By Jessica Anstice
Author-illustrator Seacia Christensen used the unexpected downtime of the Covid-19 pandemic to put pen to paper and write a children’s book.
The Pakenham mum of two under two has signed a deal with Samantha Jansen Publishing, a boutique publishing company that support authors to self-publish, for the first book ‘Sarah O’Haira Gets a Knot’ in her series.
The book captures the story of a young woman who is a bit of a perfectionist and after a restless night’s sleep awakes to find a tiny knot that formed at the back of her hair.
In the book, she wanted to brush it out but because she’d had so little sleep the night before, she had to hide the knot under a hat and rush out the door.
Ms Christensen explained that things kept going wrong for the character, stopping her from getting the time to ‘attack’ the knot.
Over time the knot accumulated quirky objects and it eventually stopped her from going to work and catching up with friends.
Ms Christensen said the knot is in fact a metaphor for the woman’s mental health.
“Although the book may sound a little serious it has lots of funny little bits and you can’t help but giggle at some of the situations Sarah gets herself into,” she said.
“I hope that this book is as special to others as it is to me. When I read it I can hear the wise words of my friends and family floating off the pages.
“It’s a mix of sensitive, caring dialogue and also that sort of ‘she’ll be right’, Australian thing that ‘we’ do.”
With the aftermath of the pandemic putting a huge amount of pressure on people’s mental health, particularly families’, the talented writer wanted to create something that would ‘normalise’ the process of reaching out and accepting help when it’s needed.
She feels the story is “special” as it not only puts onus on the main character to help herself, but also on the people around her to reach out and show support.
While the book is of course intended for children, it’s a story individuals of all ages will relate to.
“My main aim when writing the story was to create something that not only resonated with the child but also the adult reading it,” she explained.
“I wanted it to be a story that the whole family could get something out of, whether it be the subtle humour or the more serious underlying message.
“I wanted there to be a takeaway message for the whole family, one that could be discussed and related back to individually or as a family.”
The back page of the book features a list of numbers people can call when they’re feeling a bit like the main character and need to reach out.
From start to finish, it took Ms Christensen about four months to bring the book to life, with only two or three nights writing the actual story – the rest of her time was spent painting.
“I can only really get stuff done at night after everyone is in bed and the house is quiet,” she said.
“So I would say it took me about two or three nights to write out a rough draft and then over the next weeks and months I worked with Samantha Jansen Publishing.
“Samantha and her team helped me to tidy up all of the technical stuff that does not come naturally to me, I had full control over every aspect which was amazing.”
She painted all 32 illustrations within the book in about four weeks, while looking after a newborn and a toddler.
Pushed to the limit, Ms Christensen recognised it wasn’t the healthiest way to get things done, but she knew she had to ‘strike when the iron was hot’.
Uniquely illustrated, the drawings in the book tell as much of the story as the words.
“All up it took me around four months from scribbling a rough copy on brown paper to having a box of 100 books on my doorstep,” she said.
“It almost turned into an art piece at one stage. My art teacher told me I should submit something in an upcoming exhibition I think the theme ‘What I did in Covid’ and I said, ‘Oh I have written a short story about a knot!’.
“So I almost turned it into a series of three or four pictures of a girl with a knot that grows so big that it eventually consumes her.”
When she typed out her idea for the art exhibition, she came to the realisation it could be a children’s book.
The art exhibition was called due to Covid-19, so she continued writing the story.
But publishing a book has never been on her bucket list. In fact, English was a subject in school that scared her.
“I struggled to read and write all through school – my confidence was really low,” she recalled.
“When I was in Year 10 my mum and I moved to New Zealand and I started at a new school.
“They put me in all of the top classes and I just sort of kept up somehow. I ended up doing Year 12 English and going on to do teaching.”
After graduating, Ms Christensen worked as a communications and marketing officer for a community centre and that’s where her passion for creative writing blossomed.
“My manager at the time saw something in my writing and paid for me to go and do a copywriting course which I thoroughly enjoyed,” she said.
“My favourite part of writing stories about people from the community was hearing people’s life experiences: the good and the bad and how their resilience and mindset served them throughout those tricky times.”
Having grown up in a bookish household, she said she didn’t exactly inherit her parents’ ability to concentrate and finish an entire 400 plus page book.
Although, her biological father is a published author and poet.
“I guess the writing gene is there, just not the book worm gene,” she laughed.
When it comes to writing stories, Ms Christensen said she is inspired by stories about real people that are relatable and a bit messy.
“My favourite kind of character is a character who is a bit quirky and has flaws,” she explained.
“I love that moment when people share stories and can instantly sympathise with a person or a character.”
She said if one person reads her book and sees themselves reflected in the story and illustrations and decides to reach out and ask her help, it will have been all worth it.
“I would like to thank my friends and family and to everyone who donated to my go fund me campaign,” she added.
Ms Christensen is now on the lookout for a local organisation that specialises in mental health to partner with.
She will be organising a few readings in the local area and a book launch once Covid-19 restrictions are further eased.
