This Christmas we are thrilled to see Lola and her friend Ella return to the place that provided many happy memories for our young family.

Time to Reflect: A Year of Hop Lola Hop

Timing is everything, and that isn’t just true for the many yummy fresh fruits on our supermarket shelves and the one Lola discovers in our latest book.

It just so happened that I found inspiration for Lola #2 while snacking away on a punnet filled with fresh strawberries, which the children and I had picked a little earlier from the fields of one of the local farms near my parent’s house.

Every story has a home and so does Lola’s.

As I write this, I am sat more than 4,000 miles apart from the place that inspired ‘Hop Lola Hop’ and where - if you look closely enough - Lola’s adventure is indeed taking place.

Every story begins with an idea and the idea to Hop Lola Hop first arrived in form of a baby shower gift.

Not everything you write will see the day of light on #publicationday - a lot - you find - will fall victim to the ‘Delete’ Button.

Hop Lola Hop went through several rounds of edits, with every new version seeing new ideas added and others removed.

Today, I am sharing one of them with you!

Not everything you write will see the day of light on #publicationday - a lot - you find - will fall victim to the ‘Delete’ Button.

Hop Lola Hop went through several rounds of edits, with every new version seeing new ideas added and others removed.

Today, I am sharing one of them with you!

Coping with the loss of someone or something special can be an overwhelming experience, not just for little ones.

Going through a period of loss and grief can easily knock us off our feet. It’s often hard to accept that things may not be the same again with that special someone or something no longer at our side.

Not everyone will go on to write a piece of music after a bad break up, produce stand out artwork during a period of grief or feel inspired to share a story about their little one’s lost toy, yet creativity and indeed one’s imagination can work wonders to cope with unsettling events.

Imagining Lola’s adventures and ‘making up’ stories was my - admittedly impromptu attempt - at distracting my young child from a moment of sadness by adding in positive emotions of joy and hope.

Bear with me - this is my first ever Blog Post (EVER) and whilst I aim to keep future entries within a 2 min. reading frame - this one may slightly stretch it. If, however, you’d like to learn how Hop Lola Hop all came about, you may indeed want to read till the end …