Dragons, queens, elves, fairies, witches, and gods are mainstay in fairy tales. They illuminate and brighten magical worlds, and they charm mythical lands with their abilities, majesty and character. Maritza Amaris Soto, 10, understands this best as she employs the these creatures and individuals to act as companions to the characters Angeline and Garrett in her book, "The Mystery of Fairy Tales," which was published in October of this year.

The Tulsa, Oklahoma-raised young author incorporated wonderment and imagination when she constructed the published tale and her other works. Soto has written for a majority of her life, using it to guide her through the dark days of her parents' divorce when she was four years old. She utilized her already well garnered familiarity with children's literature to create a destination where dreams and realities can happily coincide.

"Dreams are part of reality. If you dream it, then you can see it, someday, somehow," Soto told Latina Lista during an interview. "I built a special place, a fairy tale. That is how I could get away from all the problems when my parents were getting divorced. I read and read. At the same time, I was thinking about all the wonderful things that could happen in a secret world of dragons and witches."

Soto builds these places with love, because of her general fondness for books and fairy tales, stating that it takes her to magical places. The pint-sized published author hasn't let her fascination with writing divide her from the things and people that she enjoys the most. She continues to feed her love for "The Hunger Games" trilogy and for plates of enchiladas, and she looks to her mother (to whom she dedicated her book) for inspiration.

"She is my role model, my inspiration. She has supported my dreams," the young author said. "Things have not been easy, but my mom is always cheering me up. For me, writing was a way to take things out of my head and throw them into written words."

Soto is proud of the work that she has done, and enjoys the fact that adults understand her writing, but wants her message to reach children.

"It's very nice to see adults getting my book," she said, "but my goal is to make children think that they can do it. Just do not take no for a final answer. Why? You can write the story of your life".

In addition to "The Mystery of Fairy Tales," Soto also plans to write her dreams into books, writing the pieces into a series.