Writing a children's book ...

My sister and I have created a story that centres around my dog, Charlie. It started when he was a very small puppy, and has now developed into a full blown epic tale of wonder, 2 1/2 years in the making. Charlie was nicknamed, "Charlie, the Space Dog".

Charlie the Space Dog lives with his mum and dad in the big city, a long way away from where he was born. Charlie comes from a distant planet in the universe, and was left behind by accident when the crew from his spaceship left without warning. Charlie is very clever and wears a bright red cape. His mission is to defeat the evil McJimmius, which leads him into lots of trouble.

If you can picture it, the evil McJimmius (who get's loads of screen time) basically looks like Charlie's dad, but with an evil beard and moustache. Charlie's dad is a very important engineer, and Evil McJimmius is always trying to steal his ideas. Charlie (and the future character Lucy) are the only one's who see the resemblance and know he's up to no good. 

Some of the plot lines include, "Charlie goes to the country" (when we visit my mum in Inverell), "Charlie the Space Dog, stranded on the M5" (A morning where hubby, Charlie and I were stuck in traffic, and the car overheated and broke down) "Charlie get's a friend" (When Lucy enters the picture). 

We've also come up with two story lines to help kids learn about important things like, "Charlie get's depression" (He missed being with his friend Ted in the country), "Charlie says goodbye" (A topic which covers the fact that mum's dog Ted died recently) and "Charlie meets Trevor", (Trevor belongs to a lesbian couple at our dogpark). 

We keep meaning to write the book, but never get around to it. I have Googled it and it seems quite complex according to the children's authors (they may be afraid of the competition??). Have had the urge today to start writing about it, and may write some notes.