MARION C. HUSBAND

Is This The Way To Brodie Castle?

Gill Sherry

When Marion Husband entered her first ever writing competition in 2020, the last thing she expected was to win. But not only did she win the Scottish Association of Writers Under 7s Short Story category, it led to the publication of her debut children’s book, Granny Came To Visit.

“I’d already sent two stories, but at the last minute I decided to enter the granny story, just to see how it went on.”

So impressed was the adjudicator, a publisher from Sarah Grace Publishing, she offered Marion a contract and the picture book, Granny Came To Visit, was launched in November 2020.

“My mother had dementia,” Marion tells me when I ask about the story. “She was a great knitter but in the end she forgot how to knit. The message for children is that we all forget things, but it doesn’t matter.”

Marion’s second book, The Friendship Bench, was published by the same publisher in 2022. It’s a morality tale about the everyday issues that happen to children in the playground.

“Moody Monday, Tiresome Tuesday, Worried Wednesday… The message is that you should tell an adult if you’ve got something bothering you.”

When it came to publishing her third book, Is This The Way To Brodie Castle?, Marion decided to follow the self-publishing route.

“I decided to self-publish as I enjoy promoting my books, going out and reading to schools and libraries.”

When it came to illustrating the book, she approached her friend, Maggie Bolton, a fellow member of Ayr Writers’ Club who has also written and illustrated her own picture books.

I ask Marion how the story for this book came about.

“My niece had a little boy called Brodie. He’s nine now… but when he was two, we took him to the park and he had a tiny little backpack on. He was walking in front of me and it sparked an idea about a wee boy called Brodie who goes on an adventure.”

It seemed natural for the adventure to involve Brodie Castle which led to Marion having an adventure of her own.

“It’s been quite an interesting journey. I did a tour of the castle last year and Brodie Castle are delighted with the book. They want to invite me up there at some point to do a workshop and a book launch.”

Marion tells me she was particularly taken with Brodie Castle.

“It’s a family castle… I just loved it. I went up there to get the detail for Maggie and she’s done a great job with the illustrations.”

As well as the proposed workshop at Brodie castle, she has also been invited to talk at ScotFest in Mainz, Germany in June this year.

“Mainz University works in conjunction with the Scottish Government in relation to literacy. I’m included on the programme for 2025 for a workshop and a talk to promote children’s literature.”

And that’s not all. Is This The Way To Brodie Castle? has been approved by the Gaelic Books Council to be translated into Scottish Gaelic and is currently being translated by Morag Ann MacNeil from the Isle of Barra.

It sounds like 2025 is going to be an exciting year for Marion Husband.

You can purchase Is This The Way To Brodie Castle? as well as her previous two books, from Amazon, The Secret Garden in Ayr, Dumfries House, or The Scottish Design Exchange in Glasgow. Alternatively, contact Marion directly via Facebook.