DALIA SABLE

FOR many years, ginger-haired farm boy Alex McKenzie and his escapades lived exclusively in the stories a father told his three young children. As the kids grew, so too did Alex’s adventures and the friends who accompanied him on these journeys.

While story-telling dad Larry Rosenzweig always had the intention of “eventually” writing the stories down, it was not until he became unwell that the day came.

“About 18 months ago, I fell gravely ill. My digestive system stopped working and I was restricted to eating nothing other than bland, liquidised baby food,” Rosenzweig told The AJN.

As his weight dropped by more than 25 kilograms, Rosenzweig, psychologist-cum-recruiter, began suffering from severe headaches and constant muscle pain.

“My condition left me feeling angry, grumpy, and terrified for my future. I could not believe that this was happening to me -– the previously fit, healthy, bulletproof, me,” he said.

While his health has now improved, the experience led to a change in mindset and it led to Alex McKenzie embarking on his biggest adventure yet.

“The word ‘eventually’ was banned from my vocabulary. It was time to start pursuing my dream of being an author of children’s books immediately,” Rosenzweig said.

And so, there and then, Alex McKenzie was plucked from Rosenzweig’s imagination and published into the series, The Galactic Adventures of Alex McKenzie.

“Writing the first few books in the series has been great fun and extremely exciting … the feedback has been overwhelming,” he said, adding that the stories will appeal to readers seeking “action-packed, humorous, fantasy fiction … with quirky characters”.

Published by Capital Books, Journey to the Land of the Lonely, is currently on sale. Rosenzweig confirmed, to the delight of many young readers, that book two, Journey to Flush Fleas and Beyond, is set to be released later this month and book three early next year.

While the books are targeted at children aged 9 to 15 who are able to read chapter books to themselves, Rosenzweig said they are also appropriate for younger children to whom they can be read.

For more information, www.larryrosenzweig.com.au.