‘Tails’ is a classic ‘hero’s journey’ story, a coming of age adventure for Kywah, a young silvertail on the cusp of maturity, whose hopes for taking his place among his pack’s adult community have seemingly been dashed by the loss of his kind’s most prized asset: his tail. A silvertail’s tail is its connection to its environment and its fellow pack members. Sadly, the magic it contains is not only prized by the creatures but by human magicians, whose power is waning but whose ambition is not.
When fate intervenes and Kywah sets out on a mission to find the deep magic that will protect his pack from hunters eager to earn the wizard’s bounty he finds help and friendship in the most unlikely places, and danger around every corner.
This is a rich and multi-layered story that will appeal to a wide age-range.  Wendy Scott is an exciting author who has a real gift for storytelling and world building and Kywah is a delightful protagonist who will have readers rooting for his success and redemption every step of his arduous journey. The pastel hued world the silvertails inhabit is one that readers will look forward to revisiting in (hopefully) many books to follow.​

​​Make an author smile - post a review! Thanks x

Kia ora,
You can call me, TC. My parents might as well have plugged a neon pulsing bull’s eye on my back “direct all lame name jokes here.” Yes, my given names are that bad. Even my new best friend Jett hasn’t managed to excavate this privileged information. So unfair; Jett’s parents named her after a rock guitar goddess (so much cooler).
My personal stats:
Age: 13 years old (going on 3000 mummy years according to my Uncle Max; he’s an archaeologist like my parents).
Eyes: Blue (or bloodshot from too much reading if you listen to Aunt Letty; she’s Max’s twin and an eco-journalist).
Height: still growing (note no Supermodel needs to feel threatened by my growth spurts).
Hair: blonde, braided (with one purple braid). Well, purple is my favourite colour.
Accessories: ear-buds and gloves (I’ll explain later why I wear gloves most of the time).
I live with Aunt Letty in Hokitika (it’s a Cool Little Town on the West Coast of the South Island of NZ). 
Three years ago my parents disappeared while on an archaeological dig. It’s been tough, and I miss them every day, but I haven’t given up hope one day I’ll find out what happened to them.
Letty isn’t a typical “old” auntie (no tightly permed hair, support stockings, or denture breath) she’s a 26 year old flame-haired, vegetarian dynamo. Hokitika town have nicknamed her as the Eco-warrior.
Her twin, Max, lives in Australia, and I have a full on adventure when I visit Uncle Max in Sydney. He needs to prove that the Gosford Hieroglyphs are real or he’ll lose his archaeological funding. And that’s where I come in as I have a secret supernatural gift; I have visions when I touch ancient artefacts with my hands. So that’s why I wear gloves. Yes, this does single me out as a bit of a freak at school, but I’ve learned to live with it.
I haven’t confided in anyone, including Max and Letty, about my talent, so it makes it rather tricky when I try to help Max prove his theory that Ancient Egyptians visited Australia.

Tails.
Heart-stopping, tail-dropping adventure from award-winning children’s author WJ Scott.
Sometimes loss is the only thing that saves you.
 
Last summer during the dreaded hunting season, Kywah lost his tail, his magic, and his value as a silvertail. Now the hunters have returned and he's terrified. Especially when he recognizes Samsa, the very hunter that cut off his tail and ruined his life.
 
But when the pack becomes trapped in the foothills with no escape, Kywah realises he’s their only hope. Without a tail, he’s worthless to the hunters and their wizard masters. If he can escape, he can find help for his pack. All he has to do is locate the Wise One and retrieve the Deep Magic.
 
Which would be hard enough even if he still had the magical tail sense his kind are born with. But what choice does he have? If he doesn’t take the risk, his pack will lose everything. And because Kywah knows exactly how that feels, he can’t let it happen.
 
I woke. Heart beating too fast. Darkness smothering me. The same nightmare.
I shifted and felt the familiar throb of pain along my stub, which always ached when I first awakened. For an instant I tried to fool myself that it had only been a dream, but when I was brave enough to peek, I saw the empty space where my tail should be. Almost four seasons had passed, and I was still unaccustomed to its loss.
 
‘This is an original, well-written story and deserves its gold status, congratulations.’ BooksGoSocial
 
‘Will keep young readers glued to the story till the very end.’
Readers’ Favorite 5* Review

Hokitika is a great place for an author to live with lots of arts and crafts, alongside its untamed beaches, tranquil lakes, and natural rain forests.
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​Budding authors, I've developed the Aspiring Author Series to help fire up your creative ideas.

