A mother and daughter duo from Aberdeen have teamed up to write their first children’s book.
Jill Law and Ann McLauchlin have always wanted to write a story together but never had the time while running their city centre nursery.
Years after selling up the business, they have now published their debut book, Fa-Ra-Ra Boom-De-Ay! which they described as a “labour of love”.
“We noted a few niches while we had the nursery, but we just got so busy and never had the time,” Ms Law said.
“We eventually got round to getting together to work out a plan and characters, the story and all the rest of it.
“It started out as more of a bit of fun but once we started gathering ground, we thought it could go somewhere and then it grew into a book with a rhyme and everything.”
‘An ideal gift for a flower girl’
The pair are no stranger to working together having run First Class Nursery in Aberdeen for almost 20 years.
Mrs McLaughlin founded the city nursery in 1996 with her daughter coming on board as a managing partner.
Since selling up in 2015, Ms Law has become a wedding celebrant while her mum has enjoyed “globe-trotting, wine sampling and topping up her Vitamin D intake” in her retirement.
The 47-year-old’s role as a wedding celebrant has influenced many elements of the story, which is told through the eyes of eight-year-old soon-to-be flower girl, Farrah Frett.
Ms Law said: “It’s a fantasy story from a mainstream perspective – an ideal gift for a would-be flower girl.
“Farrah goes into the bridal boutique with her mum and gets bored so she ends up wandering along off into the room with all the bridesmaids’ dresses. She goes in between the dresses with a Narnia transition and comes out the other side in the first fantasy world.”
‘Dream big kiddo’
The character, who was partly inspired by Ms Law’s young niece, then travels through a number of worlds collecting various objects before returning to reality for her mum’s wedding.
She added: “The mum and dad get married at the end, and the grandad is in full Highland wear, so there’s definitely a proud Scottish link in the book, and different cultures represented. We were determined to get that in there.”
The book is dedicated to Mrs McLauchlin’s late husband and Ms Law’s dad, Ken McLaughlin, who told his daughter to “dream big”. It also features her beloved boxer dog, Floyd.
The idea for the story first came to the pair as they enjoyed mussels and chips at Bistro Verde, and the words were eventually brought to life through Emily Walker-Vaughan’s illustrations.
Creating the book was a long process, which was delayed due to the pandemic, but they are delighted with the end result.
‘A real tongue twister’
Even though it is aimed at seven to nine-year-olds, they believe the book is entertaining and engaging for adults too.
“Quite a lot of the rhymes are real tongue twisters,” Ms Law said. “It’s very much one that you still sit down and read with your parents. It’s an ambitious read, you can get into a real twist reading it.”
When asked if they have plans to write another book together, they said “never say never”.
“Maybe if it ends up having legs,” the mum-of-one said. “We both really enjoy writing, and we’d never say never to writing again because that was the most fun part of the whole thing.
“It allowed the child inside of us to come out and explore. We want to inspire young children to read, create, fantasise and dream.”
Mrs McLauchlin added: “One of the best types of children’s books is one that’s as rewarding to its creators as it is to the reader. And the best part is there’s no upper age limit on fantasy.”
Fa-ra-ra Boom-de-ay! can be bought in print or as an e-book directly from Troubador.
Limited signed copies are available from No. 18 Gifts and Cards on Chapel Street, Eden Creative Florists on Forest Avenue and The Owl at Number Two on Midstocket Road.
Conversation