Thursday, 17 March 2011

Why these particular stories?

It's funny really, the reason behind writing these stories. It has also been a bit of a journey, so I won't tell the whole thing in one go...smile.

I have actually attempted to publish work before. A few years ago, I wrote a self-help book for teenagers called "Turning From Black." It was a book designed to help young people suffering from depression and was a combination between story telling (mostly from my own teenage experiences) and formal text as well as strategies. At the time I was confronted by the level of anxiety, depression and anger our young people experienced and wanted to help more than the students I came into contact. As it turns out, there was limited market for such a book (according to a huge publishing company in Australia) so my book was declined. With this though, the manuscript proof reader did add the comment that my narrative style was good, and that perhaps I should focus on fiction writing.
It was years before my ego subsided enough for me to even think of writing again.

As I have mentioned before, I attended a life changing Angel Course. A part of this course was to discover the 'Realm' from which we originated. To put it into a context that is easily explainable, it is a type of personality testing. Certain people have characteristics in common (physical, mental and psychological) that can determine the realm from which they originate and offer some understanding as to why they view the world as they do.

It was one of those defining "Ahhh" moments when I discovered my Realm. A lot of things made sense to me, my decisions, processes and feelings all of a sudden made a LOT more sense. I found myself wondering how different my life might have been had I known this information earlier. The journey may definitely have been a shorter one to get to the place I am now.

I decided then and there (with a little guidance) that I could use what I knew to help others shorten their journeys a little and help cut out some of the "learning the lessons the hard way" moments. I also decided that waiting until you're in your early thirties was unnecessary for learning this information.

With this in mind, I set out to write stories for children that highlight the attributes and feelings deriving from the different realms. The story that appeals the most, the illustrations that captivate the reader and won't leave the mind, give some indication of the Realm the reader may come from.

So, each story is designed to attract people from different Realms, and the proof has been in the testing.

P.S.
If you are someone who is operating with depression, I'd love to recommend a GREAT blog for your review: http://www.depresseddruggedordancing.com/

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