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Hi LSO

I actually wrote a blog post about this very topic not so very long ago because, as a writer of dark fiction, I often field questions like yours. In fact, I made the blog post into an item here on WdC for this very reason. For my thoughts on the matter, I encourage you to read it:

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In short, yes, I write dark fiction for kids. Actually, my upcoming release, The Boatman, has been classed as "horror" for children. This is explained better in the article I connected above, but in short, I think it's good for kids to be scared within the safety of a book. Neil Gaiman explained scaring kids through literature as being almost like an inoculation to fear in real life. He claims (and I agree) that if a child watches a character in a story get into trouble, then find the strength to help themselves (I don't mean physical strength here, but mental and emotional) that when they are faced with scary situations in reality---something that is bound to happen at some point in their life---they may just find the courage to overcome it.

Darkness is children's literature is not about scaring kids, at least not completely. It's about giving them the power to navigate scary things in life.





Come check out my writing website here: http://katmhawthorne.com, or my editing website here: http://www.movetothewrite.com