An introduction to the series
How the Spider King came to be written
As a teenager in Kenya, I came home from a boarding school in December 1966 at the end of the school year and was utterly shocked to learn I would not be going back to school again as we were off to Australia the next month. The pain of not being able to say goodbye or exchanging gifts and of course addresses, all those things which are special to childhood made a deep impression.
In Australia, I went to three different schools in one year as well as sitting my national junior certificate in ten subjects, quite a lot of curriculum catching up to do. I then went on to Senior and on graduation determined to leave home and travel halfway around the world back to the UK to train as a physiotherapist.
These experiences made me determined not to do the same for my children, but life intervened and they had to move countries too. However, I hoped by explaining where and why we were moving, it would help. By the time they reached high school, I tried to keep them in one place but even that did not succeed.
Sadly the same scenario played out with my grandchildren having to move countries at short notice and adjust to different schools, not to mention weather conditions moving from Africa to England. It was then I decided to write my book The Spider King, based on them but where children have a significant impact on decision making and they are the ones who make a difference. In other words, they are empowered. But they are not omnipotent, they have to apply themselves and exercise discipline to achieve their goals. Although the book is aimed at 8-12 year olds, it is suitable to be read by any age, even adults!
