Lorna Morrow, Author
Lorna was born in Ayrshire, and moved to Glasgow to study undergraduate and Ph.D. psychology. She now works as a psychology lecturer with an interest in well-being. She is a wife, and a mother to an enormously adorable, fun and energetic 5 year old. She discovered a joy in writing rhyming stories for children (and gardening) during lockdown, and has subsequently enjoyed escaping to both of these things whenever possible (which, sadly, isn't very often!).
Heather Walley, Illustrator
Heather is an illustrator specialising in digital drawings for children’s books, and also drawings and watercolours of the natural world and animals. Born in Liverpool in 1966, she graduated with a B.A. in Illustration from Brighton Polytechnic in 1991. Since then she has worked as a freelance illustrator, portrait painter, got a P.G.C.E., studied and taught multimedia and web design and lived in community on a Scottish island. Currently based in Liverpool, she has come back to her roots and has started to work again in the field of illustration.
How this book came about...
The Coronavirus situation has dramatically altered our lives. Within only a few weeks of hearing about the existence of the virus on the news, people were working from home, schools and nurseries were closed, and parents had to educate/entertain their children in the house while somehow trying to squeeze in some paid work. People were told to stay at home and not see their friends and family, leading to isolation and loneliness for many. Many people were getting sick - very, very sick - and many others worried about getting sick. Shops, libraries, museums, restaurants, etc. were closed. Many people lost their jobs, and therefore began struggling financially. And so it has continued since then. The world is not what it was one year ago.
Like many people, I really wanted to do something to help with this situation, but my circumstances limited what I could do. As a psychologist and a parent I was thinking in particular about how young children are processing all of the changes associated with the virus and lockdown and hand washing etc., when it’s hard for them to understand it all fully, especially when the guidance and regulations about what we can do and where we can go have changed so often.
Unrelatedly, perhaps due to the boredom of lockdown and isolation from friends, I got the idea for a couple of children’s rhyming stories. One of these was about midges. It occurred to me that it would be difficult for midge swarms to distance themselves from each other, and thus I had an idea – perhaps I could write a story about midges in lockdown: free to anyone who would want it, it could help by giving something free for children to read while the libraries are closed. Maybe for children who are still struggling with the whole situation it could help them to process it all, to understand what they are being asked to do and why, and how to make the most of their time at home. Hopefully it could help to remind kids of the importance of continuing to keep up the hand washing etc. even after all these months. Possibly it could help children to get to grips with the frequently-changing regulations and restrictions. Perhaps also it could help to raise some money for charity through donations. As we proceed through this pandemic, perhaps it can give children a chance to reflect on what has been and, with the vaccine rollout in place, encourage them to look forward to what will come one day - hopefully soon. Hence, The Midges Keep their Distance was born.
With the story written, it took a while to find an illustrator, but then the fabulous Heather Walley agreed to do the illustrations and design the overall layout of the book, all for free. A web designer was next on the list, and Nathan Todd also kindly gave up his time for the project. And here we are, the midges have their own book and website! We really do hope you find it helpful.
