes, I do. I love writing so much, I couldn’t ever imagine a day when I don’t write! Plus, building consistency is really important!!! It gets you in the flow of things and gradually, writing just becomes a part of you!

What’s the editing process like for your books?

Oof. (winces). I have mixed feelings about the editing process. On one hand, you really get to shape your story into something magnificent! On the other, that’s where everything really starts to become less free and explorational (for me, at least) and more nitty-gritty. I have to worry about plot holes now, character arcs, character inconsistencies. And all those do need to be fixed. But it can be a grueling job.

How do you get over writer’s block?

It usually happens when I’m pushing the story in a direction it really, really doesn’t want to go. If that’s the case, then I usually step back and try and let go of my expectations, even when it’s the editing stage. Mainly because the story still needs space to grow and become just the right story! If the writer’s block is because I can’t think of what to happen next, I usually write down a list of ideas of what could happen – even the most outlandish ones – and I tell myself I will not stop until I get to 12! Usually that helps. If not, then I let myself take a break.

Do you have a favorite character in the series?

I feel like this is a classic question haha. And the answer is: Yes, I do! Well, I have several favorites, but I especially love Elenora, Arabella, Thalia, and Rani! I think they’re amazing! Elenora because, well, she’s the main character, and she goes through a really deep change throughout the series and a lot of her fears and worries reflect mine! Arabella because she’s always so stubborn and indignant on the surface, but as you progress through the series, you realize that there’s a lot more to her than meets the eye. And even though with that cliffhanger at the end of book three, I think you can tell she’s not plainly evil either. Thalia because… Well, I just love her! Her past was really interesting to delve into, and it really makes her a way better character! Rani… I don’t have a complete exact reason for her being one of my favorite characters, but I think she’s just so endearing!!!

What’s your advice for young writers?

My advice is the simplest advice possible. It’s so simple but so true and the absolute most important part of being a writer. Write. You hear me? My advice for all young writers is to just write! You don’t have to worry about the quality, you don’t need to worry if others are gonna like it. Maybe those will come up again. But that’s later in the process. For now, focus on writing and creating something you love! Write and have fun with it! Write what you love, what you want to write, and what you know you just really have to write! And keep doing it! Don’t give up. Because the world can be harsh. There are people out there who simply don’t understand and people who’ll try to discourage you. But when that happens, keep going!!! You’re never going to achieve your dreams if you quit. The only way you could possibly fail is if you gave up.

So keep writing, keep dreaming, and keep reaching for the stars! You can do this! I have complete and utter faith that you absolutely have it in you! It’ll be hard, sure. But that’s what makes it worth doing!!! So when times get touch (and they absolutely will), keep writing. And remember that I’m with you every step of the way! I believe in you.

Why do you use that dragon picture?

You mean Misty? 🙂 If you guys don’t know what I’m talking about, that’s the dragon/avatar that’s basically my profile picture for this blog! Her name’s Misty, and I designed her with Canva! I use her because when I first started out, I was a young author and pretty much terrified of the internet. It’s also the same reason Isabelle Knight is a pen name (though it certainly has started feeling a lot like my real name!). I wanted to remain perfectly anonymous!! Sadly, that didn’t really happen – it’s rather hard to remain perfectly anonymous if you’re trying to become a well-known children’s author!

Do you accept book review requests?

Okay, well, on the Contact page of this blog I did say that I did not accept book review requests. That is mainly because I don’t really have time to have my inbox flooded with countless book review requests!! Really sorry!!! However, if you do have a middle-grade book that’s unique and character-driven, I might be open to reviewing it! But I don’t normally accept review requests, especially if they’re just bland review requests that don’t really tell me what their book is about and why they want me (and not some other more well-known book blogger since I am not as well-known, I’m afraid!) to review it.

Resources

A ton of people ask me for resources on writing, and so here’s a list of all the writing resources that have helped me survive the two years of chaos of being a writer. ;D

Books (yes, all/mostly suitable for young writers):