Borders mum retreats to write her first book

It was a chance to rest, take stock – and write something as a gift for her children.

It’s a gift that has become her first novel.

On the retreat at Moniack Mhor – 14 miles from Inverness – Joan spent her days writing and revising her work, and enjoyed the evenings with fellow aspiring authors as they shared their life stories and their writing in the retreat’s cosy roundhouse.

The retreat gave the opportunity to meet and be mentored by top authors who provide teaching and personal tutoring on the course.

Joan was encouraged by positive feedback from children’s writers Melvin Burgess and Joan Lennon, with whom she keeps in touch.

She said: “There is something special about the bonds that are formed here, where everyone is encouraged to switch off their phones and connect instead to their creative side and the people around them.”

Happily, following treatment, Joan was given the all clear.

She completed her manuscript to send to publishers and was signed by her first choice, Scottish-based Cranachan Publishing.

She said: “I enjoyed their other titles, but also fancied the idea that I might get to visit the Isle of Lewis, where they are based.”

Drawing on her academic research into migration, her childhood in Zambia and the South Pacific, and her travels, Joan’s book, ‘Tiger Skin Rug’, follows three children on a magical adventure as they fly into the night on the back of a mysterious tiger to help him keep an old promise.

Setting off from dreich and drizzly Scotland, the children travel to London and Coventry, then on to the backstreets and lush green forests of India – as they explore the secrets surrounding the tiger and discover what it truly means to be home.

Joan, pictured above, is committed to promoting diversity and positive cross-cultural relationships in her writing.

She said: “I think it’s so important not to feel limited by your own identity in creative work – although my own life influences are clear, I wrote from the point of view of a young Indian boy growing up in the 21st century.

“I wanted his character to encounter and learn from a range of others from different backgrounds – I loved imagining walking in their various shoes.”

It’s a journey, and a story, that Joan’s family have shared closely with her.

Her boys, Andrew, 11, and nine-year-old Adrian (pictured above with the book), are her proudest champions, not only providing their ideas and comments on the plot, but drawing their own designs for the front cover too. Her sister, Marian, worked with her in creating the inside illustrations.

With her debut novel in hand, Joan’s thoughts turn to her future readers, hoping that ‘Tiger Skin Rug’ will be shared and enjoyed by children far and wide – and that it might even touch some grown-up hearts along the way.

Her author mentor Melvin Burgess describes it as “charming; full of magic, hope and friendship”.

‘Tiger Skin Rug’ was published on February 6 by Pokey Hat, an imprint of Cranachan Publishing.