Putting Some Flesh on Prism

It’s an amazing thing to realize someone can see inside your head! But that’s what Laura, illustrator extraordinaire, seems to have done with the beautiful cover art she’s been working on for The Terror of Prism Fading. Although not yet in its final form, the link below will give you a good idea – both where the cover is heading and also how very talented Laura is!

A trip to her web site shows the various steps to this point, and they in turn are a pretty fair reflection of our various conversations and emails.

As points were clarified and details given, so the characters came to life until, a few days ago, I was sent an email with an attached link. I opened it gingerly, not entirely sure what to expect, and took a deep breath….



It’s a little off putting to see a scene - which has existed so far only in one’s imagination – suddenly take shape and appear on a page in full color! In many ways this image was, for me, too, my first ever glimpse of Prism, and I am wholly grateful to Laura for the opportunity to look into this wonderful world and see the characters I have already grown to love. I let out a deep sigh of relief when I realized the Prism I was looking at and the characters I was seeing were completely coherent with the places and people in my imagination that I had been living with for so many years.

Thank you, Laura.

Yours gratefully,

K.E. Stapylton

A Mountain of Work...and then...

Progress! The Terror of Prism Fading website is now up and running! Currently in its most basic form, the website will soon be a place where you can download the book in e-book format as well as purchase it through Lulu. Various graphics and effects should be added over the coming weeks to make TheTerrorOfPrismFading.com a fun place to spend a little time. And for those who make the effort to find their way there, there will be extra snippets of material on favourite characters plus a greater look into the history and legends of Prism. I can only recommend that you check the site regularly for updates and news!

Speaking of news, as well as working on the second installment of the Prism series, I've begun writing a short book for younger children. I find writing for children of all ages deeply rewarding and it's a complete joy to communicate with them. Flights of Family Fancy is for children aged 4-9 (otherwise known as the 'pre-Prism set'!), and is a collection of poems and short stories that could be managed by the older children in this age range, or read by parents to those at the younger end of the spectrum. This collection of poems and stories is extremely precious to me as it's being written predominantly for the entertainment of one special 7 year old in California whose giggles and wide eyed gaze when her father reads them to her are the elixir of life for a children's writer. Perhaps one day I'll find an illustrator and do something more formal with them. In the meantime, Flights of Family Fancy is the way I spend my spare time, when I have any of it to spare, and the stories I write when I wish to enjoy the pastime of writing without pressure.

But meanwhile, back at Prism....

Laura Diehl has come on board as illustrator for The Terror of Prism Fading, and the concept draft I have seen so far is hugely exciting! After considerable back and forth, plus significant time spent on the phone, Laura seemed to grasp the whole concept of Prism and will do an excellent job of translating it to paper. As a result, I'm hoping that The Terror of Prism Fading will be available in paperback version by the end of August! This will be a major milestone and I can assure you that champagne corks will be flying in this house!

In the meantime, work will be proceeding on Book 2, and I hope you enjoy the new website!

Yours Progressively,

K.E. Stapylton