STORYTIME!
Simon Rudd, 38, from Wigan, turned his doodles into a world of magic…
Drawing a stumpy little egg character on a piece of white paper, I added funny looking features. It was lockdown last year, and I wanted something creative to pass the time.
‘Do you like him?’ I asked my wife Erin, 34.
Chuckling away she nodded in agreement, as I started to think of a story for this strange fella.
Scribbling down some of my best work, I asked Erin to have a quick look over it.
She was a teacher after all, and spell checking was like second nature to her.
Adding a few lines of her own, we read over the story.
Adding the finishing touches, we posted a screenshot of our new creation on Instagram.
Odd Socks by Simon Rudd, I typed with a smile.
And comments started to pour in within seconds.
I can’t wait to read this one. Every single day, I would have a new idea for a character, quickly grabbing a pen to jot it down.
Contacting a publishing house, I wanted to know whether my stories would be something they were interested in.
‘We think these books would do really well, the basic publishing package will cost £3k,’ the editor confirmed.
£3k? I thought, instantly frowning at the quote.
So, I took the plunge and self-published The World of Eggs series of books through Amazon.
Stroking Erin’s pregnant belly, we couldn’t wait to welcome our first little girl together, and writing these tales seemed like a great way to connect with her.
Creating picture book after picture book wasn’t just something to cure the boredom blues.
Instead, I used the money raised from selling my books online to buy food parcels for local people who needed extra help during the pandemic.
The boxes would include anything from toothpaste to a bag of rice, giving the essentials to families in need.
Not only was I selling hundreds of funny stories to entertain kids
I have written over 70 books
in lockdown, but I felt like my books really could make a difference to others.
Then in October last year, our beautiful Raya Autumn was born.
Finally, someone else to listen to my daft and crazy tales!
Bedtime reading became a nightly occurrence and I started to bring my egg characters to life.
Raya Autumn’s nursery is full of plush teddy bears that I have had specially made for her, plus paintings and lampshades, too.
She is surrounded by her very own whimsical world of imagination.
I have now written over 70 individual stories, from The Pirate Bear to Eggscalibur, using all of my spare time and weekends to write new thrilling adventures.
Although I don’t draw them on paper anymore, I have an ipad that I create digital illustrations on – it’s a lot easier!
Late last year, my books even had a very royal encounter.
Sarah, the Duchess of York, read one of my books on Youtube as a bedtime story.
I am more than happy to give my tips and tricks to those who want to start writing, whether it’s to get into the industry or to just start being more creative.
And in the future, I would love to have my own animated series.
I know Raya Autumn would be my number one fan!