1. First, please tell us a little about yourself.
I write under the name Trisha Fox and live in Switzerland. I am the mother of three grown children, and I love everything connected with creativity—especially writing and developing new ideas and stories. When my children were younger, I taught them to place more trust in their dreams, thoughts, and feelings.
It was important to me that they did not grow up believing they were simply powerless against life or their external circumstances. I wanted to show them that far more is often possible than we initially believe. Even wishes and dreams that seem unreachable or beyond our control can become reality. This is not only about creating a beautiful picture in your mind. The image is a tool. It helps us bring forth the positive feeling connected to the fulfilled wish.
How would it feel if the goal had already been achieved?
Would we feel joy, relief, gratitude, security, or pride? For me, this feeling is the most important part. Later, I wanted to share these ideas and experiences with other children as well. That is how my book series about Jonathan came to life.
2. How and when did your journey as an author begin?
The desire to write had been inside me for a long time. My journey as an author truly began when the character of Jonathan appeared in my mind.I wanted to make many of the ideas and methods I had taught my own children accessible to other children in a simple, loving, and understandable way.
I did not want to write stories that merely tell children, “Be brave,” “Think positively,” or “You can do it.”
It was important to show them how they can consciously use their thoughts, imagination, and, above all, their feelings. When we focus only on what currently seems difficult, impossible, or beyond our control, we can quickly feel powerless. But we can learn to take an inner step back and imagine another possibility. The inner image helps us find the feeling we would have if our wish had already been fulfilled, the problem had already been solved, or the goal had already been reached. This feeling of joy, relief, trust, or security is the true key. Jonathan grew out of this idea. He is a young fox who discovers that his present circumstances do not automatically determine what will be possible for him in the future. My first Jonathan book was published in October 2025.
3. Please tell us more about your book series.
The series is set in Awen Coille, a small village where animals live much like humans. At the center of the stories is Jonathan Darach, a seven-year-old fox. Jonathan experiences situations that many children recognize from their own lives. He faces uncertainty, fear, mistakes, new challenges, and wishes that he does not yet know how to make come true. Jonathan is not a perfect hero who immediately has an answer for everything. He learns, observes, reflects, and gradually discovers how strongly his thoughts, imagination, and feelings influence what he believes is possible and how he acts.
In the first book, “Jonathan Discovers What He Is Capable Of,” Jonathan realizes that he has far more abilities and possibilities within him than he first believed.
He learns not to judge his future only by what is currently visible or appears possible. Instead, he begins to imagine what he truly wants to achieve and experience. However, the inner image itself is not the most important part. Jonathan uses it to bring forth the positive feeling connected to the fulfillment of his wish. He allows himself to feel joy, trust, or pride as though his goal had already been achieved. Something within him begins to change through this feeling. He thinks differently, notices new possibilities, and becomes willing to take steps he may not have seen or trusted himself to take before. In the second book, “Jonathan and Fear,” Jonathan first encounters the fear experienced by his friend Sam. Sam feels restricted by his fear and believes he will not be able to handle a particular situation. Jonathan helps him understand that fear often shows us images of things that have not happened at all. It can make possible difficulties feel so real that we begin to experience them as though they were certain to occur. Jonathan shows Sam that he is allowed to listen to his fear without automatically accepting everything it shows him as the truth. He then helps Sam imagine another possibility. Sam no longer focuses only on what could go wrong. Instead, he imagines the situation turning out well. But here, too, the image is only the path to the true goal. Sam is encouraged to notice the positive feeling the desired outcome creates within him. He feels relief, joy, and trust as though the situation had already turned out well.
Later, Jonathan encounters his own fear. Now he has to apply the same method he previously explained to Sam. He discovers that it can sometimes be easier to show a friend the way forward than to follow that same path when we are facing our own difficult moment. Jonathan speaks with his fear and tries to understand what it wants to protect him from. He then consciously chooses not to remain trapped in the frightening images it shows him. He imagines another possibility and uses that image to bring forth the feeling he would experience if everything had already turned out well. Only when he finds this positive feeling within himself can he act from a new inner state. The second book therefore shows two important sides of this process: how we can help another person think beyond their current limitations, and how we can use the same method when our own fear stands in our way. More books in the series are already planned.
