By Rachel Lawson, publisher at Gecko Press. When we translate a book into English from another language, one of the first questions for the translator is the names of the characters—and often that affects the title too.
As so often is the case, I was working on multiple stories about boats that weren’t really going anywhere, until Elephant appeared and ideas started to click. Once I figured out the storyline, I started pondering every beat of the story. What does it mean, what do I want to say? And how can I visualize this as clearly as possible?
When you experience your real life as dull and predictable, a book is a portal to adventure, to excitement, to dreams, experimentation and possibility.
I have always loved reading, to the point where as soon as I could read by myself, I would read anything I could find, including encyclopaedias cover to cover.
Currently, my mind-expanding travels take place on the pages of a different type of passport — the picture book. Here, both pictures and words offer a chance to travel without a plane ticket, to a new world, be it real or imagined. A picture book offers a round trip to the imagination, and these days, that’s my dream destination.
