Hallo Kindle....

After much hard work and ingenuity on the part of a team of highly trained professionals, I am now published on Amazon's Kindle! For a child psychologist/mediator-turned-writer, this represents a big step in the change of career process. For decades I knew it was only a matter of time till writing became my profession, and the written word has been my passion for even longer, but making the leap from academic writing to children's fantasy author represents one of the most exciting and challenging things I've ever done.

And the list of tasks is endless! Blogs, web sites, summaries, cross links, wikipedia entries, and more versions of my book than I'd ever thought necessary (Kindle, Lulu, Amazon, Borders...) all make this a process of almost limitless proportions. And it's all worth it! I feel, after 20 years of planning, I'm willing to do whatever is necessary to get my words read, to get the message out, to encourage children to see themselves as central and valuable, to use story telling to engage with children to touch their hearts and assist in their healthy development.

I believe that, to write for children, one's motivation needs to be two fold. Firstly, one must want to tell stories. There has to be a deep seated desire to 'spin a good yarn' and to entertain. I remember the first time I read 'A Horseman Riding By'. Having studied literature of all kinds at university in Australia, and so much of it having been dry and boring, I was struck by the extent to which this story simply entertained me. And when I started writing the Prism series, I vowed to myself that I would write nothing dull, nothing that had to be 'sat through to get to the good bits'! I wanted to write things that would make children sit - wide eyed - on the edges of their seats, waiting with baited breath for the next word.

But secondly, one must surely be committed to the healthy development of children. I believe that a children's novel must be committed to bringing an experience of increased health and joy to its readers. It should be a tool for parents whose aim is to raise healthy contributors to their communities. And it should light a passion for 'right' in the bellies of its readers - something which inspires them to be greater than they were when they started reading.

A book is a powerful thing, and a children's book doubly so. I hope that the Prism series will dispel the haze of grey we so often wade through, and ignite instead a powerful spectrum of color in those who read it,

Colorfully,

K.E. Stapylton