Viewing the Isle of Man from high up in the hills above Lancaster, through the mist and haze across the Irish Sea, you could almost believe it is a magical place, the sort of place where dragons would call their home...
Such imagery and ideas have influenced Jane Huddlestone, a new children’s author to create a new series of kids’ books which have the Isle of Man and its mythical, magical air firmly at its heart.
Jane, who lives in Lancaster, came up with her ’Sunburst City Dragons’ books after being inspired by the hills and views around Lancaster and her own personal connections to the Isle of Man.
The charming and colourful books feature a family of dragons who live hidden on Mount Thunder who all have different hobbies and skills and often come into contact with other dragons who live nearby.
’The island features heavily in one particular book, "Harry’s Holidays", where Harry the dragon flies over to the island, once known as the "Isle of Dragons".’
Jane said she began to write the books as a way of coping with a series of incredibly challenging situations during 2020.
She found herself embarking on a course of chemotherapy for lymphoma right at the start of the lockdown and then faced living with facing a serious illness during the pandemic, at the same time as finding herself out of work and having two young children at home.
’I used to make up stories for my children, based on looking at the hills around Quernmore, just outside Lancaster,’ said Jane.
’We’d pretend that there were sleeping dragons hidden in caves there.
’After I finished my chemotherapy, and after the kids went back to school I began to put these ideas down as stories, as a way of coping with everything and getting myself back together.’
The island holds a few very special connections for Jane, and she wanted it to feature in the books as much as possible.
’The Isle of Man for me is a very special place. It’s somewhere that you can see across the sea when you are walking around the hills and it just looks like a very magical and mythical place.
’My father used to live in Douglas and it felt so exciting travelling by myself on the ferry, when I was 11 or 12 years old, to come and see him. Also, my sister lived there for years and we spent a lot of time there.
’The Isle of Man was always a real haven for me, a place of joy and pure escapism. Not being able to come over to the island over the past year has made it seem even more so.
’It is for my children now too. They loved coming over on holidays, visiting the castles, seeing the seals and the sights. We are desperate to get back when we can.
’I hope the books give that similar feeling to those who read them and encourage people to come and see the Isle of Man for themselves.’
More information on Jane’s books is available at sunburstcitydragons.co.uk