I'm so delighted to be part of the Books on Tour Blog Tour for Ashling Kwok's brand new picture book The Battle. This is a gorgeous book - both the story and those illustrations (by Cara King)! - about facing fears that are holding you back. Ashling was kind enough to answer some questions about the book and the inspiration behind it, so I'll let her tell you more!
I would love to know whether there was a particular event or person that inspired this story? And how close is your character, Edward, to the real-life inspiration?
Can you please tell us a bit
about your latest title, The Battle?
The
Battle is the
story of a little boy named Edward who is anxious about starting knight school. He’s sure
that it will be full of ogres and dragons so he puts on his armour and prepares
for battle. As the day progresses, Edward soon realises that the dragons
and ogres he imagined don’t actually exist. They were figments of his
imagination brought on by his fear.
What are the main themes in
the book, and why did you want to write about them?
The
main themes are fear, anxiety, friendship, kindness, perception, and the power
of the imagination. The Battle was based on real life experience so most of the
themes naturally evolved. However, I did try to highlight the role that perception
plays in our lives and how sometimes our fears are so strong that they make us
see things that aren’t really there.
I would love to know whether there was a particular event or person that inspired this story? And how close is your character, Edward, to the real-life inspiration?
The
Battle was inspired by a very special person – my son, Aiden – who developed a
fear of going to school when he was 11 years old. He believed that he was being
bullied by his friends and that the only way to escape them was to hide away from
the world. It took a long time to get Aiden to face his fears and to reframe
his thoughts - but we got there in the end!
Edward
and Aiden couldn’t be more alike. Everything from their physical appearance, to
their mannerisms are exactly the same. Every time I look at Edward, all I can
see is my beautiful little boy.
Do you have a favourite part
of the story, or an area that was particularly difficult to write? Why?
My
favourite part of the story is when Edward realises that his armour is holding
him back. I think that’s such a powerful concept because we all wear armour
sometimes and don’t realise how much better our lives would be if we let our
guards down.
The
hardest part to write was the opening paragraph because it reminded me about
how terrified Aiden actually was. Watching my son walk into school every
morning broke my heart but I knew that if I didn’t send him into battle, he
would never learn how to manage his fears.
The themes of the book are
pretty universal, and I think will resonate with a lot of readers. How do you
hope readers, parents and educators will utilise your book following their
literary experience?
I
hope that The Battle is not only enjoyable to read but that parents and
educators use it as a tool to introduce children to the concept of perception
and the fact that how we perceive the world around us directly
influences everything we do. If we see ourselves as someone who is weak or
unworthy, it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy and we will always struggle
in life. If we perceive the world as scary, we will approach people and places
with trepidation or choose to hide away. It’s such an interesting and important
topic to explore.
The illustrations, by Cara
King, are absolutely gorgeous. Are there any little quirks or particular
aspects in them you would like to draw our attention to?
When
I saw the sample illustration that Cara sent to EK Books, I almost cried. Cara
has never seen a picture of my son but Edward is the spitting image of him. Everything
from his wavy dark hair, to the look in his eyes, to the way Edward sat on the
floor reluctantly getting dressed for school was indicative of my son. I knew
from the moment I saw Edward that Cara was the perfect illustrator for the job.
Finally, I’d love to know
whether there are other children’s books covering similar themes you have
enjoyed, and did you draw inspiration from any of them?
I
can’t think of any other picture books that focus on the exact same themes as
The Battle but there are lots of fabulous books about overcoming fears, making
friends, and starting school such as Jessica’s Box and Sarah’s Heavy Heart by
Peter Carnavas.
To
be honest, I didn’t draw inspiration from any other books when I was writing
The Battle. It was based on an issue my son was going through so I basically
watched the story unfold before my eyes. I could feel my son’s pain so deeply
that I had all the emotion I needed to tell this story.
Thank you so much!
Massive thanks to Ashling for answering my questions and giving us a peak behind the scenes! And of course to Books on Tour for having me along as part of the blog tour!
xo Bron
***
The Battle by Ashling Kwok
Source: I received a free e-copy via Books on Tour
Ashling Kwok is a Sydney based freelance copywriter - you can find her online here.
You can find Cara King and her gorgeous art on her website Caratoons here.
Find out more about Books on Tour PR & Marketing on the website here.
Massive thanks to Ashling for answering my questions and giving us a peak behind the scenes! And of course to Books on Tour for having me along as part of the blog tour!
xo Bron
***
The Battle by Ashling Kwok
Source: I received a free e-copy via Books on Tour
Ashling Kwok is a Sydney based freelance copywriter - you can find her online here.
You can find Cara King and her gorgeous art on her website Caratoons here.
Find out more about Books on Tour PR & Marketing on the website here.
