Sam and the Adventure

Please support my Kickstarter campaign—Help me turn the story behind the mural into: Sam & the Adventure—the book! :

Hello everyone,

Some of you may be aware that for the last I year or so, I’ve been busily—writing, illustrating and designing a children’s story book entitled: Sam & the Adventure.

Sam & the Adventure is based on a mural that I painted many years ago for my then 2-year old son, Sam. This 88-page book, filled with 43 full colour illustrations is the story about a small boy, who sets off in a blue, ten carriage train, in search of an adventure and the story ends with a light-hearted twist.

***

The Plan:
I have finally reached the point where my next step is publication. In order to be able to do this—printing costs and publishing in general being an expensive business—I have set up a Kickstarter campaign. This is where you come in...

How you can support me:
If you visit my Kickstarter campaign you will find a video outlining the whole project and a selection of rewards to pledge for. As you can see there is something to suit every budget.

By choosing one of the rewards, you’ll not only help me towards my goal, but for or a modest pledge you already have secured your very own, signed copy of Sam & the Adventure.

Please Share the campaign:

Another way to help me reach my goal is to share the Kickstarter campaign with family, friends and anyone else you think might be interested.

Also, if you don’t have children, or know of any you can delight with a copy of Sam & the Adventure, maybe there’s a school who’d be pleased to receive a copy or one of the packs!

Please share the Kickstarter campaign—via social media, email, word of mouth—every little action will help me get closer to my goal, being completely funded and ultimately enable me to publish the story.

The hashtag I will be using is: #SamandtheAdventure

Many thanks, Alison Day

© Alison Day 

Alison Day Designs 

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Blue Train Mural

Below is a short (amateur) film of a hand-painted mural (1 x 1 metre), I created for the wall of a young boy's bedroom. When asked what he wanted, he said: a blue train, with ten carriages, filled with animals and him driving the engine.

Although the mural no longer exists, I’ve written and published the story to the mural accompanied by a series of illustrations, which will soon be self-published as a children's storybook.

© Alison Day Designs

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Forced to Fly

Forced to Fly is a useful anthology, offering practical information on living abroad, including invaluable tips, groups to join, and a variety of websites to consult, between its covers. Aiming to give moral support and advice for those considering a move abroad - how to survive, and ultimately enjoy it. 

This, the second issue, also includes an extensive collection of short stories, contributed by a total of 40 expatriates, as a result of a call-up and final selection by Jo Parfitt. All of the authors, have lived or continue to live abroad. Their stories highlight experiences, both good and bad: stories which are insightful, often highly amusing and cover a wide gamut of emotions that we can all relate to. Stories which are oftentimes hilarious, sometimes thought provoking and now and again downright frustrating.

Forced to Fly (Summertime Publishing), is the second book where I have participated in its re-issue. This time, however, I not have only been instrumental in the re-vamp of the internal text, but also a series of 50 black and white illustrations, to accompany and enhance the various sections, and collection of short stories throughout the book. 

So...  for your OWN copy of Forced to Fly, why not pay a visit to Amazon, where you can purchase it: for Kindle  or as a paperback .

And... once you are in possession of your own copy, you will discover that one of the short stories is mine!

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Twitter: @alisondaydesign
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Once upon a time...

Letters Never Sent

Hot off the press, in the hands of Jo Parfitt (Summertime Publishing).

Recently, I was asked by Jo Parfitt of Summertime Publishing to help with the re-publication (4th) of Letters Never Sent by Ruth van Reken. This involved resetting the internals and designing a new cover. Designing the cover was wonderful - it does something when one of your designs becomes a fully-fledged book cover! Resetting the internals, however, was initially not so wonderful and became a very steep learning curve for me indeed: learning a new program, intermittent major rants, as well as loads of cups of tea. But now, mission accomplished, it's out there and I'm very pleased to have been involved in its re-issue.

Letters Never Sent, is a series of letters written in retrospect by Ruth van Reken to her parents. Although never actually posted in letter form, it is her way of documenting her earliest childhood memories, not only for them, but for herself too. In the letters, she tries to explain the separation and loneliness she experienced, whilst her missionary parents were out doing  'God's work' on placements in other countries than where she was. 

From a young age, Ruth didn't see her parents for long periods of time, and we can feel the struggle and ensuing sadness inside her. We follow her journey from young girl to adult woman; notice her unwavering faith in God and her attempts to be happy and 'cope'. Often-times she is aided by a deep self-examination and an underlying feeling of shame, which emerges as her survival mechanism. All this is coupled with supportive friends, teachers and supervisors - her second family at boarding school - who help to establish her identity. Later, we are privy to her continuing journey through life: her marriage, the start of a family, and eventual following in her parent's footsteps.

Ruth van Reken is one of many whose childhood circumstances have led them to be referred to as TCK's (Third Culture Kids). This classification arises when a child lives in a third culture to which it is not native and is alien to those cultures its parents originate from. Although not a native to the third culture, the child will take it on in order to form an identity, and in doing so help to stabilize feelings of unrest or insecurity. As the movement of people the world over increases, so do the number of TCKs and global nomads at large. As a result this story may evoke a few 'Aha!' moments or a sympathetic understanding from those with similar histories. 

Letters Never Sent is an insightful, poignant and interesting read for all, regardless of your religious affiliations. 

For your own copy of Letters Never Sent, you can purchase it on Amazon as a Kindle edition or as a paperback .

Review: Expat Bookshop (16.04.12)

© Alison Day Designs

Futures Calendar

Every week throughout 2012, ThinkActVote will release one illustrative future to help you imagine yours; here are the first five - For more information follow the links.

   The works will be exhibited, and a publication of all the illustrations will be created in book form. If you'd like to help or support this cause, please get in contact with ThinkActVote

David Hawkworth's Future Illustrated by Alison Day

David Hawksworth‘s Future “The Future I Choose is creative, connected, cultured, with less consumption and waste.”  More info here

Shibin Vasudevan's Future Illustrated by Maria Papadimitriou (Slowly The Eggs)

Shibin Vasudevan’s Future is one “where the word waste ceases to exist in our dictionaries.” 
More info here

James Parr's Future illustrated by Gareth Barnes

James Parr’s Future is one “where putting the environment first is a reflex“  
More info here

Ed Gillespie's Future, illustrated by Joana Casaca Lemos

Ed Gillespie’s Future: The Future I Choose is green. Not just a colour. Not just a political party. Not just a term for naivety! ...  More info here

Joy Green's Future illustrated by Anila Babla

Joy Green’s Future: The future I choose is one where the cities are full of birds, the oceans are full of fish and the wild areas are coming back. And we all know how to grow vegetables!”  
More info here

1. The Futures Interview: http://alisondaydesigns.blogspot.nl/2011/12/futured-interview.html

2. Video: http://alisondaydesigns.blogspot.nl/2012/01/futures-exhibtion-think-act-vote.html

3. Book launch and press release: http://alisondaydesigns.blogspot.nl/2012/07/the-future-we-choose.html

Alison Day Designs

Boy Reading

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