1. Can you give us a bit of background about the Mindfulness series? What inspired you to write about kids meditation, was it planned to be a series? Do you plan to write more? I grew up in a house with my mum being a yoga teacher and my dad exploring different philosophies and meditation such as transcendental meditation, so it has been part of my life since childhood. My dad had a book I really liked called Zen Flesh, Zen Bones with 101 Zen Stories. I always like the stories and some of them made me laugh. After having children of our own later on in life, I initially found being a dad quite stressful. This led me to seek out support tools such as meditation again, which I found to be really beneficial, hence it renewed by focus on meditation. I went on a zen meditation retreat at Plum Village and I know it sounds corny, but in fact the books came to me during a meditation there! I actually wrote the three stories in a flash and related them to zen stories I already knew of, but tried to make them relatable to children.  I wanted to find a way to share meditation with my children, so The Dog Who Chased His Tail included a breathing song as a simple introduction to guided meditation. Once The Dog Who Chased His Tail was published, I sold quite a few copies at the Lamma Fun Day. Many of the customers were teachers from HK schools and said they would use it in their classes. Furthermore, I got invites to do author visits at their school, which was great fun! All the kids seemed to enjoy the story and the meditation song and I’m pretty sure that teachers and parents get a lot out of it too. I certainly find it relaxing to do the breathing song with my kids at night time to calm down for sleep.  During this time doing author visits to schools, I realised the practical nature of the meditation song was a useful medium to learn. As a result, the third book in the series - The Wild Horse - also includes practical mindfulness exercises that children can try as the story unfolds.   The mindfulness exercises only need simple items, such as a bottle of water and a pen and paper, meaning anyone can have access to them. The exercises include mindful awareness, mindful walking and mindful eating within the story.  2. How did your collaboration with artist/illustrator Yae Yueng start? Can we find her art on some other projects? My wife and son came home from Lamma Fun Day, and my son had a sketched portrait done in a manga style; manga is a Japanese-style of illustration. The sketch immediately leapt out at me as the perfect style for my book idea and I thought it would fit in with my zen stories.  I didn’t go to that Lamma Fun Day myself, so I posted the sketch on Facebook and asked if anyone knew the artist. I got one reply with the name Yae Yeung - aka Angela - and got her telephone number. We organised a meeting and I talked her through my book idea. I think she was a little reluctant, as she had never illustrated a book prior to that time. But she finally agreed and we started to work on the first book. The collaboration went really well and we have continued to collaborate on books two and three.  You can find Yae at:  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006512988424 3. With the classes being shut, and working from home becoming the norm because of COVID-19, mindfulness is becoming more essential than ever. How do you start being mindful? Honestly, I’m still learning. I am interested in meditation and mindfulness but I’m no guru that’s for sure!  My meditation practice improved when I decided to start with at least one minute meditation everyday. It got me into the routine of doing it daily, even if just for one minute. Once you get into the habit, you can go on for longer and it builds up.  I also got into the habit of mindful walking on the way to the ferry. With the narrow streets on Lamma, sometimes with many visitors walking side by side, it is easy to get frustrated. I found walking meditation can help calm me a little. But it’s so easy to forget with all the distractions!  Now I’ve written The Wild Horse, my kids always remind me to eat more mindfully; I always eat too fast and now my boys tell me I should practice what’s in my book! They are right, so I’ll keep practicing! 4. Has fatherhood changed how you deal with life? Did it make you more patient? Focused? What advice can you give to new fathers? Yes, fatherhood has completely changed me, and so many areas in my life to be honest. I don’t think fatherhood has made me more patient but it has forced me to try and practice meditation and mindfulness more often, which has definitely helped me.  Advice to new fathers! Hmmm…Now my kids are already ten and eight, I’d just say make the most of it when they are young. It’s a cliche of course but they really do grow up so fast, and being in the moment, of course, does help. I’m bad at being on my phone too much but when I take my kids out I leave my phone at home. 5. Where could we buy the books?  The book series is available at all Bookazines, but if you’re a Lammaite, of course you should be connecting via The Island Market!