Sheila Knaggs was born in Liverpool, England, and spent her childhood growing up on the Isle of Man, a small, idyllic island in the middle of the Irish Sea, where it is still considered most unlucky to cross the fairy bridge without saying hello to the fairies. The island is steeped in fairy legend, so it’s not surprising that some of this has rubbed off on Sheila, whose debut children’s story, Fairy Beach, features some Aussie sand sprites of our very own.
Having moved to Melbourne as a teenager, Sheila immediately fell in love with Australia and all it has to offer. She has called the beautiful Mornington Peninsula home for the best part of three decades; she and her husband having raised their four, now grown, children here.
Sheila says she has always loved writing. Her adored grandad was a writer – he used to write for his local papers – so she likes to think she takes after him, and that perhaps he has played a small part in helping the stars align for her now. When she was at school, she remembers at one point, wanting to be a journalist, so the intention was there, even back then. But she went on to choose a career in travel, instead.
In her late 20s, Sheila signed up for an online creative writing course which cost her an arm and a leg, only to waste her money; it just wasn’t the right time. And then, later, when her children were all at school, she began an editing course, which she was told she was excelling at. But, again, it was never completed. Life just kept getting in the way.
But for as long as she can remember, Sheila has written poetry, mostly from a place of empathy. She says writing a poem for someone who was grieving was, at times, the only way she knew how to help a loved one or friend get through a very sad time in their life. Over the years, her poems have been read at funerals and weddings, both here and overseas.
Sheila’s first success at being published came in the form of a 2000-word rhyming story, chosen for an anthology called Tales from the Pandemic, by Eastern Regional Libraries. This book has now been deposited with the National Library and is also on Trove. So, the story of her experience over this time is now saved for posterity.
But it was when Sheila began working at a local primary school supporting students with additional learning needs that she was inspired to start writing for children. A friend subsequently invited her to a children’s writing conference, and that was that! Her eyes were opened to a whole new world!
Sheila finally got her big break, literally, when she fractured her ankle at work and was forced to take a term off. She felt like the universe had given her a gift – the gift of time! She sat on the couch and completed a children’s creative writing course run by renowned Australian children’s author, Jen Storer. She then entered some of Jen’s writing competitions, and was thrilled when her stories were shortlisted, with two of her entries winning their categories. One of these stories was Fairy Beach which Melbourne publisher, Affirm Press, picked up, and has now published.
Sheila says the idea for Fairy Beach came about quite by accident. One day, during lockdown, she and her husband went down to the beach to take a walk. It was a blustery day and nobody else was around, but when she got out of the car, she could hear what sounded like giggling and chattering. It turns out a friend had accidentally pocket-dialled them and the noise was coming from the phone inside her pocket. So, as she walked along the beach that day, the idea morphed from pocket fairies to shy little sand sprites who hide in the sand dunes and play on our lovely beaches, once we have all gone home to sleep.
Sheila says she feels humbled by all the wonderful feedback Fairy Beach has received. Affirm Press did a wonderful job matching her with talented West Australian illustrator, Jennifer Falkner. This, combined with Sheila’s whimsical, soft and lyrical language, is what has given Fairy Beach its magical appeal.
It is truly a dream come true, says Sheila, who could not be happier with the outcome. Sheila has a further two picture books in the pipeline with Affirm Press: one, all about the joys of camping, something close to her heart. And yes, you guessed it; the other, another beautiful fairy book! Meanwhile, tread carefully along our precious beaches, and look out for Fairy Beach in all the best bookshops.
sheilaknaggs.com