It’s safe to say that Alesha Dixon has passed beyond the realms of triple threat in a career that spans singing, modelling, fashion designing and presenting, most notably as our favourite judge on Britain’s Got Talent. Now, she has added author to her accomplishments, after writing a children’s book inspired by her four-year-old daughter, Azura.
During an appearance on Saturday Kitchen, the singer, who found fame as one third of R&B/Garage trio, Misteeq, talked about the experience of writing her first book, Lightning Girl. She said: “I’ve been working on it for 18 months. It’s been such a passion product, from start to finish it’s been a really enjoyable experience. People think that writing a book is stressful, but when you do something that you love, then it doesn’t feel like work.”
When you consider the changes and that women go through when they become mums, it’s understandable that mind-set changes too. Alesha describes how becoming a mum helped her channel her creativity in another way. “I’ve always been a writer, whether it be writing songs, or some form of poetry, I love writing and being creative. But definitely having a daughter, and reading books to her all the time, it inspired me for sure.”
Representation, or the lack of it is an area we know all too well and often write about and so we understand that it was a real deciding factor in writing the book. “I was thinking about the kinds of characters that my daughter was reading about. I wanted to make sure that there were some positive role models for her to read about. So, I thought I’d do it myself.”
Lightening Girl is aimed at eight-year-olds and above. The story follows 10-year-old Aurora Beam, who lives a rather simple life with a rather unremarkable family. She just wants to be normal and fit in, but then one day at school, when some bullies were picking on her sister, she has an emotional outburst and light beams shoot out of her hands.
“She discovers that she is a super hero and finds out that her mum is also a super hero and has been keeping this a secret from her. She goes through some pretty regular things, like mum and dad having a tough time, she’s just a regular girl and the book takes you on a journey with her, where she is trying to deny these powers and be a normal girl and fit in, learning how to control her emotions and use her powers wisely.”
Alesha was very keen that the book has lots of positive messages throughout the book. “The overall aim was to write a book that inspired young boys and girls, to give them something hopeful, positive and inspiring, and no be afraid to be different. However, this is not your fairytale princess book. It covers some gritty real-life situations like bullying.”
“What I’m saying to children through this book is ‘don’t be afraid to shine, to be who you are. Don’t be afraid to be different. It’s okay to be unique.’”
Alesha has already started working on book two and says she would love her creation, Aurora, to come alive through a movie or a tv series.
“It was my first children’s book, but I got the bug for it and so we got on with book two, which should be out in September (2018). I’d like the series to be a trilogy. By the end of book two it didn’t feel like Aurora’s story had come to an end.
You can buy Lightning Girl, here.
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