When I was in fourth grade, my weird aunt gave me The Lord of the Rings for Christmas. That three-book novel is huge, and I probably wouldn't have read it, except for one thing.

My mom told me I couldn't. "It's too mature for you, John. I've heard it's about witches and magic. Maybe you should wait till you're in college."

That settled it. I sneaked off and read the whole thing over one incredible weekend.

That book changed my life. Ever since then, whenever people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I lied.

"A cowboy," I'd tell them.

A few years later I changed that to, "A scientist."

A few years after that, "A novelist."

But what I really wanted to be was Frodo the hobbit. I wanted to travel to strange countries with the Fellowship of the Ring. I wanted to face down the Nine Riders. I wanted danger. I wanted excitement.

I wanted to be part of an epic battle to change the world.

People see me now and think that I must be mature. I've got a wife and two kids I love. A house with a mortgage the size of a dragon's hoard. A Ph.D. in biochemistry.

But inside, I'm Frodo the hobbit, riding out with my friends to do battle with the Dark Lord.

Welcome to my world. Let's go have an adventure, shall we?