Simon Smith Stevens

When I retired, I still needed to do something creative to fulfil the need for affirmation that designing had given me through my working life.

A chance comment by my daughter when passing a nearby factory sparked an idea. I could write adventure stories for children! Now this is where the fun really started!

I’d spent forty five years designing and copy writing for marketing projects. When creating stories for a vast array of products and services during that time, there was always a restriction. It was a worthy one… the stuff you wrote had to be based on reality. You could elaborate a bit or stretch a point of course but it had to reflect real life to be believed.

This new project had no such boundaries, I could just make stuff up!.. really let my imagination fly. In fact there was lots of flying in the first adventures. I tapped into all things I was passionate about and it just gushed out and the first book became a trilogy.

I don’t know how other authors work but I tend to treat it like a constant flow of problem solving. I create a situation for the characters and explore all the ways they can get through it. Then I pick the one that feels right and carry on to the next challenge. I’m as surprised as anyone where it all ends up!

Choosing character names is my favourite. Imbuing them with some personality and relevance if they are made up, picking from famous people I like or just someone you know.

Anyway, I could blither on all day but the best way to understand what I’m going on about is to read the stories. If you’re an adult then just find a young member of the family to read it to… they’ll love you for it!