The Crown of Secrets

Stories are doors. They can take you to places you’ve never dreamed of before. With The Crown of Secrets, a collection of short illustrated stories and poems, it’s my goal to transport readers of all ages to a place of wonder, and to help them see the world around them in a new way.

I’ve been working on the stories for about four years. Subject matter, reading level, style, and inspiration vary widely, as you can see in the sample stories above. If you want more specifics about the project, or want to see more of the pictures that go with the stories, please stop by the website!

The book is going to be a big, fat, thick thing with heavy pages and colorful pictures on every page, like the big story treasuries I grew up with. Over the past months and years, I’ve been collaborating with eight illustrators from around the world to get exactly the right images for each story. We’re all incredibly excited to share the book with you and hope that you’ll enjoy reading it as much as we’ve enjoyed creating it. You can follow our progress, and meet the artists, here at the devblog.

Billie, Jake, Karen; Isidre, Jeremiah, Kristin; Stephen, Natalie, Ziyi

These stories are written for children, but I believe that anybody with an imagination and a sense of wonder will enjoy them. Some of them teach lessons, in a roundabout sort of way, and some are just fun; some are a little bit twisted, while others are completely innocent; some are a few lines and others are a few dozen pages; some stories are inspired by literature like world mythology, Lord of the Rings, and the Bible, while some draw from Dr Seuss or Hayao Miyazaki or Neil Gaiman; some are about talking fruit or stone people, and others are about robots and goldfish. Basically, there’s something for everyone.

In addition to the stories, we’re also putting together a printable activity pack / study guide for educators and parents. Activities will include coloring pages of some of the pictures in the book; fill-ins, make-your-own story templates, and word creation guides; and games related to the stories. There will also be a section of discussion questions meant to engage readers, encourage creative thinking, and prompt deeper reading in general.

I really hope you can help us make this project happen and get the book into the hands of young readers around the world. Please check out more stories and art at the website, and tell all your friends about us. Thanks for your time and your interest. Let’s make a book!