A little girl is determined to find out what happened to her favourite horse after she discovers it missing from the carousel.
North Bay authors Marla Hayes and Martha Attema co-wrote "The Magical Midnight Rescue," a picture book that follows the youngster on her quest to solve the mystery of the horse's disappearance.
“It’s about a little girl named Lily whose favourite horse is Sir Winsalot. She comes on the last weekend, Thanksgiving weekend, and finds that Sir Winsalot is not on the carousel. Jenny Lind, another horse, is there in its place, but she’s on an angle, she’s not working right,” explained Hayes.
“Lily’s father is a volunteer for the carousel and the railway, so she decides she’s going to solve the mystery of what happened to Sir Winsalot. So she has to hide away from her father. Everything happens at midnight because it’s magical at midnight.”
Loosely based on the North Bay Heritage Railway and Carousel Company, Attema says the project was a labour of love.
“First I got to work with Marla, who I have been friends with forever. We work really well together. We’ve done things together before so it was a lot of fun. We brainstormed and drove each other crazy and we then rewrote, and rewrote and rewrote,” laughed Attema.
The story took roughly two years to complete, and then it just sat waiting to get published.
“It’s gone through about 15 drafts. We tried to get it published with other people, so the word count has been as high as 2,000 and as low as 600," said Hayes.
The authors did not have to look far when it came to finding an illustrator.
“I have a friend who is also a screenwriter like I am, and she has a daughter Skye who needed a project for her courses, so she did the cover for us initially. We just fell in love with the cover so much, that Martha and I decided to publish it ourselves.”
Skye Hilliard is studying illustration and concept art in Ottawa.
“I knew I had to do a lot of research on what the carousel horses look like, and it’s very magical. It was pretty exciting to get to draw these incredibly intricate carousel horses,” said Hilliard.
"Before I started working on the actual illustrations, l did quite a few studies of actual real horses so I could get the look down right. When I finally started working on the illustrations it was a lot easier to get the look of the horses down.”
This is Hilliard's first time having her work published.
“It’s super exciting. It’s great to be out there especially since I’m still in school. I’m still studying so to actually have something to show for it already is a great feeling. It’s definitely an honour.”
Karen Upper, purchased a copy of the book. The librarian was intrigued by both the storyline and the illustrations.
"I like horses, I own some, and I like magic, so I felt it was a great combination. I'm hoping to share the book with multiple grade levels."
The book sells for $10 and is available at the North Bay Heritage Railway and Carousel Company and at Discovery North Bay Museum on Oak Street.
Proceeds, after expenses will go directly to the carousel.
