Where did the idea for The Construction Site Band come from?

The Construction Site Band

My idea for the Constuction Site Band came from the most unexpected place, as most of my story ideas do. I was killing time in Sydney waiting for my partner to finish a work meeting, and I went to the Hyde Park Barracks to see an exhibit on convicts. I love learning about the convicts - I actually have an idea for a convict book bubbling away in my mind - whether or not that will become a published story, who knows.

Anyway, I was in the part of the exhibit describing the jobs that the convicts were required to do as part of their punishment, and one of their jobs was to build roads, bridges, buildings, and wharves etc. particularly in the colonies of New South Wales and Van Dieman's Land. There was a lot of work to do, and I imagined the noise of this construction echoing across the towns, almost as background music to the daily goings on. And then I thought a great picture book story idea would be to have the noises of a construction site, interacting with people and their tasks throughout the day.

The book took a while to write and get right, as most do, and it was a slightly different version when I sent it to my publisher. We ended up simplifying the story and including more noise sounds throughout the book. I'm so happy with the final version, and I can't wait to hear what people think about it.

I never thought that visiting that exhibition would lead to a picture book, but I guess it's an important reminder that ideas can come from anywhere. I will have to tell you sometime about how my idea for my second book, Love was Hiding, came from Magda Szubanski's (love her!) memoir, Reckoning. It's another unexpected one!