Paradise Island is the story of a young adventurer (aka the “Map Maker”) who travels to the sunny, fun-filled island of his dreams, but struggles to keep paradise found from becoming paradise lost. This illustrated novel presents a satire on human nature and lends comical insights into why it is so difficult to hold onto happiness and gain enlightenment. Whatever our version of paradise may be, finding it is one thing, surviving it is another. A product of inspirational and literary fiction, Paradise Island will appeal to readers interested in fantasy, satire, and philosophy in fiction.

This illustrated book is designed for classroom or group discussion and would be a welcomed addition to courses in English Literature, social science, or philosophy. As a think piece, it unveils two themes. The first is how difficult it is to control human nature. The second is how everyone believes that he or she sees the world objectively. Using simple prose, this book introduces and explores the meaning behind the phrase “the subjectivity of truth and the relativity of reality.”

Brandon Royal is an award-winning writer whose educational authorship includes The Little Blue Reasoning Book, The Little Red Writing Book, The Little Gold Grammar Book, The Little Red Writing Book Deluxe Edition, The Little Green Math Book, and Reasoning with Numbers. During his tenure working in Hong Kong for US-based Kaplan Educational Centers ߝ a Washington Post subsidiary and the largest test-preparation organization in the world ߝ Brandon honed his theories of teaching and education and developed a set of key learning "principles" to help define the basics of writing, grammar, math, and reasoning. A Canadian by birth and graduate of the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, his interest in writing began after completing writing courses at Harvard University. Since then he has authored a dozen books and reviews of his books have appeared in Time Asia magazine, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal of America, Midwest Book Review, The Asian Review of Books, Choice Reviews Online, Asia Times Online, and About.com. Brandon is a five-time winner of the International Book Awards, a five-time gold medalist at the President's Book Awards, as well as winner of the Global eBook Awards, USA Book News "Best Book Awards," and recipient of the 2011 "Educational Book of the Year" award as presented by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta.

“A delectable dish of human foible, served with parsnips baked in irony oil, all topped with a sprinkling of satire-roasted fennel seeds.”
—Justin Hurwitz, Editor, The Harvard Lampoon