PSES third grader Kiera Clarke pens her first book 'Seanna and the Magic Moon'

It is a tale set in a world where dreams take flight and imagination reigns supreme. A place where a one-eyed pirate shark, leaping monkeys, sand vultures, and a fire-breathing dragon battle with an adventuresome heroine and her animal friends to rescue a prince from a “frightfully scary” hidden island.

Philip Simmons Elementary School third grader Kiera Clarke knows the swashbuckling story well. She wrote it, with help from her father, Holt Clarke. And she’s only eight years old. The idea for the book, entitled Seanna and the Magic Moon, was planted several years ago, when Kiera was chatting with her Dad about creating a story about a unicorn in the woods. Holt, who is an author himself and has published a number of children’s books, was eager to guide her through the writing process.

“She said I want to do some type of fairytale theme,” he recalled. “And we sort of just storyboarded and talked it out. She definitely wanted a unicorn!”

So the pair crafted out a basic story line for the book, including the development of two very special characters, Quilla and Honorable, inspired by the mascots at two local schools – the osprey at Daniel Island School and the iron horse at Philip Simmons Elementary School. In the story, the horse is magically transformed into a unicorn.

“Each chapter we just sort of tapped our imaginations and we would go back and forth and that’s how the story came about,” said Holt.

Another critical element for Kiera was to have the main character, Seanna, save the day – instead of the typical fairytale in which the boy is the hero.

“It doesn’t always have to be the boy that saves the girl!” said Kiera.

While Kiera admits the process wasn’t easy, she is thrilled with the finished product. When the books arrived recently from the printer, the family celebrated by capturing the momentous moment on video.

“It was exciting!” exclaimed Holt.

“I was really excited that I was actually on a book!” added Kiera, who is pictured on the back cover with a passage describing her love of playing ‘Minecraft’ and ‘Star Wars Battlefront.’

The father and daughter duo are already working on a sequel to Seanna’s story.

“I’ve never been more proud!” said Holt. “…It was very much a collaborative process.”

The pair also recently completed another book project, entitled Boys Are Sooo Annoying. As the sister of a younger brother with many friends, Kiera found plenty of inspiring material.

“I was in a pool and we were playing a game and the boys were playing all wrong!” she recalled. “And I kept on saying boys are so annoying!”

“We went with it,” added Holt. “We sat down with a very simple premise. We would put down 50 reasons why you think boys are annoying and then offer a solution. It’s short and sweet.”

In the book, Kiera offers her readers Reason #17 – “Boys whine a lot.” Her solution? Accept that you’re not always going to get your way. And Reason #43 – “Boys think they’re so smart.” But, Kiera writes, “Girls usually have the right answer.”

Holt also hopes to help his other children enter the literary realm. Kiera’s sister, Alexis, is interested in writing her own tale. And Holt’s son, Luke, has an idea of his own in response to Kiera’s book about boys. He plans to title the story Girls Are Such Drama Queens! All in all, Holt is thrilled at their interest in writing and the creativity it is sure to spark in each of them.

“Kids just have an incredible amount of creative potential,” he said. “If we can just teach them to tap into that imagination and run with it!...Anything is possible if you just seize on your dreams.”

For more information, visit www.HoltClarke.com or www.KieraClarke.com.