Turning over a new leaf!
Beauty adviser now a published author thanks to her ‘muse’, daughter Scarlett
IT WAS a family holiday to Cornwall that inspired mum Carly Dutton to finally take the plunge and write her own children’s book.
Now the 36-year-old, from Kidsgrove, has released her debut novel.
‘Scarlett and Shabbee: The Adventure Begins’ follows the exciting exploits of Scarlett and her new magical friend Shabbee - a unicorn that she won on an arcade game.
The character of Scarlett is inspired by her real-life counterpart, Carly’s three-year-old daughter.
Carly, who is also a mum to five-and-a-half month-old Harry, hopes this is the start of many more stories to come, including more instalments of the adventure series.
The beauty adviser said: “I’ve always wanted to do this but never had the confidence until now.
“The whole process for the book started in November 2018 after we had been on holiday to St Ives. My daughter Scarlett won a unicorn toy in one of the grabber machines.
“I asked her what his name was and she said ‘Shabbee’. As soon as she said that I just thought ‘yep, there’s my story’.
“I sent the story to loads of publishers, but it’s a long process with a lot of waiting, especially with lockdown pushing things back as well. Finally, I heard back from Austin Macauley, who said they would love to publish it.
“They are a hybrid publisher and offer you the chance to contribute a small fee to cover some of the costs of publishing your work. It really helps you to get your foot in the door.
“I wanted the book to have a positive message, as well as being a fun, light-hearted adventure. There is an environmental, recycling theme to the story, with Scarlett and Shabbee going to the beach to clear it up. I grew up near the seaside in Kent so that has always been an important topic for me as it affects wildlife near the beach.”
Carly has donated some copies of the book to Scarlett’s school, as well as several to Kidsgrove library, for other children to enjoy.
She added: “I have read the book to Scarlett and she loves it. She always asks, ‘where’s my book?’. It’s quite special for her to have her own book. I’ll just have to write one for little Harry as well now!
“I’m always reading which really helps when you go on to be a writer. I have lots of ideas for future stories, I just needed the confidence to take this first leap.
“Now I know more about the publishing process. It’s taught me you need to be very patient.
“I’m excited to keep going and want to write more books in the future. I have ideas for the Scarlett and Shabbee series, as well as other, new stories.
“This whole experience has also taught me that there’s no age limit for something like this, either. I have always wanted to be a writer and it can take time before these things happen – JK Rowling was rejected a lot before she published Harry Potter.”
■ You can order Scarlett and Shabbee: The Adventure Begins at www.austinmacauley.com.