I awoke from a dream, my heart pounding. It was vivid. Hyper real.
What happened: My body was thrown from a Ferris wheel that spun out of control. The whole apparatus shattered in mid air and threw us into the water of the bay that the wheel overlooked.
As I thrashed in the choppy ocean waters and started to sink, I reached for something. A silver coin, shining like the iridescent belly of a fish under water was there, before me. When I grabbed it, zap.
Suddenly I was safe. On dry land.
What was that? I wondered as I awoke, startled, as if saved from drowning, getting my bearings in the waking world.
That was the opening to an adventure novel. A series of books still unfinished that has been a joy to write and, gratefully, entertaining for others to read.
As I started to write my way toward the thrill of the moment I experienced in the dream, a character materialized and so did a world. A young girl in a red wool coat that had gold, shining buttons.
She ran down a path toward a forest as a city burned behind her. Unaware she was running toward a fantastic world she would slip into, as if by accident. Little did she know she would leave behind her own terrible world with all its problems to discover a world so unlike where she was from—a world where, for the first time in as long as she could remember she felt understood. Hope.
And then a parable dropped into my heart too.
The coin became the coin the woman famously swept for, cleaned house for, desperately searched to find. The coin that, when found, invited a celebration. A neighbourhood party.
How much more a single life?
This was one of the questions that informed my writing for the Ten Silver Coins series. How the idea and the story emerged continues to fascinate me.
Where do stories come from?
I’m not necessarily sure. Much of my work for the stage—She Has A Name, which focuses on a trafficking incident in Thailand; We Are the Body, which explores the world of hope and memory among political prisoners behind the Iron Curtain; Delft Blue which unpacks the realities of best friends who end up on opposite sides of the war in 1940s Holland—starts with an overwhelming sense of feeling. A deep intuitive sense of emotion that requires a story to go with it. And then I plot it out as I get characters talking.
With my series of books for young audiences, it started with a vivid dream.
I think stories come from listening. To the world around us. To things unseen. To the activities of our lives.
A few announcements - A new section to TIWD, Book 3
To mark 15 years in the world, I shared last week that I’ve released a new edition of Book One in my Ten Silver Coins series with new cover art.
A new section to my Substack newsletter
This week I’m launching a new section of Things I Wrote Down, where I release chapters from my Ten Silver Coins series week by week.
As a subscriber to my newsletter, you get access to all the chapters I share. You can opt out of this new section (or control what sections of TIWD you receive).
The strategy here is two part:
To live out, in my way, the belief that creativity is an offering. As I’ve reflected on the purpose of this series, I’m reminded it was written to offer hope to kids and their families. I think people need hope now more than ever. So I want to make the story more accessible than ever. (All anyone has to do is sign up for the newsletter.)
To carve out time and space to work on Book 3. I’ll continue to publish my Three Things link round ups on the weekends. My weekly article will focus on TSC in the coming months. I hope you’ll join and enjoy that adventure! You can opt out of this new section (or control what sections of TIWD you receive).
To kick it off, I’ve released the first three chapters which you can read now.
I’m expecting a new book baby
I’m excited to share that I’m embarking on the adventure to write Book Three. I don’t know if I’ll complete it in 2024, but I’ll dedicate writing time to it throughout the year.
For original readers, I realize that you may be old enough now to soon read the series to your own kids. If you do, I hope they’ll love it someday too (and that they’ll do so before they have kids #dadjoke).
Thanks for reading and for being part of my writing journey
~AK