Gibsons author Simon Cameron says it could take about a decade for him to complete his 12-novel series about adventurer Noah King, but he’ll still be a young man when he’s done – as he’s just 14 years old.
“The character Noah King lives in Vancouver. He doesn’t have a lot of friends, but he’s always loved learning about magic. It’s a fantasy series,” Simon explained to the audience at the March 23 Gibsons launch party for the second book, Magical Noah King and the Treasure Hunt.
The young writer has already completed the third book in the series and has started on the fourth. He believes he’s getting a handle on the authoring process, which he’s been at since he was 10.
“When I start a book, I know what it’s going to be about,” said Simon. “I figure out pretty much where things are going to end up but sometimes, I surprise myself.”
What is no surprise is that this young man would turn to writing as a form of expression. He seems born to it: Simon’s father, Mark Cameron, has written two novels since 2012, and mother Sheila Cameron is a writer, editor and author of a non-fiction book.
“He just came home from music camp [in 2015] and said, ‘Mom, I want to write a book, a 12-book series,’” Sheila told Coast Reporter at the launch. “He was ten years old and I didn’t think it would go very far, but he persisted and just kept going. I was so shocked that the first book was as lengthy as it was.”
The paperback version of the first novel, Magical Noah King and the Desert Adventure, runs to 233 pages. The second is 274 pages long.
“He gets up at 7 o’clock five days a week and most of those days he does some writing,” Mark Cameron said. “He just gets up and gets at it.
“The first book is very much stream-of-consciousness, but it’s fascinating, very Alice in Wonderland-esque,” Mark added. “When I read, it I thought, ‘Oh wow, I just got a whole glimpse inside the brain of my son.’ Each book is written when he’s a bit older, so is different.”
The second book takes protagonist Noah King from Earth back to planet Zarf, where he travelled to in the first book and where he discovered he had a knack for magic potions. This time, Noah must battle more villains and, along with sidekicks Ron Snow and Shannon Grindorian, has to complete a treasure hunt by solving riddles and finding hidden rooms, all while the very fate of planet Zarf is in his hands.
Simon said the book is aimed at readers of all ages, “from the time you learn to read until the time you die.” It certainly might appeal to youthful fans of magical realism.
Published by father Mark Cameron’s Catch Our Drift Productions, both Magical Noah King and the Treasure Hunt and the first book in the series are available in paperback through Amazon.ca.
