It's a struggle for a way of life. Why not nonfiction where you can just spell it all out. It was the first time I actually got hooked on reading. I got all wrapped up in the adventure, and learned a lot through vicarious experience. That's when I realized the power in fiction, particularly fantasy.
Nonfiction is a series of facts and suppositions.
But you learn much more through experience than lecturing. This first book isn't overly graphic or explicit. I didn't want it to be excluded from young readers, but the typical novels in the closest genre are actually exotic romances more than anything else. Shadow of the Serpent received praise from major publishers even in its first draft, but it just didn't fit the bill. It didn't focus on the elements their audience came to expect.