Copyright dailyrecord
From making up stories and drawing pictures in the garden as a youngster, Sarah Holliday’s path to being a children’s author and illustrator always seemed a likely one. The Braco author, who grew up at school in Dunblane due to her parents working in Stirling, has put her first book out there for pre-order ahead of a full February release date - with ‘Sunny and Stormy’ the culmination of months of hard work. After high school, it was to Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee to study animation and worked in magazines with publishing giant DC Thomson before heading out as a freelancer in 2019. Life has since brought Sarah to the bright lights of San Francisco and with one simple enquiry came the idea to try her own picture book. Sarah said: “I loved growing up with the countryside at my doorstep and spent a lot of time building dens in the woods with my brother and searching for fairies in the garden. “As a kid I loved drawing and making up stories and was always encouraged to keep going and make a career out of it. “My gran was into watercolour painting and after school I would go back to her house in Dunblane and draw and paint for hours in her ‘art room’. My parents still have several boxes of my childhood art and stories which are hilarious to read now. “It took me a while to figure out which area of art I wanted to specialise in, because I’d love to do everything, but children’s picture books feels like the perfect fit as it combines my love of storytelling, drawing and imagination. “I had originally imagined that I would just illustrate other writers’ stories as even though I enjoyed writing as a child, I later lost my confidence and became pretty rusty as a teenager. “But a few years ago I took a picture book course with an author/illustrator I really admire which helped me realise that I could also write my own stories. “A few months after that I received a message from the Art Director at Flying Eye Books asking if I had any picture book ideas! “I then spent some time learning how to write picture books and wrote a lot of mediocre stories before I came up with Sunny and Stormy, but it was all part of the process.” The book tells the story of two sisters, Sunny and Stormy - with Sunny loved by the villagers below for her warmth and light and Stormy unloved for the wind and rain. However, the pair quickly realise the need for each other, telling a heart-warming story of the need to embrace differences and accepting yourself. Sarah admits the writing process ignited the passion for storytelling and says writing for other audiences could be in her future. She said: “It’s very exciting to see my first book almost out in the wild after all this time! It took a lot of hard work to get here and I’m really proud of the story and it’s message. I’m excited to hear what the kids (and adults!) think of it. I have a lot of potential story ideas brewing away so plan to continue writing and illustrating my own picture books. I’d also love to create a graphic novel or books for older age groups someday.”
