Author Graeme Moore tells us about the long evolution and eventual publication of his beautifully illustrated story book, Toothens’ Tale . . .
Hi, my name is Graeme Moore, I’m a successful entrepreneur in children’s entertainment services with a passion for writing since a young age. The publication of Toothens’ Tale has been 8 years in the making, and, unbelievably delighted that it’s now widely available. The Toothens’ journey started during a time of uncertainty in my life. After working for 16 years in the public telecoms industry, I found myself unemployed for the first time in over 20 years. I didn’t want to return to that industry and always had a desire to be self-employed. That desire led me back to writing, which I hadn’t done in years.
My wife Donna, has always been extremely creative in her ideas so we sat down one winter evening to brainstorm some ideas. I’ve worked with children since a young age as well, and knew straight away I wanted to create a Children’s book. I grew up reading The Lord of the Rings, The Neverending Story, and other fantasy novels and felt I could do the same or at least give it a shot. I also felt that girls as heroes in pre-teens’ adventures were scarce in the reading space. I spent weeks researching ideas, and then one day Donna mentioned how her niece just lost her Toothens. A light bulb went off in both of us, and nearly with the same breath, we both said ‘Toothens Tale’, not knowing what it actually meant story-wise yet. The word Toothens is a playful Irish word that parents and grandparents used to say to kids when they lost their first tooth. That ultimately led us to Tooth Fairies, especially since it hadn’t really been done before. We thought that the combination of the Tooth Fairy lore, the word Toothens, and using a female lead character was something truly special, and so I set out to write the first draft.
Myths and Legends
The first draft was so messy and bad, but it gave me the cornerstone to really get to work. Over the next few months, I researched other fantasy myths, especially other countries. I wanted to blend real myths and legends into Toothens to bring new characters to life. I’ve always had an interest in Greek and Roman mythology, but that had been done so many times before. I wanted to explore something slightly different. Such as Tannfe, which is an Old Norse term that means to leave a gift as an award for losing your first tooth. Or Immogi, which is a Korean myth about a young serpent-like dragon who watches over nature and even has a link to transformation with a human girl. There’s so much more as well in the novel. I truly think that these characters really encapsulate the wonder of the world of Tandoria
Next was Toothens herself, we wanted someone who was fragile, different, uncertain and unimportant in her own eyes. We want to build a character that any kid could relate to. One that they would go on a journey with while reading Toothens, like Bastian in The Neverending Story. The theme would then become one of overcoming your fears, trust, friendship, and that your differences aren’t your weaknesses, they can be your strength.
We spent 6 months building out the world of Toothens, drawing out initial character designs, what the world could look like, etc. However, life then took over. Looking for a new start in the business world alongside writing Toothens led us down a path we didn’t expect, and over the next couple of years, Toothens had to be put on the side, coming back every now and again with new ideas, etc. Ultimately, this led to the creation of Next Level Gaming, 2 months before the pandemic, and our move from Dublin to Wexford. With Next Level Gaming, we created a number of Gaming Vans, 4 in total, followed by creating Ireland’s first Glam Vans (4 in total). In its own right, this reinforced the idea of Toothens as the age group for our parties was 6-12, which fit perfectly into the age group of Toothens’ Tale. Always having Toothens’ on the mind, we asked the kids at the party what they would think of the idea, would they read it, did they like the characters etc, and this feedback was intangible. Over 5000 parties, 50-70,000 kids later, we found ourselves in a position to return to Toothens and the land of Tandoria.
Toothens: A Labour of Love
With a newfound dedication, I set out to finish Toothens’ Tale once and for all. I spent months going back and forth, reading aloud to myself and anyone else that would listen, editing day and night, fine-tuning the characters and the world. The day was closing in, and I then looked into publishing. I’ve always been one who likes to do everything myself or learn how to do things. I looked at publishing on KDP Amazon, I looked into local bookstores, online retail stores, and ultimately decided to try it all and self-publish. I thought with my marketing knowledge etc, I could give it a proper go and still do. After a lot of tweaks, I then published on KDP, and the novel went live. I started to get back incredible feedback, which, honestly I was quite surprised at as a first-time author. With Christmas around the corner, I then decided to take it one step further and went to Ingrams Publishing as I believed they could get the novel into international bookstores, which they are currently finalising at the moment. We have now launched a Kindle Version, Paperback Version, Hardcover Version, and are now looking at building an Audio Book. We have been so thankful as well that our local Easons (Wexford Town, Enniscorthy and Gorey) and Bookstation in Wexford have also agreed to stock Toothens,
To say Toothens has been a labour of love would be an understatement; it has been everything to be able to get this published, from initial idea to where we are now. It’s a journey, I would take over and over and over again and hope to again in the near future
(c) Graeme Moore
About Toothens’ Tale:
Toothens’ Tale is a beautifully written children’s fantasy novel about a courageous wingless fairy, her loyal friends Raton and Pip, and a land called Tandoria on the brink of losing its light.
As darkness spreads and Diablos rises, Toothens discovers she might be the one destined to restore balance to the Crystal of Light. Along the way she must trust her friends, face frightening trials, and learn that true strength often comes from the softest hearts.
Order your copy of Toothens’ Tale online here.
For a full journey into Toothens’ World, please visit www.toothenstale.com.
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