Mabel and the Elephant

Meet Mabel and Ellis, my two clay models that inspired the story of my new children's book, Mabel and the Elephant, which I have published under the pen name Nina Louise.

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When I was a child myself, I used to love making models. In fact, one year (maybe during P3 or P4), I made a plasticine model of an elephant and it was entered into a local craft show by my primary school (I can’t remember if I won a prize, but I’m guessing I wouldn’t have forgotten if I did).

So, as well as writing my first novel during my rehabilitation from the worst effects of my chronic illness (if you don't know my story you can read about it here), I re-connected with this creative streak and I made Mabel and Ellis. Mabel was actually a gift to my husband who used the have a cat of the same name (which means I’ve sort of stolen her back – oops!).

Mabel and Ellis sat on the shelf for a few years, urging me to bring them to life in a story, and hey presto, that’s what I’ve done! Although it obviously wasn’t quite as simple as it sounds. I actually came up with the title, wrote the story and drew my sketches back in 2020, but I put it all aside because I didn’t have the illustrative talent to see it through. However, people I know kept asking me if I was going to publish Mabel and the Elephant and this reignited my desire to get my story out in the world. So, I found the perfect illustrator, who just happened to be the cover illustrator of three of my women’s fiction/romcom novels: the amazingly talented Jane Dunnet. Jane has had the patience of a saint while turning my (laughable!) amateur sketches into the stunning illustrations in this book, and for that I am immensely grateful. It’s been a full-on year getting the content finalised and the book set up for distribution but I’ve made it and I’m delighted with the end result!