1. What inspired you to write this book? On a stormy night, crossing from Italy to Greece in our small sailing boat, we were visited by an exhausted little house martin, who refused any food or water and only wanted to sleep… in a human hand. It was such a privilege to be trusted by this little creature, and to save his life that night. The bit about him sticking around the next morning and singing to us before he flew away is also absolutely true!
2. What exactly is it about — and who is it written for? I padded out the story with some background about house martins and migration, and obviously made Marty into a character who children would be able to identify with: his attachment to his family, his journey, his difficulties and his eventual rescue and reunion with his parents. It was written for children, either as a bedtime story read by an adult, or as a book that a slightly older child could read independently.
3. What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book? The most important thing for me in this story is the trust and compassion, and I hope people would really love little Marty, and feel his emotions as he finds his way through this treacherous journey. There is a more topical and serious theme, which is one of migration and the dangers of losing everything on a long journey. I love animals, and I always want to find ways to get people to connect with them as equal beings who feel sad, hungry, and lost, but who also battle the odds to survive.
4. How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design? The bird was a house martin, so his name had to be Marty, and I needed something simple and memorable for my target audience. The cover is a watercolour of our boat on voyage, and Marty is pictured – larger than life – as if he is a happy crew member, in the middle of telling his adventurous tale.
5. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers – other than run!? I’m not a writer in the normal sense, in that this was a project on the side. I wrote it up as a story and illustrated it because a friend with a small child heard the tale of the real bird and his insistence on sheltering in someone’s hand, and she said she would buy that if it were a book. I suppose the one piece of advice would be to seize the moment of inspiration and follow it up there and then, as I did sit on this book for six years after writing it! More generally, I think a piece of advice I would give anyone is that you can spend your whole life thinking things are out of reach (like getting a book published), but if you reach for them you will be surprised how the old adage “if you don’t ask, you don’t get” proves itself true (in a good way!).
6. Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book? The story is based on our encounter with this lovely little bird, so I had been to the places I was describing (the sea, mainly!), and had experienced little feathered visitors many times. They often land for a rest, and sometimes they accept food and water and then go on their way. On an unrelated note, although I teach much older children, I grew up with a primary-school teacher for a mum, and often went into school with her when I would otherwise have needed childcare. She was a good sounding board for the age-group at which to pitch this story.
7. How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to? My writing style for this book is a simple narrative one, with an educational element.
8. How do you feel your book compares to others in your genre? A lot of children’s books have a message of overcoming difficulty, or being lost or isolated, and encourage their readers to develop empathy and compassion, and this one does exactly that. It is perhaps slightly different in that it has a bird for a main character, rather than an animal children would more typically encounter, like a domestic pet.
9. What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book? I had to research house martins to find out about where and how they nest, when they migrate and to where, what they eat… and what eats them. The story itself was not too hard to write, as it is short, and the main part of it was a real event, so that wrote itself, and I just needed to make sure the language was a suitable level for the intended target audience. The illustrations were probably harder than the writing, as I'm very out of practice.
10. If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours? It’s different! This is a character that isn’t similar to other main protagonists in children’s books. He is also a model for perseverance and courage, and I think the book could encourage children to find out about birds and their migration patterns, as well as considering human migration and its causes and consequences. It could easily be a springboard for a larger topic in schools, such as looking at birdlife or seasons, and of course it resonates with anyone whose moral code or faith includes looking after others and overlooking differences to find the common ground. Most children would be able to identify with Marty’s feelings as he progresses through his adventure.
About The Author: J.C. Hartley is a teacher, musician and animal lover, and most of her creative work thus far has been in musical composition. This is her first children’s book, inspired by a true encounter some years ago whilst sailing from Italy to Greece. She has made her home in the north of England with her husband, who is a keen outdoorsman and sailor. There is a trailer for the book, if you’re interested in that: Marty's Big Adventure
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