Summon a Fiend

The inspiration for Summon a Fiend came from growing up lonely and struggling to make friends. I was the timid daughter of two hypersocial parents, so none of their advice on making friends applied to me. Often, we forget that children are just beginning to learn how to be human, so we don’t offer them much grace when they struggle to fit in. I wanted to explore a story where a strange little girl finds friendship with a strange entity, and together, they develop a true human connection that betters them both. We often forget how to be brave until someone reminds us that we already are—and that’s even more true when we’re young. Hazel was always brave, but she needed Dantalion to give her a little nudge to remember it.
Summon a Fiend is also about finding connections in unlikely places. Everyone gets lonely sometimes, but the beautiful thing about humanity is that we want to help each other because we all know what it’s like to crave a connection that makes us feel less alone. It’s never easy to make friends, but it is worth it to try.