Inspiration for Point Cook author Susan Gillham’s first book, Jake and the Crystalline Grid, came to her in a meditation.
“As I tried to write the book, it just came to me as I channelled it,” she said.
“I didn’t know what I was going to write from one moment to the next.”
In the book, 11-year-old Jake thinks he knows the difference between a dream and real life – until the night a strange man claiming to be his guide and teacher visits him in his sleep.
As Merlin leads Jake to a room filled with crystals and explains the boy’s role in life, a dark entity is already stirring.
The book follows Jake on a journey from modern-day Melbourne to fifth century Britain, where he learns he is a “split soul crystal” of King Arthur.
Jake joins the king and Merlin in a battle against the Lord of Eternal Darkness.
“The book is essentially about good and evil – about a boy who represents the potential of humanity,” Gillham said.
“You will find Merlin talks about humanity in the book and … how we, as a society, are not looking after Mother Earth.
“It’s also a metaphor for how, as humans, we are so much more than we even know. What Jake becomes is the potential we have in all of us.”
Jake and the Crystalline Grid is available online.
