April 18, 2026
Hello,
I was a middle school librarian. Aidan was a middle school student. The books we read then shaped how we write today.
I’m not saying we write fan fiction.
But we were inspired by the great stories that captured our imaginations.
One of our most frequently cited favourites is John' Flanagan’s Ranger’s Apprentice series. Aidan is a fervent fan. Check out his video.
Will's training sequences were the inspiration for Flint’s lessons in Rebels of Halklyen. We put our own spin on it though—blending judo lessons with games I played with my brother and sister when we were children.
What makes The Ruins of Gorlan endure isn’t just the cloaks and bows or the thrill of secret skills learned at dawn. It’s the quiet promise at the heart of the book: that being overlooked doesn’t mean being unimportant.
Will Treaty isn’t the biggest, loudest, or strongest boy in the room. He’s observant. Curious. Patient. He learns that power doesn’t always announce itself—and that mastery is earned. Discipline, cleverness, and learning how to see what others miss are what matters. For so many middle‑grade readers, that realization is electric. It says: you are enough as you are, and you might become dangerous in the best possible way.
Flanagan’s genius lies in how he treats training as story rather than obstacle. Will’s lessons aren’t filler between battles; they are the battles. Each skill mastered feels hard‑won, each success rooted in trial and failure. That rhythm—practice, mistake, growth—taught us that competence is earned, and that learning can carry the same tension as combat.
It’s no accident that so many writers point back to The Ruins of Gorlan as a formative influence. The book respects its readers. It never talks down. It trusts them to follow strategy, to appreciate restraint, and to understand that true strength is often quiet.
That philosophy carried straight through into Rebels of Halklyen. Flint’s lessons echo Will’s training, not in imitation, but in spirit. The emphasis on control over brute force. On observation before action. On the idea that teaching is an act of faith—faith that knowledge, once given, will be used wisely.
Some stories entertain you for a season. Others teach you how to think.
The Ruins of Gorlan did that for us. And if you haven’t visited Araluen lately—or ever—it might be time to pick up a bow, slip into the shadows, and remember what it felt like to believe that learning could change everything.
Happy reading.
Warm regards,
Paula Baker (and Aidan Davies)
P.S. Searching for your next great series?
Look no further!
You find a mysterious artifact. Do you keep it?
