Well, the launch was a lot of fun! Lots of gorgeous sugar plum fairies flitting around the place. A fantastic display of candy making by the talented guys at Sticky. Heaps of clever crafty kids making sparkly wands and pictures. Stacks of enthusiastic participation in the storytelling. And gorgeous sweets to tempt everybody's tastebuds.
Thanks to all who came along - especially all my very supportive writing buddies.
For me, picture books are one of the most difficult genres to write in. It looks dead easy - heck, how hard can 600 words for 4 and 5 year olds be? In my opinion: very.
One of the things I discovered after a number of years of bashing my head against the proverbial brick wall, writing dozens of flat, uninspiring picture books texts, is that I can't write picture books on demand. My picture book texts generally come to me unbidden and usually in response to something I have witnessed or experienced that has stirred me emotionally. I've also discovered that I need to leave that initial flash of inspiration to simmer in my brain for quite sometime: until the rhythms of the language and the voice of the piece, toll bell-like in my mind; until, in fact, the text is almost fully formed and begging to be written. Then, only then, can I can risk putting words down on paper.
So when the publisher at New Frontier rang and asked me if I'd like to write a picture book text for their new Music Box series, I felt very uneasy - so much so, that I nearly refused. You can't write picture books on demand, I told myself. Don't try. You'll regret it, you fool.
But the concept behind the series was intriguing: writing picture book stories inspired by great pieces of classical music and I was sorely tempted. Then when I was given The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from the Nutcracker Ballet as my inspiration piece - a piece of music I swirled to in my ballet slippers in front of my wardrobe mirror for most of my childhood - I was more or less hooked.
So I agreed to have a think about it and at least to have a try. But heck - was I nervous, definitely out of my comfort zone!
Then thanks to cyberspace, with a couple of mouse clicks, I was able to find U-tube clips of the ballet and within minutes I was six again, spinning (recklessly) in twirling pirouettes around the lounge room and bending into deep (and clumsy/painful) pliés, and gradually an idea started to form. Ah - here's to the magic of music and the power of our childhood memories! Several brisk walks around the neighbourhood, a bit of research into the story of the ballet, a visit to Sticky (candymakers in The Rocks, Sydney) and I was ready. Ready to start, anyway, and happy that I had a story to tell ...
Here is a link to one of the many Sugar Plum Fairy U-tube clips. Enjoy.
