Description
Story Origins:
The origin of this story is probably the simplest of any book I have written.
One weekend, my stepson and his family came to visit. I had just presented one of my novels to his wife when I overheard my eight-year-old granddaughter, Chloe, asking her dad a question. Instead of answering it himself, he smiled and said, ‘Why don’t you ask Grandad?’
So she did.
‘Grandad, will you write a story for me?’
Well, there was only one answer to that.
‘What would you like it to be about?’
Chloe already knew. She wanted a story about a little girl called Mia who visited a circus for the first time and never wanted to leave.
I had never written a children’s story before and wasn’t at all sure that I could. But I sat down and tried to see the circus through Mia’s eyes, remembering my own excitement as a child. In those days circuses still had lions, tigers and elephants, alongside the trapeze artists, clowns and jugglers. Yet, somehow, it was always the caravans and the families who lived a travelling life that fascinated me most.
As luck would have it, I also knew someone who had grown up in the circus. Russ Happy-Randelle, owner of Happy’s Circus, had one piece of advice.
‘Don’t forget the horses.’
He explained that horses were the heart of the traditional circus, long before many of the other acts appeared, tracing their history back through the great travelling shows to Philip and Patty Astley and beyond.
His enthusiasm found its way into the story, and so did the idea that the very best friendships can sometimes begin in the most unexpected places.
There was just one problem. The Girl Who Danced with Horses was too short to become a novel.
So I set myself an entirely new challenge.
Rather than simply illustrate the book, I decided to turn it into a children’s colouring book.
Now, I freely admit that drawing has never been one of my strengths, so creating enough illustrations to accompany the story took far longer than writing it. What had taken a fortnight to write eventually became another two months of learning, experimenting and putting everything together.
It was worth every minute.
When I finally gave Chloe her book, she fell in love with it and immediately ordered another six copies to give to her friends for Christmas.
Then came the moment that made all the effort worthwhile.
A few months later, one of those friends went to school dressed for World Book Day as my fictional circus girl.
When I was told that, I very nearly cried.
As an author – and more importantly as a grandfather – I can’t imagine receiving a finer compliment.
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