In one sense Win Real Talisman first came into the world on 4th May 1978 and in another he was not discovered until much later when, searching for anagrams in his name, the author was surprised to find anagrams that not only described his personality, craft and career, but the enigmatic Win Real Talisman.
The author started writing at a young age with lyrics, haiku and poetry his specialty and in 1997 was awarded International Poet of Merit. Little Steps made his first appearance in the author’s imagination in 2000 whilst studying for his masters at Cornell University.
At that stage all the author knew was that Little Steps was a young Egyptian boy in the time of Pharaoh Hatshepsut. The essence of the story was his dissatisfaction with his name – when he wanted to achieve great things, he felt his name was against him, but over the course of time he begins to understand that it is only by taking little steps and being true to his name that greatness is achieved.
At the end of 2021 the author finally embarked on his own adventure, travelling to Schiehallion, a mountain in the centre of Scotland, shaped like a pyramid and steeped in folklore for a writer’s retreat to give birth to his own fairy tale. It was at this time that the author decided to give Win Real Talisman meaning – the lofty ideal of winning the hearts and imaginations of each reader – the real Talisman.
This journey would not have
been possible without the support and collaboration of the magical members of the Talisman circle, especially the amazing Lorra Ley and the legendary Rula Lenska whose magic can be seen in the beautiful illustrations and masterful narration that collectively bring the story to life.
The end result not only fulfils
a life-long held ambition, but
embodies many philosophies and reminders of an age before that in truth we know very little about. The wonder of the pyramids and how such monumental structures were built is a topic that continues to fascinate. My goal was to create a fairy tale that not only embodied the familiar concepts of friendship, loyalty, purpose and collaboration, but one that explored a time past but not forgotten through the eyes of a child.
The Book Ends and the Book Club
Whilst it is true to say there are many people who were part of the journey to create the magic of Little Steps and the Quest for the 3 Symbols, not least of all my friends and family, there are 2 groups of people that I owe a debt of gratitude to for the specific roles they played in my own journey:
The Book Ends
A huge shout out to the incredible Kim and Yvonne, 2 of my US friends who kept me true to my original vision and were there literally for every twist and turn in real time of my writing journey from Schiehallion to Deir-el-Bahari. Both have sections of the book written just for them, my only clues are ‘take a mat and go’ in Part 3 and the scene with Safe Space where each character faces their own fears in Part 1. This journey would not have been the same without my book ends!
The Book Club
Collectively the Book Club fulfilled the final review tasks from glossary, presentation, proof reading and most importantly feedback. Some had only the basic knowledge of the book, some had only seen a few of the illustrations, whilst others were more familiar with the story/plot and characters. A special thank you to the infamous book club for the role you played and magical moments we shared on that journey: Andy, Jane, Ems, Julie, Craig, Flossy, Keith, Jules, Lisa & Shivani. And a special shout out to my audio guinea pig Brandi.
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