It’s taken several years from the initial story concept for Tails to develop into a published book.
Many people have helped Tails evolve into a story I’m proud to share with the world.
First, is my son, Layk, who asked, “Mum, if you had a tail, what would it look like?”
His question inspired the Silver Wishes Series as I wanted to create a story suitable for all ages.
Early concept draft readers helped hone the storyline. Thanks, Byron & Rebecca Sollitt, Annette Markland, Jill Marshall, and Val Morgan. Rebecca also created drawings of the characters (see the tail above and the complete illustration can be viewed on my websites http://www.tails-wjscott.com/use-your-imagination.html and http://www.authorchildrens.com/childrens-books.html ).
Many thanks to Rebecca for allowing the use of her wonderful images.
Thanks to my first editor, Dorothy Scott https://www.amazon.com/Dot-Scott/e/B06Y4HCQB2/, for her keen eye and red pen, and proofreading editor, Lorna Croft http://www.elsieediting.co.nz/services.html, for her thorough analysis, resulting in a 5* Readers’ Favorite Book Review.
Special thanks to the award-winning author, editor extraordinaire, and grammar guru Belinda Mellor https://www.amazon.com/Belinda-Mellor/e/B00KE0INFU/ (who I fondly refer to as my boot camp editor). She has the ability to draw out the best possible story from my draft manuscript, and polish it to the highest standard, earning Tails a BooksGoSocial Gold Quality Mark.
The delightful illustrations are thanks to an extremely talented artist, John Helle-Nielsen https://johnhellenielsen.wordpress.com/tails-by-w-j-scott/ . John is an absolute treasure at bringing my character creations to life, alongside his lovely wife, Gitte, who’ve both actively supported this NZ author.
Thanks to Ro Cambridge for her creative flare in developing the Tails website www.tails-wjscott.com.
I’ve been blessed with support, warmth, and much laughter from fellow writers in the Nelson Romance Writers Group https://www.amazon.com/Ripples-Anthology-Nelson-Romance-Writers-ebook/dp/B01BA0EDGK/, and the Top of the South Branch of the New Zealand Society of Authors http://www.topwriters.co.nz/. Special thanks to branch editor, Chrissie Ward, and chair, Liz Mahoney.
Thanks to author and blurb doctor, Ripley Patton http://www.ripleypatton.com/, for her expert help.
Internationally, I’ve been supported by RRBC (Rave Reviews Book Club), who encourage members to become better writers https://ravereviewsbynonniejules.wordpress.com/, and RWISA (Rave Writers International Society of Authors), who acknowledge excellence in writing https://ravewriters.wordpress.com/.
Thanks to my fellow authors who sacrificed their valuable writing time to critique Tails: Sue Perkins https://www.amazon.com/Sue-Perkins/e/B0032ROIT2/ , Donna Capil https://www.amazon.com/Ripples-Anthology-Nelson-Romance-Writers-ebook/dp/B01BA0EDGK/ , Sheree Davidson https://www.amazon.com/Ripples-Anthology-Nelson-Romance-Writers-ebook/dp/B01BA0EDGK/, and Catherine Mede www.catherinemede.com .
Readers’ reviews are crucial to a book’s success as these personal recommendations are how many other readers decide to take a chance on a new author. I greatly appreciate the first beta readers, who responded to my call and proofread Tails: Hunterland Ganier, Kathy McQueeny, and Robin Campbell.
 Thanks also to the wonderful final beta readers for checking over the last version, and my formatting specialist István Szabó, Ifj  www.sapphireguardian.com/formatting.

Heartfelt thanks to my friends and family who kept asking me, “Where is Tails?”

So watch out for Heart and Paws, the second and third books in the Silver Wishes Series.​
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Best Wishes,
Wendy xxx

PS Tails' cover has been updated.
​www.tails-wjscott.com

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13 Spooky Writing Prompts to ignite your imagination.
Bats and cats, owls and howls, trick-or-treat, hosts and ghosts.
Have fun this Halloween by creating spooky stories to scare your family and friends.

​https://www.amazon.com/Halloween-Writing-Prompts-Activities-Aspiring-ebook/dp/B075FD222K/ref​


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​I'm a writer, composer, pianist and amateur actor, as well as a father of five and grandfather of twelve. Though born in Melbourne, Australia, I've lived in Dunedin, New Zealand, most of my life.

I co-wrote the script of the musical Grimhilda! with Cherianne Parks, and composed the music. The musical was produced in April-May 2012. Young audience members who attended the show asked: When is the sequel coming out?




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31 Fairy Writing Prompts to ignite your imagination.
Have fun creating fairy stories to share with your family and friends.​
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Aspiring Author Series
By
Multi-Award Winning Children’s Author WJ Scott
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‘Author WJ Scott delights in this fun-filled activity book for kids. Loaded with writing prompts to inspire readers to share their stories, this book is a great way to get children excited about storytelling.’ 
~Author Linda Rey, Confessions of a Nerdy Girl book series. https://about.me/lindacousine
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