By Andria Barrios
A local dad is proud of his son. What dad isn’t? But this one decided to do something about it. In September 2012, John Thayer’s first book, entitled Jared’s Island which was inspired by his son Jared, was published after years of drafts and editing. He presented this book to Jared on his tenth birthday. But he didn’t stop there.
Since then, he’s published two additional books bearing Jared’s name, The Jared Lagdon Files; Dr. Rayther’s Game in 2013 and The Jared Lagdon Files; Providence in 2014.
“When Jared was young, every time he wanted a bedtime story, I’d ask him what he wanted. He would always answer that he wanted it to be about him in a various adventure. These wonderful times gave me the idea to write a story just for him,” Thayer said of his first book, whose cover shows a picture of Jared.
The next two books, The Jared Lagdon series, concerns another Jared who attempts to save the world by conquering an evil doctor set out to unleash a deadly weapon. Though his stories are fictional, Thayer incorporates real world events and seeks to ground them in reality.
“In Jared’s Island, I weaved in a connection to Cuba when the U.S. saw it as a threat. In both of The Jared Lagdon File books, I brought in a strong connection with Nicola Tesla, an inventor during the days of Edison, who is only now gaining notoriety,” he explained.
Though these books are written from a child’s perspective, adults may enjoy them as well. These stories are packed with adventure, engaging characters and imaginative plots. Thayer is currently working on another story from a young boy’s perspective and intends to write the last in The Jared Lagdon series soon as well.
This father still beams with pride for his now 13-year-old son who currently runs a charity to raise food drives called Project Sunshine.
“I wanted to give him a story that he would always have; one that would hopefully remind him in future years how much his dad loved him,” Thayer said.
All three books are available in both eBook and paperback on Amazon. Visit www.facebook.com/jaredsisland/ or johnthayer11.wix.com/johnthayer.
