My name is Simon and I am dad to two boys who are on the autistic spectrum. For years Christmas was a difficult time due to all the changes happening at school, in the shops and at home. But as the boys grew older, they learnt to cope with the festive season and began enjoying all that Christmas has to offer. Last year, for the first time in his life, my oldest son went to a Christmas party, and loved it. He works in a wetlands centre bird sanctuary near us, and every year they hold a Christmas party and ask everyone that goes if they’d like to do something as part of the Christmas celebrations. This can be telling a joke, playing an instrument, singing a song or sharing a Christmas story. Anyway, my son wanted to do something, and asked me to write him a Christmas poem, so I did, and we performed the poem for all his friends and work colleagues. The response was overwhelming.
The experience got me writing again, and in November 2019 I took the leap and self published that poem as a children’s book called Star Bright the Christmas Fairy. As a result, I’ve met lots of wonderful people, taken part in my first, second and third Christmas Fayres and had the chance to talk about and read my book to hundreds of school children.
I have been asked many times if there will be another book in the series, and now i can confirm that yes there is. Strudel and the Moon Monster is nearly ready to be published. The poem is written and the illustrations are well on the way to being completed.
What I am looking for is a little help with the cost of publicising the book. I shall be using social media, Amazon advertising and school visits in order to share the book with the public.
The first book in the series is called Star Bright the Christmas Fairy and it was released in November 2019. My intention is to release a book each quarter, but sometimes, as we all know, life can get in the way.