We have a large garden, which Archie loves exploring. One night, when he went out for ‘one last sniff and a wee before lights out’, Simon (my husband) noticed him nudging something with his nose. It turned out to be a frog!
Simon took a short video and when I watched it, it sparked the idea for a story. Could a dog and a frog become friends despite their differences? Did they have anything in common? So that’s where the idea for the first story came from.
Then I began imagining Archie meeting other creatures in the garden, many of which have actually been in our garden. There are another six stories, some more developed than others.
The reason for the delay in getting the first story published was because of the cost of illustrations. Children’s books, at least those for young children, are usually illustrated. I didn’t have the budget to get the whole story illustrated for a picture book.
Then I thought about a chapter book, which would combine several stories. I found the illustrator, Sarah Owen, via Twitter (or X as the platform is now known). We have been contacts on there for a while and I liked her painting style.
I asked Sarah for a couple of illustrations for “When Archie Met Frog”. Sarah is now starting preliminary work on an illustration for the next story.
The chapter book is very much a work-in-progress. When I’ve got illustrations for at least three (if not more) stories, I will publish a chapter book. There will be an e-book as well as a paperback version. That is some way off yet, but it’s good to have a goal.
Publishing a children’s story featuring Archie has long been a dream of mine, and I’m delighted it’s now coming to fruition.
