Years ago, at the first meeting of Inklinks–a writers’ group of which I was once a member–a friend told us about a book she’d read–a collection of short stories written by well-known authors. They’d all been invited to write on the subject of an empty box. It sounded like an intriguing idea for us to adopt, and so we borrowed that title to use as our own personal writing prompt in preparation for the second of our bi-weekly meetings. It may have seemed like “homework” so some, but we all felt accountable to one another for creating something entirely new.

While lying awake that night, my thoughts ricocheted from one idea to another: The “empty box” became an “empty shoe box” in my mind’s eye, which made me wonder what kind of shoes might have been stored in it. My imagination quickly went to work, an hour later, I knew I had to get out of bed and jot down a few notes before I could get any rest, and so I did. The next day my original fairy tale–Prince Nicolai and the Empty Box—practically wrote itself. Years later, it was long listed by two national “Writing for Children and Young Adults” competitions for unpublished manuscripts, the first administered by The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC), and the second by the Canadian Association of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers (CANSCAIP.)

Prince Nicolai and the Empty Box is available for order online from a number of booksellers worldwide. My American friends may find it at Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.com and at Amazon.com. Locally, the paperback is available at Woozles Children’s Bookstore. All three formats (the e-book, paperback, and hardback) may be ordered from Canadian-owned and privately operated Indigo.ca. I’m hoping you and your older kids will enjoy reading this story and will leave a review on Goodreads.com, on book discussion blogs, or reviewing sites. Thanks for visiting!

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