ABOUT ME
Hello! I’m Kirstie Watson, children's storyteller and indie picture book author, based in Milton Keynes, UK.
For as long as I can remember, I've scribbled down little story ideas. It was just a little hobby and for years I kept them all to myself, safely hidden away in my notebooks.
When I had my two children, I was inspired to dust off the old notebooks and start sharing my stories with them. My children have become my inspiration, my sounding boards and also my harshest critics.
In 2016 I took the drastic and terrifying decision to quit my day job and focus on writing full-time. I spent 6 months literally writing my heart out. It was wonderful and something I’ve never quite found time to do since.
Creating something unique
About this time, I also started Telltale Tots: children's interactive storytelling events and parties. I wanted to create something a bit different to the children’s classes and parties already on the market - I wanted to create an immersive, magical storytelling experience. I wanted to inspire children to pick up books, and even start their own storytelling. After all, why should being able to write stand in the way of creating a good story.
Find out more about Telltale Tots
MY FIRST BOOK
The Witch’s Cat and The Cooking Catastrophe was always a firm favourite with the Telltale Tots, so I decided to take the plunge and self-publish my first book.
The book was illustrated by Magdalena Sawko who is a wonderful illustrator based in Poland. I found Magdalena online and fell in love with her beautiful line and watercolour illustrations. She really brought the story to life with her interpretation of the Witch’s Cat.
I knew I’d sell at least one copy to my mum and dad. But It achieved more success than I could have imagined. I found lots of wonderful support from my hometown of Milton Keynes, and the book was also picked up by major book retailers in the UK and worldwide. I learned a lot through the whole experience and soon got to working on the next book, Pirate Mouse which launched February 2020.
What’s next?
I’m enjoying being out and about visiting schools. I’m also working on two new picture books for publication 2020/2021.
