Darren Sylte talks about “There Is a Dragon under My Door”

iUniverse author Darren Sylte tells us about his new children’s book, There Is a Dragon under My Door.

My name is Darren Sylte. I am a teacher in Washington state, and I am also the father of 3 great boys who helped inspire my love for reading and writing stories.

As I father I realized the importance of not just learning to read, but also being able to comprehend what you read. When my son was old enough, I began reading to him most every night. We read through hundreds of children’s books, and we read many of them multiple times. The more I read to him, the more I was able to instill a true love of  reading in my son. This time in my life was the true inspiration that drove me, as an adult,  to write the stories that I have written.

If I have  one message to relay to my readers it would be to read, and to fully engulf your mind and your imagination into the books you are reading.  Let them take you places, and let them change you into whatever you want to be. Give yourself permission to escape to a place that you have never been to, to visit a place inside your book that is a new world or a new adventure to you.  Open the pages of your book, and swim in the beauty of the written word that you hold.

Over the course of several years I have compiled many children’s stories as well as 3  novels. Three of these stories follow a brave, young boy as he attempts to navigate the big new world around him using his creative imagination.

I write stories to help to inspire the gift of imagination in children, and to give them  a love for reading. If I can put a smile on a child’s face, than that is reason enough for me to write.

There Is a Dragon under My Door is my first publication. I am new to the world of marketing but that will not stop me from reading the story to children any chance I get. I do have plans to read at local libraries in my area.

Presently I am working on building a website to support children, and to help them build  their own imaginations through story writing.  My website will also have a grade level drop down menu, for writing prompts for all ages.

There Is a Dragon under My Door is my first experience in publishing. iUniverse has been a great resource for me, from the initial contact to the final product. iUniverse provides exceptional communication and remarkable flexibility in working with me in all phases of the process. The guidance from the iUniverse team was indeed extraordinary.

My closing thoughts  to any inspiring writers and authors out there is pretty simple. Write, write, and write.   To coin a phrase:

“Write for the right reason: write for others.”

We, as a people, are best rewarded by giving to others. It is only in giving to others that we can truly be fulfilled in the quest for ourselves. And that my friends, is the real reason that I write.

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