Barbara Henderson recalls how she suffered a bad accident when she was a child, which led to four operations and being forced to spend lengthy periods on the sofa, slurping pureed food without being allowed the chance to talk.
This was no easy task, because she happily admits she is a “motormouth”. And yet, as her two older sisters created and performed puppet plays and her parents read stories to their daughter, her imagination was fired and the spark has never been extinguished.
Born in Germany, these early experiences have been the catalyst for her development as a successful children’s author, somebody who loves taking youngsters to unfamiliar places and situations and Barbara is in her element on these magical mystery tours.
There’s a photograph of her as a student at the Forth Bridge in North Queensferry in 1993 – and now, 30 years later, she has written a new book, Rivet Boy, about this enduring structure which has left an indelible impression on so many visitors.
Inverness Library is a favourite place
She still remembers when a new school building was constructed on the hillside along from her house, offering the promise of a community swimming pool – and a library.
And though the youngster is now 51 with a prodigious number of acclaimed literary works to her name, Barbara still regards Inverness Library as one of her precious “go to places” to work and disappear into another existence.
As she says: “Librarians are the holders of the treasure maps – they know where you are going to find what you seek, even though you may not know what it is yet.”
She first visited the Forth Bridge as a child and immediately regarded it as an “unforgettable” structure. She returned later with a massive backpack and, whenever she needed a respite from the city life, made the short train trip to South Queensferry.
More recently, she wondered about the people who had risked life and limb to bring the project to fruition and ordered a copy of The Briggers by Elspeth Wills. Barbara found references to many men and boys who perished during the construction, but there was also mention of a 12-year-old Dunfermline boy called John Nicol who fell from the bridge and survived while “sustaining no more than a wetting”.
Writing dream came true
She researched his story and his world and has put him centre stage at the heart of Rivet Boy, which lives up to its title by being a right riveting – and unusual – read.
She explained: “There was also a newspaper clipping about a squirrel falling from the bridge and being fished out by a passing boat. I decided that John could do with an animal sidekick and the story grew from there. I also think I have written some pretty cool villains into the story that I’m a wee bit proud of.”
Barbara always nurtured a dream of writing for young people – this is her eighth book – and when her own children were old enough, she was faced with a choice. She could go back to teaching full time in the Highlands, or give herself a day or two a week for a little while, to see if she could “give the writing a whirl”.
She made the right decision. And has established her own special bridge to her readers.
Rivet Boy is published by Cranachan on February 16.
