Author Foreword

Jonathan's Tales, Volume 1, is a compilation of 11 magical bedtime stories told verbally to my 6-year-old son recorded on my Android phone. They are enhanced written transpositions from the unedited audio version numbering nearly 100 recorded stories. The Tales, purely a product of my imagination, came to life after my son's bedtime toilette, and he, snuggled in bed, arbitrarily drew from his head a binary subject and allowed me several minutes to ponder a story.

The stories gave me much pleasure to bequeath to my son who often interacted with the stories; sometimes vociferously protesting at the outrageous actions of the occasional villainous characters therein; sometimes being so enthralled with the storyline he remained quiet until the end, and, not infrequently as I came to the story's dénouement, I heard a gentle buzzing sound as my son had fallen into deep slumber. I could not love my son more than I did at such times.

Of the 100 or so Tales located firmly in the magical realism genre I have chosen 11 to publish initially. They span a broad range of subjects. Within these subjects a degree of poetic license has been inevitably exercised in respect to real world facts, requiring the more discerning reader to temporarily suspend their belief.

One final point, I told the stories to my son with three main aims: entertainment, of which he, by his reactions recorded seemingly derived much pleasure; erudition, to increase his knowledge on specific items of facts, or to whet his appetite to seek out more information (the notations referenced at the end of the book for each Tale act as a starting aid); finally, didactic, a way of subtly introducing a broader morality into my son's world on an array of subjects from the power of love and friendship, of kindness and honesty, and also the importance of inclusivity recognising we are all different. There was however, one other thing I deemed essential to convey to my son. In Jonathan's Tales across a number of stories told, I tried to gift my son an understanding that in each and every one of us there are by differing degrees what I might call human weakness. Acknowledging such weakness, an acknowledgment that sometimes can originate from within, but in many instances through the love and kindness of others, individuals may find a power and strength to transform their lives for the better, if you will, becoming better versions of themselves, versions of themselves that were always meant to be. It is this final aspiration I wish and hope all my readers will see in my stories to my son.

So, now to Jonathan's Tales. I sincerely hope you enjoy the journey of reading them, as much as I did bringing them to life in the written word.