Sebastian
Hockaday
Interview
The 22 year old author of “Bella Boo and Bloomer Fen” - an
enchanting children’s story - tells us how he went from business
undergraduate to published author, and of his ambitious plans
for future success.
writing a poem about it and the words just
seemed to flow. I think I had caught the
writing bug! I started writing all sorts of
ideas for stories and characters, anything
that came into my head went straight into
my notebook.
However, it wasn’t until a few weeks
into the beginning of my second year at
university, I started to sketch characters
and story ideas for a children’s picture
book… and two years later, on 21st
November 2014 I had my first 1000
paperback copies of Bella Boo and
Bloomer Fen published!
Had you always had a burning ambition
to be an author?
I’ve always enjoyed being creative and
having fun, and English was one of my
favourite subjects at school. I really
enjoyed creative writing where I could let
my imagination run wild. However, I’m
sure my teachers will remember me as
the boy who didn’t have a natural flair for
writing, but who made up for it with some
whimsical and ingenious ideas!
I think the ambition may have always been
there, but it wasn’t ‘burning’ until after my
first year at university. I didn’t seriously
consider writing a book until I was 19 and
once the idea had taken hold, there was no
looking back! I was just adamant I had ‘a
book in me’ and it was up to me to show
the world what I could do.
Tell us about yourself
I’m 22 and I was born in England, although
I spent my childhood in Ireland with my
parents and younger brother in County
Dublin. I loved growing up in Ireland and
wouldn’t change anything. It’s a beautiful
country and the people and their way of life
is something I’m glad to have learned and
experienced.
I moved to Haywards Heath in 2004 and
went to Oathall Community College. At first
it was difficult settling in; I had left behind
my friends, my old school and essentially
everything I knew as home. However, the
Irish charm and accent worked well and I
soon made friends. I enjoyed school and
my favourite subjects were English and
History. I then went to college and studied
Economics, Business and Drama.
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Although I enjoyed all my subjects at college
it is safe to say that I totally failed my first
year. I became a bit too laid-back with the
freedom college gave to studying and as
a result quickly fell behin d in my lessons.
The last year of College was therefore very
hard work to achieve the results I needed to
get into University. I remember the last year
wasn’t that much fun, but it was all worth
it and I got accepted at the University of
Westminster to study International Business.
The first year of university was over far too
quickly, but it was a lot of fun. I was back
at home for the summer and I was sitting
outside in the garden and I had decided I
wanted to start writing about something. I
sat there thinking when a spider in a web
caught my eye. It kick started me into
Why did you decide on a children’s book?
I love cartoons and the characters in them,
and I remember the many great books I
read as a child where the characters were
fun and exciting. Some of my favourite
books are Winnie the Witch and nearly
all the Dr Seuss books. These kinds of
characters allow children to indulge in a bit
of harmless escapism but they can also
send out very clear messages to children what’s wrong and what is right. They can
be very influential on a child growing up.
So I decided to create a children’s picture
book that encouraged positive thinking.
Bella Boo and Bloomer Fen focuses on
self-belief, which is something that is very
important for every child; and by creating a
beautifully illustrated book, I could appeal
to younger readers and enable Bella Boo
and Bloomer Fen to instil some positive
thinking even at a young age.
What was the inspiration for the
storyline?
My little brother and sister, aged 8 and 6,
were a big inspiration. I wanted to create
a story that would appeal to them and be
something they will remember far into their
adulthood. My childhood in Ireland also
helped inspire the book’s garden with its
little cottage in the middle - the countryside
of Ireland is huge and has a magical
fairytale feeling to it.