The Pink Eye Yaksha

Estimated release date: June 2, 2026.

Buy from Amazon.

Yaksha are creatures of Buddhist and Hindu mythology. In the West, most Yaksha are associated with Eastern Asian cultures due to the prominence of Japanese Manga and Anime, as well as Korean storytelling (K-pop Demon Hunter). Further in Chinese storytelling, you have tales of the Monkey King. Yaksha are known across all Asian countries and were often colonially referred to as witchcraft, shamanism, animism, and pagan rituals by colonialists. Interestingly, the West and Indigenous cultures share parallel forms in fairies, elves, and the Windigo.

"The Sri Lankan Yaksha are nature spirits whose presence is felt through sickness. To subdue these forces, people perform rituals that use loud drums, dance, and natural disinfectants and medicines (tulsi leaves, vinegar, limes, salt, tumeric, etc)."

Excerpt from explainer in The Eyes of Ess-Vaha.

The Pink Eye Yaksha

In early 2025, while A Lion's Head and A Lion's Pride were on submission, I met a promising illustrator at Comicon Toronto, Chris Ho (@algebutter). Visiting our quiet booth for the Writer's Community of York Region, he was the only person to ask why a children's author would have a book called "On Demonology and Witchcraft in Ceylon" as part of her display.

Over the next couple of months, we struck up a friendship based on his delight in illustrating horror and teaching art to children, and my interest in writing horror for children and mythic fantasy for adults. I had this short story in my back pocket that had failed several rounds of submission. I believed in it. I had tested it with several of my writer groups and received positive responses. I asked him to give it a read and tell me what he thought. He responded that the story came alive for him. I asked him to illustrate my cover and some inside images (citing Roald Dahl as my inspiration) and being upfront with my very very limited budget.

I wanted the Yaksha to have teeth and human feet. These masks are worn by human dancers, but as I was writing A Monkey's Mask, I found myself resonating with the idea that there's more to it than that. The creature could not by any means be mistaken for a bird. We need to know that there's something soulful and human-like, yet completely alien, about it.

As usually happens with the universe, I was introduced to and watched The Boy and the Heron for the first time. Seeing the embodiment of what I had imagined in someone else's work was spectacular and affirmative. Miyazaki's Yaksha also has teeth and human feet!

Chris and I continued our back-and-forth over how the Yaksha would pan out, as we didn't want the image to be so grotesque as to disgust and turn off the children, or worse, become a creature of their nightmares!

Chris' version—after several rounds of feedback from his art students—is cuter and far more appealing to our 8-12-year-old audience.

Voilá—The Cover Revealed

The cover result, a year in the making, despite the countless main projects we both had.

A real test was how well the Author's Copy would be received by the 8-year-old who had been curious about my latest book. Finally, a much shorter chapter book she could comfortably read.

I sat next to her until she finished the book, listening to the words she tripped over or had trouble understanding. This vital feedback tempered the edits I made in addition to those suggested by my Editor, Elise (@emsapublishing).

Request this book at your local library!

The Eyes of Ess-Vaha, The Pink Eye Yaksha by D.M. De Alwis with illustrations by Chris Ho. ISBN 978-1-0694018-4-7 Published by Ahasae Tharu Publishing.