By Pam Creech
Contributing Writer
Wylde Scott has entertained audiences with his tales since childhood. However, he didn’t consider becoming a writer until adulthood, after friends encouraged him.
“I’ve been a storyteller my entire life,” Scott said. “Friends have told me, ‘Why don’t you put your stories into books?’”
Scott heeded his friends’ advice and wrote his first children’s book, “The Possible Police,” which will be released by Scott’s publishing imprint, Wylde Press, Oct. 15. He will perform a costumed reading of his book at the Mayfaire Barnes & Noble Saturday, Oct. 4 at 4 p.m.
“‘The Possible Police’ is about believing in your dreams, no matter what anybody tells you,” Scott said. “Children really need to live inside of their imagination for as long as possible. Imagination is responsible for so many wonderful things.”
The story begins with a small child, also named Wylde Scott, who uses his imagination to tickle lions, wrestle bears and ride a seahorse through Atlantis.
The boy has nemeses. The Possible Police — Solomon P. Doubtful, Rutherford H. Fearful and William Mackery Naysayer — try to stop him from fulfilling his dreams.
“The Possible Police are these absolutely horrible individuals,” Scott said. “They want their fears to be your fears; they want your doubts to be your doubts.”
Scott hopes that children will take his message, the message to dream without boundaries, and apply it to their own lives.
“They’re going to encounter people like the Possible Police, naysayers, who will tell them they can’t. This has been my experience time and time again,” he said. “True dreamers, people who dream big, are the ones who have the capacity to rise above the Possible Police.”
Hannah Shuping, the book’s illustrator, also believes in dreaming big. Despite being diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, Shuping pursued a college degree and graduated from East Carolina University in 2013 as a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in illustration.
While Shuping has been drawing since age 3, she still struggles with verbal communication. “There wasn’t a lot of talking with Hannah,” Scott said. “She communicates through her work — drawing.”
Shuping’s colorful drawings reflect the fantastical nature of the story.
“Imagination is a muscle; the less you use it, the less you’ll have the ability to imagine,” Scott said.
Although “The Possible Police” is classified as children’s literature, Scott aspires to reach an older audience as well.
“I’m hoping that it will carry far beyond the ages of 6, 7 and 8,” he said.
Scott will release two more books, “Seaside” and “The Rabbit with No Ears,” in 2015.
For more information on Scott and his work, visit
www.wyldescott.com
