DarkTime Tales for Military Kids
Darktime Tales, a leading publisher of Children’s Books, is teaming with Soldiers’ Angels to bring its children’s stories to the families of American servicemen and women stationed around the World. “We know how hard it can be for families, especially children during the holidays, to adjust to who are living the military lifestyle,” said Richard Horwitz, President, Darktime Tales Publishing, Inc. “Stories seem to bring families together. The effect is long-lasting as they can be told and then talked about with the family who is stateside. Teaming up with Soldiers' Angels allows us to bring the children of active service members and veterans our stories and audio books.”
Darktime Tales is donating $20 off coupons to 5,000 Soldiers' Angels families. The stories are full of magic, monsters and adventure, and are appropriate for children of all backgrounds, ages 8 and up. No additional purchase is required to use these coupons.
“We are honored to help facilitate this generous donation from DarkTime Tales,” says Patti Patton-Bader, founder of Soldiers’ Angels and a military child herself. “Children sacrifice right along with their military parents and this is such a beautiful way to not only recognize that sacrifice, but reinforce the bonds between deployed parent and stateside child
What makes Darktime Tales so different from other children’s stories is that the main character of the series, the Salesman, is never given a name, nor is he described physically. In fact, none of the characters in the stories are given names. The Salesman could be any shape or size (tall, short, etc.) or of any background...whatever the child imagines! This distinctive style of writing allows children to imagine the characters as anyone they want -- family members, people in their own communities, or even classmates. Swift developed this style to give children a voice as he conveys that stories are for sharing.
“I came up with this concept so kids would see who they wanted in the characters, not who I wanted,” said Author, Scott Swift. “If I had named a character, say, ‘Brittney’, you would immediately get a picture in your head of who I was talking about. Even if I went on to describe how she looked, you would still have that initial picture in the back of your mind. This way kids get to imagine the characters as anyone they want. Uncle Paul, cousin Malik, or grandpa Chan - the Salesman is whoever the child wants him to be.”
Based on stories the author made up out of thin air each night at bedtime for his own children, the Traveling Salesman is a mystical, magical wizard of sorts who uses his wits and wizardry to escape tight spots and help those in need. Traveling from town to town, he sells everyday items enchanted with magical properties. But beware! If the items are misused, the consequences can be dire!
Each tale is a standalone story in its own right, but taken together they weave a rich and vibrant world inhabited by werewolves, witches, and magical creatures of every kind!
There are currently five audio books and fifteen stories in The Traveling Salesman series. Stories are available individually in PDF format and MP3 audio from www.darktimetales.com. Several stories are also available on the Kindle, iPad and Nook eBook readers. A paperback containing eight stories (The Traveling Salesman’s Darktime Tales Anthology) is also available from Amazon.com.
If you are a service member who would like to receive $20 worth of DarkTime Tales, or you would like to give them as a gift to military families, you can purchase them through www.darktimetales.com and use the coupon code ANGEL20 at checkout.
