Dragon brooch fired my imagination

IT was Christmas and the brooch from her husband was glistening in its box; a dragon-shaped pretty trinket that Anne Forbes could never have imagined would eventually change her life.

But there was something about it. Something that made her mind race and fuelled her imagination into conjuring up magical tales of mystical creatures, monsters, mind-boggling adventures, eventually drawing her home from the Middle East back to the city where she was born.

"It was just such a random thing, but that brooch has changed our lives," smiles Anne, fresh from putting the final touches to the fourth in a series of books inspired by her husband's gift.

"It encouraged me to write and through the books we have made so many friends, I've had so much support. I'm so grateful because if it hadn't been for that gift, then I'd probably be sitting at home all day doing tapestry instead!"

It doesn't appear likely that the tapestry kit will be making an appearance in the Forbes household in Netherbank any time soon. For inspired by her brooch, Anne is now well on the way to completing her series of seven children's books, each based in Edinburgh and further afield in Scotland, telling the fabulous tale of Arthur the dragon who lives deep under the city landmark where Anne played as a girl.

"It started off as a short story," explains the former primary school teacher, admitting that she still can hardly believe the route the brooch has taken her. "I looked at the brooch and the dragon and thought I could write something around it.

"We were living in Kuwait at the time. And when we came back to live in Edinburgh and I looked at the story again and thought 'right, I'll do something with this'. So I added some magicians, some dramatic scenery, monsters and enlarged the whole idea. It's been great fun and completely unexpected."

The result was her first book, Dragonfire, about a friendly dragon living beneath Arthur's Seat and protected by a magical group of people, the MacArthurs. When he's discovered by the son and daughter of the park ranger, the thrilling adventure begins. Writing the book was a magical experience in itself for its author – transporting her back in time to the days when as a schoolgirl she would happily play for hours on the landmark's grassy slopes.

"I revisited in my mind all the places where I used to play, places that were really quite mysterious and magical to a child. I found myself writing about the Castle and the High Street, places I knew very well," she explains.

"I was raised in Bruntsfield – my father was an antiques dealer – and both my parents were avid readers. The city was a big part of my life. And there's something about Edinburgh as a city – it never leaves you how ever long you stay away. Edinburgh is always there with you. Because I was living abroad for a long time, the feelings of my childhood towards the city have come out very strongly in the books."

Her Dragon series spans the city and beyond - the fourth book, due out soon, heads to the Highlands, the fifth takes readers down the east cost towards the Borders on a magical witch hunt. Others have sent the child stars of the book beneath the Capital to the haunting setting of Mary King's Close and flying high above the rooftops on magic carpets and winged horses.

But while the books ooze magic, mystery and adventure, Anne – acutely aware of what children like to read after years' experience as a primary school teacher – has made sure they have an ample helping of fun. "Humour has always appealed to me – the idea of faeries living inside Arthur's Seat with a dragon for company offered limitless opportunities to indulge in anything from the fantastic to the downright ridiculous. And I know how much children love to laugh."

But while she's still pinching herself over how she has evolved from retired schoolteacher to author, it's no real surprise that, aged 67, she's suddenly propelled herself from retirement to highly popular writer. After all, she had already tasted the heady heights of success after having her first story published in the Evening News, no less, when she was 19.

"As a child I read non-stop," she recalls. "Enid Blyton, all the children's classics, I read them all. And I loved to write.

"I was around 19 and I'd written a mystery story about the statues in George Street disappearing. Back then the Saturday Evening News carried readers' stories – and I was so proud when mine was published in the middle pages."

But there was little time to write between juggling studies to become a primary school teacher at Moray House. And later when she worked at Drummond Street school, time was even more precious.

By the time she had taken the adventurous step of relocating to teach in Kuwait – she left Edinburgh in 1966 for the oil rich nation to work for a school for ex-pats set up by BP – creative writing had fallen off her radar.

Motherhood came along – her daughter, Hanan has followed in her footsteps and is now a teacher at the Royal Mile Primary School – and Anne split her life between stints in Kuwait and Edinburgh.

But it wasn't until she opened her Christmas present one year to discover the dragon trinket that her creative mind started to itch.

These days she spends her summers at home in Edinburgh forming her plots and winter at her Kuwait home pounding her ideas into hard copy. And when she's not dreaming up adventures or writing them, she's touring Scottish schools and bookshops meeting her young fans.

"There's no greater thrill than seeing them enjoying my books," she smiles. "As a teacher I know how important it is to read and be read to by their parents. If there's one piece of advice I'd give to parents, it's read to your child."

And if that book happens to be about a dragon living underneath Arthur's Seat, all the better . . .

Anne Forbes will be at Borders bookshop, Fort Kinnaird, Newcraighall, on Wednesday, October 8, at 10am to discuss her Dragonfire series. Her three children's books –Dragonfire, The Wings of Ruksh and The Underground City – are published by Floris Books.