Dad pens kids’ book while on furlough – he wanted to show six-year-old Myla that while they could not go too far during the coronavirus lockdown they could go anywhere they liked in their imagination
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A health and safety expert has put his time on furlough during the Covid-19 pandemic to good use – writing and illustrating a children’s book inspired by his young daughter.
Brian D Morrison wanted to show six-year-old Myla that even though they could not venture too far during the pandemic, they could still go anywhere they liked by using their imagination.
While furloughed from his day job as a health and safety adviser in the construction industry, he penned and illustrated the story Back in Time for Breakfast, which has just been published.
The 41-year-old dad-of-two, from Culduthel Avenue, said: “I went to art school in Aberdeen and have always enjoyed doodling.
“I design tattoos for friends and have scribbled down characters since I was a wee boy. I used to sing in a band and write songs, so one night after reading my little girl a bedtime story, I had an image of her counting sheep to get to sleep and thought I could try writing a story combining my art and song-writing skills to make a rhyming picture book.”
And he is not resting on his laurels as he has already written the rhyme for the follow up – Back in Time for Supper – and has also started working on the front cover.
“It’s a slow process when you work full-time and have young children so, as I say, being furloughed last year meant I could work all day on the illustrations,” he said.
“It was great getting the opportunity to blitz the drawings but I’d far rather be in full-time work and I am thankful that my work took me back after only a few weeks.”
He spent around 10 hours a day working on the illustrations during a three-week period of furlough and he had just sent the finished book to the publishers when, 20 minutes later, he got the call from his boss to return to work.
By contrast, the text only took a short time to complete. He said: “I finished the rhyme the following night then started drawing the night after. I was so keen to get the book done as quickly as possible during lockdown. Like many other children her age, Myla struggled to understand why she could not go and do fun things, play with friends and go to visit my family in Aberdeen.
“I wanted to show her that even if we are locked down and restricted from going to fun and exciting places, our imagination can take us anywhere we want to go – in this case across the seas, through the mountains, up in the clouds and even into the future.”
Mr Morrison said he had enjoyed the whole process and his wife Rona, who was heavily pregnant with their son Aiden who is now eight months old, had been a star by helping with the home-schooling of their daughter so that he could complete the illustrations.
“Rona was a champion,” he said.
And what did Myla think of the finished product? “She really likes it – she was so proud when the paperbacks arrived and she took them to school to show her friends. She says she really liked it when she shouted at the octopus for being bad and although she likes the drawings, she thinks she is prettier in real life.”
• The book is available here, here, here, here and Mr Morrison is hoping it will also be stocked in local bookshops once they reopen.
