Ask the Author: Sarah Hill
Answered Questions (9)
Sarah Hill
Thank you very much Pat! Congratulations to you too my literary friend for all your wonderful writing achievements!
Wonderful new about your office! I share our home office above our garage with my hubby too! I hope you’re really enjoying your writing space.
There are many great things about being a writer so it’s tough to choose a ‘best’ one. Having said that, the freedom to write about whatever you want and wherever you want to write is pretty awesome! Also very relevant with Independence Day having passed us just a few days ago.
I hope you and your family had a wonderfully whimsical time celebrating July the 4th!
Wonderful new about your office! I share our home office above our garage with my hubby too! I hope you’re really enjoying your writing space.
There are many great things about being a writer so it’s tough to choose a ‘best’ one. Having said that, the freedom to write about whatever you want and wherever you want to write is pretty awesome! Also very relevant with Independence Day having passed us just a few days ago.
I hope you and your family had a wonderfully whimsical time celebrating July the 4th!
Sarah Hill
Each Whimsy Wood children’s book is written for a certain month in the calendar, so the flora and fauna within the enchanting whimsical woodland change as you read through my series.
The most recent Whimsy Wood story I’ve written is ‘Fearne Fairy And The Landing Lesson’. This is the tenth book in my woodland-based series for 5-8 year olds and is written for the marvellous month of May.
To gain ideas and inspiration I check out various woodland and nature websites, researching the flora and fauna for that particular month. You’d be amazed at what Mother Nature has to offer a writer! Brimstone butterflies for one! Now if they don't need a whimsical woodland story writing about them, then I don't know what does!
‘Fearne Fairy And The Landing Lesson’ brings to a close Fearne’s regular flying accidents poor fairy! Fearne isn't your typical pink and sparkly fairy you see. Goodness no! Fearne can fly beautifully but is absolutely abysmal at landing! With the help of Whimsy Wood’s ‘Bristle Bumblebee’, ‘Dewberry Dragonfly’ and their fantastic Flying Academy, Fearne finally learns how to land gracefully! All praise for Bristle and Dewberry and our heroine Fearne’s determination!
The most recent Whimsy Wood story I’ve written is ‘Fearne Fairy And The Landing Lesson’. This is the tenth book in my woodland-based series for 5-8 year olds and is written for the marvellous month of May.
To gain ideas and inspiration I check out various woodland and nature websites, researching the flora and fauna for that particular month. You’d be amazed at what Mother Nature has to offer a writer! Brimstone butterflies for one! Now if they don't need a whimsical woodland story writing about them, then I don't know what does!
‘Fearne Fairy And The Landing Lesson’ brings to a close Fearne’s regular flying accidents poor fairy! Fearne isn't your typical pink and sparkly fairy you see. Goodness no! Fearne can fly beautifully but is absolutely abysmal at landing! With the help of Whimsy Wood’s ‘Bristle Bumblebee’, ‘Dewberry Dragonfly’ and their fantastic Flying Academy, Fearne finally learns how to land gracefully! All praise for Bristle and Dewberry and our heroine Fearne’s determination!
Sarah Hill
Hi Pat,
How lovely to hear from you! Sorry for the delay in replying. Our 3 children are currently off school for this half-term week, so everything else tends to grind to a standstill!
In answer to your questions, yes book 10, 'Fearne Fairy And The Landing Lesson' is currently being formatted. Launch date for this is November the 26th!
As for my ideas, well each book in my 'Whimsy Wood' children's series is written for a particular month in the calendar, so the flora and fauna change as you read through the series. 'Fearne Fairy And The Landing Lesson' is written for the marvellous month of May, while book 1, 'Posie Pixie And The Copper Kettle' is an August book.
With this in mind, I research what trees, plants, flowers etc would be in bloom in a woodland for example for the month that I'm writing for. I would then check if any animals would be in hibernation, what insects would be about and what characters I either hadn't introduced or hadn't been in a recent Whimsy Wood story.
Finally, I like to weave a proverb or old saying somewhere into the story, so that it gives the finished book some sort of meaning. I'll check which proverbs I've already used and then see which ones may fit the potential story line.
I hope that answers your questions and that this finds you well.
With warmed whimsical wishes, Sarah
How lovely to hear from you! Sorry for the delay in replying. Our 3 children are currently off school for this half-term week, so everything else tends to grind to a standstill!
In answer to your questions, yes book 10, 'Fearne Fairy And The Landing Lesson' is currently being formatted. Launch date for this is November the 26th!
As for my ideas, well each book in my 'Whimsy Wood' children's series is written for a particular month in the calendar, so the flora and fauna change as you read through the series. 'Fearne Fairy And The Landing Lesson' is written for the marvellous month of May, while book 1, 'Posie Pixie And The Copper Kettle' is an August book.
With this in mind, I research what trees, plants, flowers etc would be in bloom in a woodland for example for the month that I'm writing for. I would then check if any animals would be in hibernation, what insects would be about and what characters I either hadn't introduced or hadn't been in a recent Whimsy Wood story.
Finally, I like to weave a proverb or old saying somewhere into the story, so that it gives the finished book some sort of meaning. I'll check which proverbs I've already used and then see which ones may fit the potential story line.
I hope that answers your questions and that this finds you well.
With warmed whimsical wishes, Sarah
Sarah Hill
I tend to research woodland blogs and websites, for intriguing information and nature-related flora and fauna, that spark my creative juices!
Sarah Hill
Hi Rosie,
Reading other books in the genre I write for often helps. I also find going for a walk or bike ride in the beautiful countryside where we live really helps, if work on my 'Whimsy Wood' children's series isn't flowing.
I hope this finds you well and wishing you a wonderfully whimsical day :)
Reading other books in the genre I write for often helps. I also find going for a walk or bike ride in the beautiful countryside where we live really helps, if work on my 'Whimsy Wood' children's series isn't flowing.
I hope this finds you well and wishing you a wonderfully whimsical day :)
Sarah Hill
Don't give up! If you truly and whole-heartedly believe in your writing and what you have created, then you must keep writing and re-writing. Remain determined and eventually your manuscript will become that incredible thing...A Book! Neil Gaiman once said, "A book is a dream that you can hold in your hands." As authors, we are very fortunate to be able to create such things.
Sarah Hill
Getting completely and utterly lost in your own imagination! I'm also really fortunate to be regularly invited into schools in the UK. These school visits are really wonderful and its such a privilege to be able to spend time with my young audience and fans of my 'Whimsy Wood' children's series.
Sarah Hill
I'm currently tweaking the final manuscript of 'Fearne Fairy And The Dandelion Clocks', which is the eighth book in my 'Whimsy Wood' children's series for 5-8 year olds.
Sarah Hill
I stop whatever it is I'm trying to write, get up, walk away and do something else for a while. There's no point forcing creativity if it won't flow.
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