WHERE DO IDEAS COME FROM? Inspiration for MY FRIEND FROM OUTER SPACE

Published in 1981 by Franklin Watts. OP.

My Friend From Outer Space (Franklin Watts, 1981) was my first published fiction book. It is illustrated by Carol Nicklaus. I got the idea for the story by listening to my own children and their friends play games in which they pretended that they were aliens. The trick, of course, was providing proof, and in my story I decided that the two girls would take a trip to outer space in a cardboard-box rocket ship.

After My Friend from Outer Space was published I took it to my author visits at schools and read it aloud to the children. Their favorite part was always the page where Sherry looks like an otherworldly monster. When I asked the audience at the end of the story if they thought the girls really went to outer space, a few hands always went up. When I asked who liked to pretend sometimes, all the hands were raised. I then made the point that pretend games can be a good way to get an idea for a story!

Note: The new 2023 edition of My Friend From Outer Space is the same story, but revised for a graphic picture book format. It is re-illustrated by Paige Arnold.