Guest Post: Jacinta Farragher - Jacinta's Joy!

Growing up on a farm in a tiny country town in NE Victoria, I loved reading and writing. I rapidly devoured the entire contents of the library at my small primary school, and was steadily making my way through the children’s section of nearby Wangaratta’s public library, when my destiny came calling in the form of an author visit to my school. 

When Graeme Base came to read his beautiful book Animalia and talk about life as a children’s author, I was mesmerised. THAT’S what I wanted to do!

For many years, I read, and wrote and dreamed… but as often happens, dreams gradually conceded to reality, and upon finishing high school, I chose the more financially secure path of working in payroll and administration. 

Years later, while living in Thailand with my husband and two children, the question, 'What would you do, if you could do anything?' got me thinking…

If I could do anything, I would be a children’s author.

I had been living and breathing picture books for the last four years, and my youngest son had recently started pre-school, gifting me with a little extra precious time each day. I decided it was time to resurrect my dream.

The next day, I started writing. At first it was a line or two scribbled onto a notepad, or a few stanzas typed into the notes section on my phone. The more I wrote, the more the words kept tumbling around in my head. I was exhilarated! Writing filled me with joy, and I wanted more!

I kept writing, and my scribbles started to come together into a structured piece.

At that time, I was listening to a lot of recordings by Abraham Hicks, and they became the inspiration for my story. Abraham Hicks teaches that the purpose of life is joy, and that you can be, do, or have anything you can imagine.

I wanted my story to capture this thought. I was feeling so much joy, and I wanted others to feel the same way. I wanted to inspire optimism, self-love, and wisdom in my readers.

Joy’sJourney was the first manuscript I wrote, and is also my debut picture book.

In the story, Joy is searching for a teacher in a magical paradise where wishes come true.

 After travelling through four seasons and meeting an assortment of quirky animal friends, Joy realises that all her wishes have come true organically during her adventures, and that the strong and kind and wise teacher she was searching for was within her the whole time.

My hope is that kids (and adults!) will read my story, and understand that just like Joy, they themselves are beautiful and magical beings who can achieve anything.

Joy’s Journey is available through major bookstores and online at www.jacintafarragher.com.

While living in Thailand, Jacinta found that snippets of quirky verse popped into her brain every time she had a massage. Naturally, she wanted to explore this further and started having massages twice a week. Now she’s a children’s picture book author! Jacinta is a member of The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), Creative Kids Tales, and the Australian Society of Authors. She dedicates her time to writing and having massages.

 Jacinta’s passion is writing fun picture books with messages that uplift and empower. She plans to spend the next few decades writing books that will inspire children and adults alike for generations to come. Jacinta’s debut picture book, Joy’s Journey, is an adventurous quest story about realising the joy is in the journey. This will soon be followed by a second book, Joy’s Way – a fun story about doing things your own way.

Connect with Jacinta on Instagram or Facebook.