Wyverstone

[Rosemary]

I came across this site quite by accident!

I am not sure of the age group for which it is published but perhaps parents may like to make a note of it for their younger children. I have bookmarked it, as a possible book for my Granddaughters to read.

http://www.wyvernstone.com/

[Alia]

Awesome job, Rosemary.

Here's a little bit from the website.

Story Outline

Whilst exploring their grandparent’s farm, two children are unwittingly transported to another place and time – the land of Dalriada.

Completely different to anything the children have known, it is a place that they could only have ever dreamt about. A haven for earthly animals in mortal danger, Dalriada is a colourful world of varying habitats. It is a place where animals can talk and guinea pigs have the ability to fly. It is also a place in which Pegasus, Elves, Bunyips, and Unicorns abound.

In order to return back to their own home, the children must first sway the balance of power in this magical land. By doing so, not only will they be able to protect its inhabitants and preserve its fate; but in the process, they will also come to realise more about themselves, and their special abilities, than they ever thought possible.

The Wyvernstone -A Tale of Dalriada
"A Spellbinding Australian Fantasy"

[Teresa Edgerton]

Sounds a little heavy-handed in terms of the life lessons, though. Or maybe he's just stressing that on his website to appeal to parents.

[Andrew Borg]

Well... this feels a little bizarre, but I thought I'd jump in on this thread. Being a regular reader of this forum, imagine my surprise when I logged on this morning and saw my book included in a conversation topic!

Anyway, just to provide a little information for anyone interested, I wrote the story for my own children, several years ago. They were around 10 and 12 at the time, so I suppose this is my target audience. Having said that, since the story was published about a month ago, I've had a couple of eight year olds who have enjoyed reading it, as well as some readers who are "significantly older".

Generally speaking, "The Wyvernstone" is just a simple fairytale, albeit one with a distinct Australian flavour. I suppose, as with any story, there are a couple of underlying themes, but I found it to be an interesting observation that the website seemed a little "heavy-handed on life lessons". Was that because of the Review excerpt?

cheers,

Andrew

[Teresa Edgerton]

Originally Posted by Andrew Borg

I found it to be an interesting observation that the website seemed a little "heavy-handed on life lessons". Was that because of the Review excerpt?

That was part of it -- in combination with the story description. Anything that goes into the summary of a book that appears on the back cover or on the publisher's or the author's website, I have to assume that someone involved considers that a selling point. As your book is self-published, I naturally conclude that you are that person. And I tend to shy away from anything that seems to be too didactic, or too relentlessly uplifting. I happen to believe that a children's author (or any author) should write the best and truest book that he or she can, and leave the kids to sort out the lessons for themselves.

Which is not to say that I don't think books should be uplifting -- anyone who is familiar with my opinions can tell you that I'm all for that. But I've seen too many bad books written by well-meaning people who think they have important messages to share.

Your book, of course, may be quite different.

[Andrew Borg]

Thanks for sharing your opinion - I appreciate and respect all comments; especially those, such as yours, that will assist my future development as a writer.

As I mentioned previously, my sole intent was to write a simple, amusing story for my own children - nothing more. I'm certainly not preaching specific points of view, or anything like that, and readers/casual observers will always take out of it what they wish to. It's all a matter of interpretation and perspective.

As far as selling points are concerned, I wont, for one second, say that my writing/story is good, bad or indifferent. That's purely for others to judge and I've no desire to become a salesman. My personal, writing-specific, objectives have already been met, and anything else along the way is a bonus.

cheers,

Andrew