“Look, Mommy! I a ballerina!”

When your day begins with your two-year-old daughter happily pirouetting around the room, it’s hard not to smile.

Apparently, all it takes is a pink tutu to transform my child into a prima ballerina. Spinning and twirling, grinning from ear to ear, she performed for me, her dollies, the cats, the mirror, anyone she could get to watch. I still marvel at the simplicity with which toddlers embrace imagination. She wasn’t just pretending to be a ballerina. She was a ballerina.

As I discussed this start to my day with my colleague Steph from Ella Distribution, the conversation shifted to one of our favorite shows, The Big Bang Theory, and the concept of wanting to be a “pretty, pretty princess.” From Sheldon buying Amy a tiara to the girls getting made up as Disney princesses at Disneyland, the show occasionally dips into the secret desire of many a girl’s heart: to harness that fairy tale feeling of joy.

Tutus and tiaras aside, however, we all look for a way to escape to a fantasy world. Perhaps in yours, you’re a clever detective solving crimes no one else can solve. Or maybe you’re a hero who protects the world from harm. Or possibly you’re just living a simpler life with your one true love.

We all have our modes of escape. It’s what helps us deal with the demands and the drudgery of everyday life.

And it’s why I love fiction. I assume you do, too, if you read this blog.

Through fiction, we can live out not one fantasy life, but many. We can be a Fey warrior one day and a Retrieval Artist the next. We can find out what it would be like to date Robin Hood or a superhero. Heck, we can even be princesses.

And that’s the precious gift these fiction writers give us day in and day out. They create not only alter egos but also alternate universes, mythical creatures, you name it. Through their writing, we can romp through history, warp ahead to the future, or visit a different present.

And if that’s not enough to keep you reading, try this concept on for size. Where else can you get a vacation without leaving your home and for less than the cost of a night out? Imagine, dozens of vacations a year without needing to take time off of work or spend a small fortune.

Now that’s an idea worth fantasizing about.

Allyson Longueira is publisher of WMG Publishing. She is an award-winning writer, editor and designer.