Chestermerian of seven years, Erin Royce has always been passionate about writing, but it was something her daughter, at the age of four, said that inspired Royce to write and self-publish her first book titled, “Mommy, why?”
“I haven’t written in 20 years. It was my daughter who brought back that I wanted to do it, and I never thought I would again. She started it, and now I’m on a roll with other work,” Royce said.
“I used to write poetry. I started some books in my early 20’s, and I took a creative writing course, but that was devasting. It was a very negative environment, and I stopped writing,” she said.
Adding, “Now I’m realizing I shouldn’t have done that. I wanted to show my daughter that when you start something you finish it. When I first decided to write the book, I had to finish it because I had to show her that you can accomplish what you set out to do even when it’s hard.”
Royce was inspired to write “Mommy, why?” after her daughter, at the age of four, grabbed her, pulled her down, and said, “Mommy, why? Why aren’t you listening? Why aren’t you hearing me? Why don’t you look at me when I’m talking?”
“I thought, ‘Wow, I need to start doing that.’ That was the catalyst to “Mommy, why?” I wanted to give her something tangible to hold onto, to know I’m listening, hearing her questions and what she says matters,” Royce said.
“As I was writing, I thought every family could do this, a parent, a grandparent, or a teacher, anyone can take that quiet moment with children and give them the time to ask questions, give them time and space to tell them it’s OK, and that they are being heard. That will help develop very strong bonds in the relationships they are trying to build,” she said.
Now, Royce’s daughter is nearly 10 years old, and she will still stop whatever she is doing, make eye contact, and take a few minutes with her daughter.
“It came from her questions, with a greater want that all parents, and teachers take the time for our kids. Hopefully, the more this gets out there, the more people will take the time for each other,” Royce said.
“It’s to let parents know that I know what it’s like, it’s a busy life, it’s letting them know to take the time for their children because they will appreciate it,” she added. “The book is to let kids know that they can ask questions.”
After Royce was finished writing the book, she began to look for an illustrator. However, she wanted someone who lived in the Calgary area, and who she could meet with regularly.
“One day I sat down and thought who am I going to get to do this, and it was an “Ah-Ha” moment.
I thought Katie Carlson. She’s a fantastic writer and illustrator, and at the time she was 14,” Royce said.
“She was one of our neighbours, I’ve known her for over five years, and I saw the work she did,” Royce said.
She added, “I gave her a stack of photos, then she came up with the illustrations to go with the words of the book. When she gave me her sketches, I didn’t change anything.”
Carlson has always been interested in illustration, as she used to create her own book illustrations growing up.
“I really enjoyed it, and I had a lot of fun doing it. When I was younger, I used to illustrate my own little books, but getting it actually published is really amazing,” Carlson said.
“I don’t think there’s an age to it or experience to it, the illustrator and author have to fit. The illustrator has to see the vision of what the author is saying and at 14 she listened to what I said, and she came up with beautiful illustrations that matched the story,” Royce said.
“Mommy, why?” has been received extremely well, and positively by the public, and Royce’s friends.
“I kept it very close. I didn’t tell a lot of people in the beginning. When I started to tell people, everyone was very surprised that I was writing, and the people I shared it with were excited,” Royce said.
“I had a book reading with children, and there were hugs and questions. It was amazing, they wanted to talk, when I did that with the kids, I felt it had a place in this world, and in people’s lives,” she said.
Although “Mommy, why?” has been well-received, getting to this point was a long journey for Royce, as she decided to self-publish the project.
“The writing part came so easily, but it was the self-publishing, it was everything that surrounded the story. I had to find all of the right pieces to put together, whether it was the editor, web designer, printer, all of those steps when you self-publish you have to take care of,” she said.
Adding, “It took time to find the right people, it ended up being a couple of years altogether.”
