The Rishi Trilogy follows a curious boy from New Zealand who embarks on a magical adventure when he meets a warmhearted gorilla ruler of Gorillia. Where did the idea behind this tale come from?

The characters in the Trilogy are members of my own family. My oldest son is Dr.  Owen and his wife is Chai. They really live in New Zealand with Chai’s parents, both from Indian backgrounds. Recently, Owen and Chai had their first child, Rishi, my eighth grandchild and the writing of “The Rishi Series” was inspired by Chai’s pregnancy and subsequent birth of a beautiful baby boy. They live far away. This collection of books is perhaps the most meaningful gift I could give them, derived from the imaginary bed-time stories I told Owen and his siblings when they were still children.

What inspired King Montamahilla’s character, and how did he develop?

King Montamahilla’s story actually began many years before I ever thought about writing children’s books.

When my own children were young, bedtime stories became one of our nightly rituals. They didn’t want stories from books—they wanted stories I made up on the spot. Out of those evenings came King Montamahilla, a wise, kind-hearted gorilla king who always seemed to find himself helping one of the animals in his kingdom.

One night it might be Monty and the Ants. Another night it could be Monty Saves the Elephants. On another evening he might be preventing a flood, putting out a jungle fire, or protecting a family from a dangerous snake. Each story lasted only ten or fifteen minutes—just long enough for my children to drift off to sleep. The next night, we would begin an entirely new adventure. The stories were never written down and were rarely connected to one another. They simply disappeared into the night, along with the children as they fell asleep.

The one constant was Monty himself. He was thoughtful, caring, wise, and quietly powerful. He never sought glory; he simply saw a problem and tried to help.

Years later, when I began writing The Rishi Trilogy, I realized that King Montamahilla had been waiting patiently all those years. He wasn’t a new character at all. He was an old friend who was finally ready to step out of our family’s bedtime stories and into books that other families could share together.

One of the most meaningful moments involves a wish connected to Kiri’s absent father. How important was it to include emotional challenges alongside the magical adventures?

Very important.

Children understand much more than adults sometimes give them credit for. Many experience loss, family separation, disappointment, or uncertainty in their own lives. While I wanted The Rishi Trilogy to be filled with wonder and humour, I also wanted the stories to reflect the emotional realities that many children face.

The Staff and the King are metaphors, symbolic of the wise counsel and assistance children require as they face the difficulties and life provides. But at some point, children need to take the Staff themselves in their own hands and “Use it wisely,” as Montamahilla advises.

One of the important lessons of the magical staff is that it cannot solve every problem. It can create moments of surprise and joy, but it cannot replace love, healing, or the difficult journeys people sometimes have to make.

Kiri’s wish reminds readers that hope often arrives in unexpected ways, and that kindness, friendship, and family are sometimes the greatest gifts of all.

If children could take away one lesson from Rishi and Kiri’s adventures, what would you hope it would be?

I hope they would discover that curiosity is something to celebrate.

Rishi and Kiri ask questions. They experiment. They make mistakes. They learn from those mistakes and keep going. I believe that is one of the greatest gifts we can give children—to let them know it is all right to wonder, to imagine, and to keep learning.

If readers close the book with a smile, a new question in their minds, and a desire to share the story with someone they love, then I feel I have succeeded.

Ultimately, I hope the books remind children that friendship, family, kindness, and curiosity are adventures worth pursuing every day.

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