Like many young writers her age (and some quite a bit older), Aarti Gosine cut her teeth on Enid Blyton's magical world of Faraway Tree, goblins, and fairies. Even now, her mind can't help but stray down winding paths into lands of wonder and fantasy.
That ability, combined with a passion for writing and her love of children, prompted her to write her first children's novel, The Magic Cave. Aimed at children seven to nine years old, it centers around three lucky West Indian kids who stumble upon a hidden cave that leads to a different enchanted place every time they enter. One day, it's a circus. The other, a Candyland filled with sweet treats. What child wouldn't be entranced by the idea?
Apart from a sheer love for creating, Gosine was responding to a need she perceived among the students she tutors in Creative Writing for SEA. Many of them were indifferent to reading, and as a book-lover, she decided it was a situation that needed to be rectified, pronto. What if there was a book featuring Caribbean children, in a setting they could easily identify with, that was alluring enough to make them want to read it over and over?
Gosine was so excited by the project that she even shelved a Young Adult novel she was working on to get to the heart of The Magic Cave. The book is the first of a trilogy; she's already gotten cracking on the second instalment. She's hoping to have that one on the shelves next year.The book has been a year in the making, and is totally local: illustrated by artist Joanne Boopsingh and laid out by Simone Rudder.
It was also printed locally. The hard copy version has only just hit the shelves in a few select bookstores, but she hopes to make contact with most of the others within the next few weeks. Gosine doesn't shy away from technology, however. The Magic Cave will also be available for Print on Demand at Amazon.com via Authorhouse.com.
Although this is her first work of fiction, she's no stranger to the world of publishing. Her father is a well-known author and writing coach, who has published several school texts under the name V Ramsamooj Gosine. He has also published two novels.Together with her parents, husband and brother, Gosine founded JAV Publishing House, which produces schoolbooks for SEA on writing skills, comprehension, and Language Arts. All of these are currently on the school booklists here and in Jamaica.
A former Naps student, she holds a degree from the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, in the unlikely combination of Chemistry and Management, and is working on her MBA from Herriott-Watt. She is also the Managing Editor of popular magazine, Trinidad Weddings, and writes for the Kid's Page on The Northerly.
Gosine doesn't confine her desire to help children to the sphere of reading and writing. She's also a local ambassador for the Growing Leaders Foundation, an international foundation dedicated to mentoring and teaching leadership skills to children between the ages of eight and12. The group goes into schools to make presentations and work one on one with the children in developing their self-confidence and other relationship skills.
With whatever spare time she has, she volunteers with The Jericho Project, an advocacy group for children, particularly those in orphanages and children's Homes. Jericho is exploring the idea of getting these young children to write about their life experiences, partly as a form of catharsis, and partly to demonstrate how universal children's hopes, feelings and wishes can be. With luck, these essays will eventually make it into book form, so the young authors can be proud of themselves and what they have written.
The Magic Cave is poised to be popular for Christmas, as people search for books for young children. It comes in at about nine chapters, just right for a young reader to enjoy on his own or for Mom or Dad to read at bedtime. According to its author, it not only promises to offer them a fantastical escape from reality, but will also distract them from the ever-present video games, gadgets and tech toys which make lots of noise but offer very little in the way of personal development.
At the moment, The Magic Cave is available at The Fire is Lit in Palmiste, Mohammed's Bookshop in Princes Town and Rainy Days in Ellerslie Plaza. Although the cost of printing in T&T is pretty steep, Gosine is determined to keep the price of her novel at an affordable $45, which means that book lovers can pass that love on to the next generation without feeling a pinch in their pockets. WomanWise readers with children on their gift list this year can get in touch with her on Facebook or email her at javpublishing@gmail.com.