4. How did you develop the magical system in your books and create the characters?
My books do not contain a traditional magical system with spells, magic wands, or supernatural powers. The true magic lies in imagination and, above all, in the feelings we can bring forth through it. Jonathan learns that thoughts, expectations, inner images, and feelings have a powerful influence on what we believe is possible and on how we act. When he repeatedly imagines only what could go wrong, he begins to experience that possibility inwardly before anything has even happened. These images create fear, uncertainty, or helplessness within him, causing him to feel smaller and more powerless. But he can also consciously direct the same imaginative ability toward a different possibility. Jonathan pauses and asks himself what he truly wants to experience. He then imagines this outcome as vividly as possible. The image is a tool. Its purpose is to help him discover the feeling connected to the desired result.
How would he feel if the problem had already been solved?
Would he feel relief, joy, freedom, security, or pride?
Jonathan tries to allow this positive feeling to arise within him now. He does not wait until everything in the outside world has become perfect. His thinking begins to change through this new feeling. He makes different decisions, recognizes new paths, and acts with greater trust. This is not about denying difficulties or pretending fear does not exist. Jonathan is allowed to notice his feelings and listen to them. But he also learns that fear does not have to remain the only feeling shaping his inner images. The stories are intended to show children that they do not have to control everything outside themselves in order to have an influence on their own lives. Even when they do not yet know how a wish will be fulfilled or a problem will be solved, they can already find the feeling within themselves that belongs to the desired result. I develop the characters from qualities and situations that children recognize from their own lives. Jonathan is curious, sensitive, observant, and sometimes uncertain. At the same time, he is willing to learn and to share what he has learned with others. This becomes especially clear in the second book, where he first helps Sam before facing his own fear. Jonathan is a fox because foxes are often seen as intelligent, observant, and adaptable. At the same time, Jonathan is allowed to be vulnerable, playful, and still learning. This combination makes him special to me and allows children to recognize parts of themselves in him.
5. Is there a message you would like to share with your readers?
Yes. I would like to tell children: You are not powerless simply because you do not yet know how a wish will come true or how a problem will be solved. What you can see right now is not automatically everything that is possible for you. You are allowed to have big dreams. You are allowed to wish for things that may initially seem unreachable.
Do not only imagine what your fulfilled wish might look like. Ask yourself: How would I feel if my wish had already come true? Perhaps you would feel joy, relief, trust, security, or pride. The inner image helps you find this feeling. But the feeling is the most important part. Try to feel this positive feeling within yourself now, even if only for a moment. Not because you have to pretend that there are no problems, but because it allows you to connect inwardly with another possibility. Your fear, uncertainty, and doubts are allowed to be there. They are allowed to speak. But they do not have to decide which feeling you continue to strengthen within yourself. Sometimes fear shows us very clearly everything that could go wrong. It creates powerful feelings even though the feared event has not actually happened. This shows us how strong our imagination is. We can use the same ability to create a positive inner image and bring forth feelings of joy, trust, relief, or security. Many dreams do not begin with knowing exactly how we will achieve them. They begin when we stop focusing only on the obstacles and allow ourselves to experience the positive feeling of our fulfilled wish within us. And to parents and other caregivers, I would like to say: Children need more than help understanding their feelings or solving their immediate problems. They also need adults who show them that they are allowed to think bigger, dream, and believe that more is possible for them. It is not enough simply to tell a child to imagine a positive outcome. Help the child discover the feeling that belongs to it. You could ask: How would you feel if everything had already turned out well? How does your body feel when you imagine that your wish has already come true? Do you feel joy, relief, security, or pride? The image is the bridge. The positive feeling is the key. There is far more within every child than they may be able to recognize during a difficult moment.
