Me in my cave with all the creative chaos around me. The first character study of Indigo, then called Frida, on the drawing board.

the beginning…In the cave

Five years ago in 2020, I was sitting in my damp, dark basement studio—somewhere between hopeful and mildly delusional—writing a story. I never really considered myself a writer, I was very self-conscious of my writing and far too shy to ever show anyone. I actually wrote a lot, short stories, diaries and poems mostly, but they were never really meant for anyone but me. This story felt different, although it wasn’t perfect (far from it), there was something in it that I really wanted to share with the world.

That story would go through more changes than I can count. Characters got new names, plot twists were added (and deleted), and the ending? Completely different. But the core—the essence of what I wrote that day—never changed. It stayed with me, quietly but persistently, through every rewrite, redraft, and rethinking.

And now… here we are.

September 4th, 2025. That’s the day my debut book, written and illustrated by me, is published.

(Just writing that is complete madness.)

It’s taken so much work to get here. Long nights, self-doubt, stubborn determination, and probably more cups of tea than any doctor would recommend. Some tears, but also lots of joy. Creating this book has been challenging but also one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done.

So I wanted to take a moment to say thank you—to everyone who’s supported me, encouraged me, or just asked “how’s the book going?” over the years. It meant more than you know.

To mark this milestone, I wanted to share my process. Not the whole thing, because who’s got time for that!! But just a little to show what Indigo and I have been through together.

Meet Indigo Irvine

Indigo Irvine—the main character of my book—has been with me from the very beginning. Over the years, she’s taken on many forms, but she was always inspired by one very special curly girl: my daughter, Talitha.

The very first version of Indigo was sketched back in 2020. She was actually called Frida back then, but the name didn’t really work with the story, so Indigo was born. I played with a few different forms for indigo, she’s had brown hair, glasses, and various different outfits. By the time the book found a publisher, I had pretty much settled on her final design.

In her final form her wild halo of golden curls, a wardrobe full of mismatched patterns, matched that perfectly imperfect energy.

Early Character sketches of Indigo Irvine

Pitching the book

To pitch the book, all I needed was a couple of finished spreads, a vignette, and the character designs, just enough to show the publishers how the book could look. With the help of my amazing agent at Bright, we refined the manuscript and perfected a synopsis. Then came the hard part: handing it over.

Letting go and waiting was tough. But I had to trust that someone out there would fall in love with Indigo the way I had. My agent took the reins from there, pitching the book at major events like the Bologna Book Fair and getting it in front of the right eyes.

And then… autumn 2023, I got the email. The lovely team at Tate had read the story—and they wanted to publish it!!

Story boards and layout

The first step after signing contracts was the storyboard—this part was a piece of cake. By then, the story had been swirling around in my head for nearly three years. I could see the scenes, the pacing and the page turns.

I used tiny rectangles that were a same ratio to the final book and extremely rough sketches, I’m talking scribbles and stick men kind of rough! The sketches didn’t need to be amazing, just good enough to show the editor what was in my mind and to help me with the layout and composition .

thumbnails of picture book with very rough sketches and text — rough sketches in thumbnails of the book

The Look, the Feel, and Finding the “Wow”

The next stage was the hardest, but also the most fun part. Getting the look and feel of the illustrations just right. This felt like the most important piece of the puzzle for me. I wanted every page turn to feel like a little surprise, a little burst of joy. The way my favourite picture books always do. Although I had illustrations from the pitch already. I wanted to refresh them and make sure the whole book felt coherent.

So began the experimenting.

One of the biggest challenges was stepping into the shoes of one of the characters—Indigo’s mum. She’s an artist rather than an illustrator. At first, the paintings I created for her character felt too polished, too much like me. And that wasn’t the point.

I needed her artwork to feel different. Freer. Looser. Less "illustrated" and more expressive. I looked at artists that I admire for inspiration, played around, and got messy with paint !! I also painted with Talitha, which helped a lot here, she was the best teacher to teach me how to paint more instinctively.

In fact, I ended up loving those experimental pieces so much that I turned them into art prints. You can check them out [here].

The roughs and final art

Creating the roughs brought was really exciting. It was the first time I could really see the entire book coming together—page by page, scene by scene. One of the best things about being both the author and the illustrator is that I got to do it all my way. If something didn’t feel right, I could tweak it, redraw it, or scrap it entirely—no approvals needed.

But… that also meant the pressure was on.

I’m my own worst critic, and wanting everything to be just right meant that things took a lot longer than I expected. There were certain spreads that I did 4 or 5 versions of, knowing something was off but not quite sure what.

Thankfully, the team at Tate was amazing throughout this stage. If I hit a wall, I could reach out and they’d come back with thoughtful, constructive feedback—never telling me what to do, but gently guiding me toward what could work better. That support made such a difference. It turned a sometimes overwhelming process into something collaborative.

Having deadlines also helped a lot. There were only so many reworks I could do in the time I had. Sometimes you just have to let go and accept it for what it is.

painterly experiments of jungle scenes for picture book

And Now, It's Nearly Here…

Looking back, it’s hard to believe that what started as a scribbled idea in my basement studio has grown into a real, published book. It’s been five years of learning, doubting, growing, and creating—and now, in just a few short days, Indigo Irvine will be out in the world.

I’m so proud of this book. Not because it’s perfect (it absolutely is not), but because it’s full of love. Every page, every brushstroke, every word holds a little piece of me.

Thank you to everyone who’s been part of this journey, whether you cheered me on, helped me refine a sentence, or simply believed this day would come.

I hope when you turn the pages of this book, you feel some of the joy, wonder, and messy magic that went into making it.