A LETTERKENNY teacher used spare time during lockdown to pen a new fantasy book series for children after being encouraged by her daughter to get them published. It was the first time Louise Flanagan put pen to paper but after her daughter Lucy was so impressed with the books she asked her for more copies to share with her friends.
Speaking to the Donegal News this week Louise, who is a teacher in Loreto, said she never intended for the books to be shared with anyone else other than her own children.
“It is something that came about spontaneously. My daughter Lucy had been reading a lot of magical fairy books and I noticed her reading had come on leaps and bounds.”
With two little boys also in the house Louise thought it was a pity that the books her daughter was reading were very girly and started to think about the need for a magical adventure story that would also appeal to boys. After her mother suggested writing her own story Louise decided to take on the project to pass the time during the first lockdown.
There are six books in total in the Dragonterra series which track the magical adventures of a pair of eight year old boys. The boys, Evan and Conor, are minded by their granddad when their parents are at work. One day their granddad tells them about a portal he has in the garden that leads to the land of Dragonterra.
Throughout the series the boys are sent on quests to Dragonterra and explore different parts of the land on their adventures.
After initially printing the stories off on A4 sheets, Louise was taken aback by her daughter’s reaction when she devoured them very quickly.
“Lucy said the stories were brilliant and asked if there were more copies she could give to her friends to read. She was disappointed when I said there wasn’t,” said Louise. “I told her I would need to turn them into a proper book and I didn’t know how I would go about doing it.”
But Lucy was persistent and after persuading Louise to give it a try she went about getting her gripping adventures published.
Luckily she knew people in the industry and her uncle, Paul Martin, a Dublin based graphic designer leant his knowledge and expertise to the series.
Talented artist, actor and musician Megan Armitage also came on board to provide the very important illustrations for the books. With images on every page, a heavily illustrated book was key for Louise’s vision.
“I sent Megan off the books and she really enjoyed the stories. She got stuck right in and drew hundreds of illustrations. It came together really well,” said Louise.
The tagline of the series is fantasy adventure for young readers and is pitched at five to ten year olds. For younger children parents will have to read the books as a bed time story. Louise said the feedback has been great and the series is appealing to children of all ages right up to more accomplished readers at ten.
“I am really glad I did pursue it, without Lucy’s persistence I wouldn’t have. I think as adults we manage to talk ourselves out of things,” said Louise.
She also thanked her mother for her encouragement and interest and said she was a big instigator in the project.
When Louise isn’t writing fantasy fiction she is also extremely busy as a co-administrator of the hugely popular social media page ‘Letterkenny Babies’.
The Dragonterra Books are priced at €29.99 for the six books and they are available through the website www.dragonterra.ie with free delivery nationwide.
A book launch will take place at Sprint Educational Supplies on Main Street from 10am to 12 noon today and at Endgame Comics at Market Square from 2pm to 4pm. There will be copies of the books to purchase in both venues and both the author and illustrator will be in attendance to sign copies of the books.
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