A Real Life Marcie?
When my publisher sent me the cover illustration by South Australian artist Danny Snell for my first children’s book, Marcie Gill and the Caravan Park Cat, it immediately felt familiar. Was it the seaside setting? The vintage caravan? The green-eyed cat? No, it was Marcie herself, head in hands, hair sticking up. I searched through old family photos and found the one I remembered – me aged about 5, with Mum, my three sisters and my big brother, all squinting into the South Australia sunshine, me finding the bright glare particularly hard, my hair sticking up just like Marcie’s. It was pure coincidence that Danny drew Marcie like this – oh, how I love a good coincidence. I also really love Danny’s cover.
Marcie Gill and the Caravan Park Cat will be published in Australia/NZ on Nov 2 and is available for pre-order now here.