Every night, before she goes to bed, I read my cheeky one year old her favorite book; Up and Down by Oliver Jeffers. It's a simple story filled with such sensible imagination that even adults would enjoy - just as they would every other Jeffers' adventure - the little strands of wordplay that form in its odds and ends. Since then, I've bought her many other books, including a stack of other Jeffers' titles. But she always crawls back towards the shelf where Up and Down is placed in wait.
I don't draw and write as often as I used to. No time, blah blah bah... all the random excuses I could come up with to avoid the chance of giving up would form a complete novel on its own. But I love reading to my daughter, and I love coming up with creatures to create in the many objects scattered across the floor of our tiny little home. So for this year, my goal is to write a children's book and publish it myself. Sounds reckless, I know, but the thought of my daughter loving a book I wrote as much as she does Up and Down excites me to the very core.
It took me three days to decide on the look and feel of my main character, but once I did, the title came into place, as did the rest of the storyline. Fringe Benefits will be about little Emma; her best friend is her fringe, and ignorance is her bliss.
Not sure if I'll stick to this, but whatever. It's a journey either way.
