When I was a little girl my favourite stories were by Enid Blyton: The Magic Faraway Tree and The Wishing Chair. My sister and I would get our grandmother to read these books to us over and over again, until finally we started reading them ourselves. Even now I can still remember the scenes I pictured in my head although I haven’t read the books in over twenty-five years. I wanted to be able to climb to the top of the Faraway Tree and have adventures in the magical lands there - The Land of Birthdays; the Land of Do-As-You-Please; The Land of Spells. If I were to go there now I would want to visit the Land of Endless Summer Days or perhaps The Land of Self Belief. This love of magic and fantasy morphed into horror and science fiction as I got older. Books by JG Ballard, James Herbert and Stephen King were always to be found in my clammy palms, and later the fantasy came full circle as I started reading Danielle Steel - her take on love and relationships is fantasy bordering on delusion but it was in those saccharine books I began to stitch together my romantic dreams. My teenage self wished for a man who would take her away from her boring seaside life and make her a real woman as they traveled the world and made love beside a roaring fire. Sitting here now in the Land of Hindsight I remember nights in Kenya with my love, and I see how the fantasy became reality; I also see how the tragic end could have been taken from the pages of one of my dog-earred books. Now I attempt to write my own book, one that fills in the gaps those other books left in my education - about grief and pain, about self awareness and empowerment. I write a story of survival, and of finding the grace to accept what has happened, of taking up the thread of the past and letting it lead me into the future.
For more bedtime stories, go here. Image borrowed from here.
The stories we want to write are so often distillations of the stories we loved, spiced with our own experiences. Your story will be one of courage, and survival, and love of life - certainly not a fantasy, but a miraculous one with a happy ending :)
Posted by: Becca | Oct 29, 2006 at 01:54 PM
Hello you!!!i've missed reading you so...i'm glad to find you're still being the same passionate girl that makes me laugh and makes me cry...lots of love to you :)
Posted by: Romina Bacci | Oct 29, 2006 at 03:48 PM
Writing the book you need to read...yes, this is exactly what any writer should work for! I am unfamiliar with the stories you mentioned above--but, how beautiful they sound. I may have to do some looking into them now...
Posted by: Left-handed Trees... | Oct 29, 2006 at 06:43 PM
Yes, you're definitey right there - we need to write those books that constitute the gaps in our education. Bravo!And how that book cover brought memories flooding back - it was one of my favourites too. Moonface? That was a bit cruel though ;-)
Posted by: bb | Oct 29, 2006 at 07:40 PM
This book sounds wonderful. I was so into fantasy books and when I was much younger, Stephen King and Danielle Steele both, were well-worned and loved authors. In fact, my first tattoo image came from a Stephen King novel, The Eye of the Dragon, how cheesy is that?
Posted by: acumamakiki | Oct 29, 2006 at 10:07 PM
Mmmm you given me some new children's authors to look up and enjoy :)Thanks Sweetie,XXX Darlene
Posted by: b/sistersshoes | Oct 29, 2006 at 11:38 PM
The stories we write - and the stories we live - are certainly gleaned from various things we've read and experiences we've gained along the way. Lovely post.
Posted by: paris parfait | Oct 29, 2006 at 11:50 PM
I love that.. taking up the thread of the past and letting it lead me into the future.So very true sweets.Bx
Posted by: ~Bek~ | Oct 30, 2006 at 02:37 AM
I have never heard of those children's books you loved. Now I will have to look them up.Great post, lady. I do love a good romance, but oh how they warp our young minds! ha.:)
Posted by: Amber | Oct 30, 2006 at 05:34 AM
I don't remember ever seeing those books when I was younger (the Enid Blyton books, that is...I was all too familiar with King and Steel..heh). I bet I would have loved them. They sound magical!
Posted by: Deb R | Oct 30, 2006 at 05:35 AM
I never found Enid Blyton as a kid, however, based on your excellent taste I am inclined to give her a look. As for myself, besides being a willing captive of Narnia, I found consistent inspiration in A Wrinkle in Time. There was something about that book, when my teacher read it to us in the second grade, that opened my mind up to the possibilities of the Universe. I used to love to imagine, whenever it would storm really hard, that Mrs. Whatsit would pop into my bedroom and Tesseract me off on some grand adventure just like Charles Wallace. Heh. Thank you for popping over and saying hello, for your wonderful words and for the smile you so graciously brought for me to wear 8-) hugs right back at you xo
Posted by: pheonixfirerising19 | Oct 30, 2006 at 06:45 AM
I didn't read much Enid Blyton as a child, because we couldn't afford to buy books much, and the library didn't think Enid Blyton was "good" enough for their collections! I do recall the Magic Faraway Tree though, so I must have found a copy at a friend's house.I read the entire Andrew Lang fairy books - the Yellow Fairy Book, Rose Fairy Book, and on and on - there were so many colours!
Posted by: Catherine | Oct 30, 2006 at 08:55 AM
i have to go find these books! they sound so wonderful and dreamy.
Posted by: my pink sky | Oct 30, 2006 at 01:07 PM
i have never read enid blytonmyself but have heard of her many times and i love how you describedher books...they sound so inviting.
Posted by: gkgirl | Oct 30, 2006 at 01:46 PM
Oh, how I've loved reading this prompt, learning about childhood stories and the impact they had on the reader's life ... I'm certain your book will impact its readers as well. x, d
Posted by: Jane Poe (aka Deborah) | Oct 30, 2006 at 03:52 PM
yes!
Posted by: la vie en rose | Oct 30, 2006 at 07:55 PM
Ah, the fantasy and delusion of romance novels. Really, I think children's books have so much more to offer, and are better written too. Your book is one I want to read. There's so much of life that we learn in the Land of Hindsight.
Posted by: deirdre | Oct 31, 2006 at 01:44 AM
When I come visit, lets go to the Land of Endless Wine. ; )Your book will touch others as you were touched reading all those books in your past. Cannot wait to read your words my love.xoxoxo
Posted by: Bohemian Girl | Oct 31, 2006 at 01:55 AM
Lovely memories and lovely future. You have so talent and so much heart...your book will be amazing.xoxox
Posted by: ceanandjen | Oct 31, 2006 at 05:55 AM
I have to go get those books. They sound so enchanting. You are on such a beautiful journey-your very own story. I can't wait to see it in stores and buy a copy.Love you honey.
Posted by: Colorsonmymind | Oct 31, 2006 at 01:02 PM
"I write a story of survival, and of finding the grace to accept what has happened, of taking up the thread of the past and letting it lead me into the future."...a very beautiful insight into a compassionate heart that has learned from life's experiences.
Posted by: Janice | Nov 03, 2006 at 07:32 PM
Like most Pakistani kids, I grew up on Enid Blyton books. They were my first "big" books...I LOVE these two books!! Esp. the Faraway Tree...so enchanting.
Posted by: [a}ma {m]iz | Nov 26, 2006 at 01:24 PM