A book to help children overcome their fears to hit shelves
HIGHLANDS NORTH – The book is about a young boy named Tom, who steps out of his stepfather's shadow to fulfil his own dream.
A United Kingdom-based accountant turned author has written a thought-provoking book about how children can overcome their obstacles in life.
Richard Edwards, currently residing in Highlands North in Johannesburg, will soon be launching his book titled, The Puzzle Train, targeting mainly children between the ages of nine and 14.
According to the author, who has been an accountant for more than 25 years, the book forms part of a five-part series and is a must-read for children to help them deal with challenges in life.
Without revealing too much about the book, he said it’s about a young boy named Tom, who steps out of his stepfather’s shadow to fulfil his dream and compete on The Puzzle Train. “Once aboard the train, Tom meets his fellow contestants who were all coming from various spheres of life. They work together to try to solve the tricky puzzles, with a few bumps along the way,” he said.
“This is an easy read book for children but also adults can read it as well. This is a first of its kind but a very interesting one for people who love reading.”
Edwards started writing the book when he was 40 years old and said it took him about four years to complete the final draft.
He said he has never been a writer before and the idea of writing a book started when his wife, a life coach, bought him a journal as a gift for his 40th birthday. “I then started writing ideas in it and did a lot of research about book writing.
“A friend of my wife then introduced me to an editor who assisted me to put it together, even though he made me rework my drafts for about a thousand times.
“The editor did about million changes including grammar and spelling – this was the worst experience, but a massive learning curve.”
Edwards said he finally put it together and got a publisher who was willing to assist after he had tried a number of agencies who were not willing to help.
The publishing deal was agreed upon in March this year and the book will finally be published this month. Edwards said he is currently busy trying to get it launched in local bookstores around the country.
According to Edwards, he has already written the second part of the series which is almost finished adding that the third one is still an early draft.
Those interested in reading this book can go to www.thepuzzletrain.com or check out Edwards’ Facebook page for more details. The book is currently available on order at the cost of R200.
Edwards went on to say that as a keen reader and new author it is his intention next year to work with a charity to help raise literacy levels in schools in South Africa and is looking for corporate sponsors to assist. If you are interested, please contact him directly.
Details: Richard Edwards richfree8@gmail.com
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