According to Wikipedia: Fantasy (or in this case High Fantasy) is defined as a story set in an alternate world, rather than the 'real' or 'primary' world that we live in. Growing up, my favorite books to read were stories of this sort. I cannot tell you how many times I read J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Then, there was Terry Brooks' The Sword of Shannara saga, or the Dragonriders of Pern, or Anne McCaffery's the Dragonlance series or... I think you get my point. I also enjoyed the classic stories from Greek and Norse Mythology. Tales of heroes and monsters, good versus evil, of love and betrayal. I loved getting lost in another world, far removed from the normal day to day reality that surrounded me.
These are the stories I strive to write. I want to transport my readers into the worlds of my creation with only the power of my words and thier own imagination.