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Writing for Children

The Dragon in the Ice The Fishing Stone The Thunder Sings

In addition to a number of short stories, Chaz Brenchley has published three books for children. The following "message from the author" appeared in all three of those books.


I don't believe in magic; I just wish that I could. I think that's why I write so much about magic - I'd like to have been born into a different kind of world, so I keep creating one in my head. And once it's there I don't want to waste it, or let it just drift away out of my thoughts again; so I write a story about it. Or more than one story, or occasionally a whole book.

I do write books for adults too, but that's another kind of writing altogether. There I'm writing about the world I was really born into, about things I can touch and see and feel every day. And I love being able to do it, but I don't do it for fun. What you're holding in your hand right now is the sort of thing I do for fun.

I hope it's fun for you, too. But just one quick word of warning. Maybe I don't believe in magic - but I could be wrong (it has been known). It could be real for you, even if I have to invent my own. So keep checking over your shoulder, just in case. You never know, a dragon might be gaining on you...



Many of Chaz'z early short stories for children appeared in Story Teller magazine, accompanied by an audio cassette; some of these are beginning to appear on YouTube:



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Border design from an illustration by Caroline Dadd to The Raven Girl