A magical journey

Former Bahrain resident Archana Narayanan has released her new fantasy fiction chapter book The Treasure Seekers: An Otherworldly Quest.

The story for children aged eight to 12 is illustrated by children’s literature artist Bhavana D and tackles the adventure of ten-year-old Keshav, who stumbles upon something he cannot explain; is it just a forest, or is it a gateway to another world?

This puts the little kid on a quest that began centuries ago: to bring back a sacred idol once given to a maharaja for safekeeping.

“The book is mostly about friendship and adventure,” the 37-year-old told GulfWeekly.

“There’s also some focus on change and adaptability. The lead character Keshav moves from the city to a small town.

“He had to leave his friends, the vibrancy and the comforts of city life. The story takes him through a magical journey that helps him see the town in a new light,” she added.

The IIT Madras graduate, who laid the foundation of her career in the kingdom, made the shift to writing after quitting her job, which did not excite her as much.

The former Asian School pupil began by creating a travel blog, which was her first foray into writing. Later, she started self-publishing, eventually working with independent publishers.

The creative talent stated that she was inspired to pursue children’s literature when she was reading picture books to her son when he was about a month old.

“I used to read to him every day. That’s when the first thought of writing a book came to me. I wrote several picture books and sent out manuscripts to publishers. I experimented with plenty of career options after I quit my job, and nothing gave me as much joy as writing stories for children,” she noted.

Archana is currently a full time writer living in Kerala, India with her family.

The book is available on Amazon.