Hello my fellow readers. Today I welcome to my blog a guest poster, Sybrina Durant. She is here to talk about her book and her insight into writing it. Welcome, Sybrina, take it away.
~Michelle, Reading Authors Network
Where the Muse Leads, I Must Follow
By Sybrina Durant
Way back in the 1980’s my muse inserted an idea into my head to write a novel about a tribe of
12 metal horn unicorns with magical powers. Their powers were based on the properties of their
particular metal and how the metals were used in our everyday modern lives. I spent about 25
years world-building and refining the personalities and stories of each individual unicorn. That
charming book is still out there to be enjoyed by fantasy lovers.
Fast forward to 2022 and I decided I wanted to write an alphabet book. I don’t know why that
crazy muse of mine led me there but it just wouldn’t let go of the idea that, even though there
were already thousands of alphabet books in the world, it was my duty to introduce another one.
I decided a unicorn alphabet book would be cute and learned there were already over 50 of
those. Hmmm…more bad news for my book. How in the world could I make mine different?
Then the strangest thought struck. I could make it about unicorns and the periodic table. I
already had 12 metal horn unicorns representing different elements from the periodic table. All I
needed were 14 more to have a book representing all 26 letters of the alphabet. Yay!
Except I soon hit another roadblock. Turns out, not all letters of the alphabet are represented in
the periodic table. Who knew? Well, a lot of scientifically inclined individuals might know, but I
didn’t. And I was inclined to stop right there but my muse kept harassing me to figure something
out. What to do? I started researching what certain elements were called in other languages and
found enough that started with the missing alphabet letters that allowed me to finish the book.
Success! Magical Elements of the Periodic Table Presented by The Metal Horn Unicorns was
born.
That soon made me realize that I couldn’t quit there. After all, that book only represented 26
letters of the alphabet and there are 118 elements in the periodic table. A monumental task
stood in front of me. What in the world was that extremely pushy muse thinking? I guess she
thought that I was up for the task.
I went on to write another “alphabet” book about 26 more elements of the periodic table which
was presented by Elemental Dragons. Then, came this book, Magical Elements of the Periodic
Table Presented By The Alchemical Wizards – Book 1 in which I completely abandoned the
alphabet theme. And in case you’re wondering, there will be a book 2 featuring wizards and
their elements. It will be published later this year. Shortly after that, I’ll be publishing the last
book in the series which will finish out the periodic table and will be presented by Actinide
Knights and Radioactive Goblins.
To make it even more fun filled, I’ve created activity pages, trading cards, an elemental periodic
table poster and even an elemental bingo game featuring all of these characters and the
elements they represent. Visit my website (https://www.magicalptelements.com) to browse all
of those things and more, plus while you’re there, click the links at the top of the page to access
my research pages so you can easily check my facts and learn more on your own about each
element.
You never know where your muse will lead you but it is usually to something wonderful. When I
created my magical metal horn unicorn tribe 40 years ago, I had no idea I would one day create
illustrated periodic table books meant to inspire kids to want to learn more about the world of
science. Researching these elements has certainly inspired me to keep learning. I truly hope it has that
same positive effect on all who read them.
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