A local father and author took a near death experience and created a legacy with the Arestana trilogy.
THAMESFORD - About a year and a half ago a local pastor, father and author became critically ill with Encephalitis.
The illness began as a pain in Shawn Robinson's eye that turned out to be a bad case of shingles. His case turned serious when he suffered a seizure. It was then that he received the diagnosis which is believed to be caused by the shingles virus that attacked his spine.
Robinson talks about how his work evolved while in the most unpredictable setting.
"As I was laying in the bed in the hospital I thought to myself, I had no idea if I was going to live or die, so I thought I would write a bed time story for my sons, because I used to tell them stories before bed all the time."
Unsure if he was going to survive and be able to read the story to his sons, Robinson says that what started out small quickly grew from a short story to the Arestana trilogy.
"I ended up obviously surviving the experience and kept writing and it ended up being a full length novel, so I shared it with my family, then shared it with others who encouraged to actually get it published."
The story is about two boys, named Liam and Ezra. The main character Liam (13), is dealt with the challenges of bullies, school and home life. The boy is suddenly sucked into a toilet which takes him to another world called Arestana, where he meets a boy named Ezra.
To learn more about Shawn Robinson and his work, click here.

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