Voe based author self-publishes her first children’s book
WHAT happens when the Arctic fox steals a Christmas key and Santa can’t get the presents for all the children?
That is the topic of a new children’s book, written and illustrated by Voe resident Gillian Bowman, which is available on Amazon right now.
The Fox and the Christmas Key is Bowman’s first venture into the world writing and illustrating – an experience she enjoyed so much that a second book is already under way.
The social care worker, who grew up in Whalsay, said the story for her first book came about when her daughter asked about the key to let Santa in at Christmas.
“It’s a simple 10-ish minute read aimed at 3-7 year olds, about a little girl Faye and her grandad’s adventure to save the Christmas key from the Arctic fox who stole it,” she said.
“The fox thinks he’ll get all Santa’s toys if Santa can’t give them out over Christmas.
“Grandad and Faye follow and distract the fox with a hard riddle to solve, and then get the key back while he’s distracted, and take it back to Santa.”
Gillian said she always has had a recreational interest in computer drawing and photo editing, and her introduction to AI platforms helped her make the book a reality.
“I realised that I could generate images that were quite close to what I was imagining while I was writing the story, and I know I could never draw the images this well myself.
“The final images I created however are spliced together from various AI images using digital editing and paint tools/apps.
“I found the whole process quite therapeutic however, as well as hilarious at times.”
She added: “So much so I started the journey onto a second book, The Trow Down the Well, which follows a similar beginning (around the kitchen table) and narrative, where grandad and Faye go on a quest to retrieve grandad’s glasses from The Trow Down the Well after they fell down a mysterious well, while grandad is peering too far in.”
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Her second book will also be available in Shaetlan in recognition of the new language status.
Gillian said she hopes a few local shops would be prepared to stock her Christmas story in the run up to the festive, adding all the copies she had sent to But n’ Ben Books in Stonehaven, run by an old school friend of hers, sold within a day.
The Fox and the Christmas Key is available at Amazon here priced £12.99.
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