The Daily Record
22 May 2006

Mum-of-three Julie used to be a high-flying accountant in London. Now she writes children’s stories in Edinburgh… and she couldn’t be happier

FIVE years ago, Julie Hegarty made a living working as an accountant in the music business in London. She earned her bread and butter filling out tax returns for the likes of George Michael and Nanci Griffith.

But with three children under the age of three, city life was starting to seem a little too hectic. Although her job was exciting and involved lots of high-profile clients, Julie and her husband Tim were fed up and longed to jack it all in.

Julie, 39, originally from South Wales, said: “I grew up by the seaside and so did my husband. “We really missed that. London was starting to seem really busy and dirty, and we didn’t want our kids growing up in that.”

The family had been to Scotland on holiday and had fallen in love with the beaches in the East Neuk of Fife and East Lothian.

In 2001, they sold their house in London and moved to Edinburgh. Julie gave up her accountancy job to look after her boys, Hugh, eight, William, six and Henry, five. “It was a magical time,” she said. “We lived in Trinity so we spent lots of time at the seaside or playing in the botanic gardens.”

For the first time in 20 years, Julie did not have to concentrate on other people’s deadlines and bank reconciliations. She was finally able to focus more on her childhood dream of becoming a writer. “I’d always written poetry at school, but had given it up when I drifted into accountancy,” she said. “I’d never planned that as a career. It just sort of happened by accident.”

She loved the idea of doing something creative for a change, and started making up stories to tell her children. “I love putting on all the voices when I tell a story,” said Julie. “I can do quite a strong Welsh valleys, my husband is Northern Irish and the boys were starting to pick up Edinburgh accents. I invented a whole cast of characters based on our trips to the seaside, and it just took off from there.”

Julie came up with the idea of Michelle, a scallop, who lives in a rock pool with her friends Hermie the hermit crab and Starfish. She began writing rough drafts of stories about Michelle, all in rhymes. Tim was looking for a new business venture after quitting his career as a songwriter, where he had collaborated with Gloria Gaynor, D: Ream and Worlds Apart.

He saw how keen Julie was to get into children’s writing and suggested they set up their own publishing company. Last month, Julie and Tim had their first children’s book published, under their own company, Starlet Publishing Ltd.

“I’m finally doing something I really enjoy. If someone told me I had to go back to accountancy now, I think I’d cry”

Michelle In: Crabbit Comes to Stay will be the first in a series of four books. Aimed at three to seven-year-olds, the book features illustrations by Edinburgh artist Ritchie Collins. The first story describes how Michelle and her friends deal with Crabbit, a bully who tries to make their lives a misery when he comes to stay in the rock pool. Although Julie didn’t deliberately write it that way, the book carries a strong anti-bullying message.

“I just took my inspiration from what I saw going on with my own kids at nursery or in school,” she said. “Tiny kids can be really vicious. Primary one is absolutely terrible.” She observed how children of all ages can pick on others in a group, excluding them and making them lose confidence.

“There are lots of different types of bullying. Girls may be more psychological and nasty, deliberately ignoring someone or not letting them join in. Boys can often get quite physical and throw their weight around or be bossy.” She liked the idea that her story would encourage children to recognise bullying and come up with ways of tackling it.

Julie said: “I wanted to use the rock-pool setting to transport the reader to a magical, imaginative environment, with the aim that the book would prompt open and honest discussion, like a modern Aesop’s fable.”

The book caught the attention of Beatbullying, the UK’s biggest anti-bullying charity, founded in 1999, and they asked Julie to become their Scottish patron. The charity was set up to raise awareness about bullying and its work involves educating and supporting young children, primary school teachers and parents on the causes and how best to deal with it. Beatbullying run workshops for young children on anger management, conflict resolution, respect and friendship.

Julie now visits local schools, nurseries and play centres to give performance readings of her book, bringing the characters to life with handmade puppets. “Linking up with Beatbullying is so exciting,” she said. “So many anti-bullying campaigns are aimed at older, secondary school children, but bullying, even in its simplest form, can happen to children of all ages. It is so important young children are taught to recognise bullying and what to do when they experience it, before it gets out of hand.”

Although none of Julie’s children have experienced serious bullying, she is aware early school years are a particularly sensitive time, where a bad incident could have a serious long-term effect.

“Up to the age of seven is such a crucial age,” she said. “That’s when psychologists say a child’s personality is formed.

“A well-balanced child could find him or herself forever scarred if someone picks on them at such a tender age.”

She also believes this young age group is particularly vulnerable as they may be unhappy as a result of bullying, but don’t know how to communicate it in the same way as an older child might. “Think how upset an adult can feel if they are treated unfairly in the workplace, or excluded from a social group for some reason,” said Julie.

“A four-year-old doesn’t have the skills to cope with that sort of thing. They could start suffering from low self-esteem or become very introverted or nervous.”

Julie has had lots of positive feedback from her school visits and primary pupils have taken a shine to Michelle and her pals. “I didn’t realise just how much pleasure I’d get from seeing these little kids’ faces lighting up and watching them get involved with the story,” she said.

She is taking more inspiration from her own children for the next book in the Michelle series. Her eldest, Hugh, is a rock fan and loves doing air guitar solos to music by The Killers and Madonna.

“The next book will be The Rock Concert, with a new baddie called Hermione the anemone causing trouble,” revealed Julie. “Michelle will be back too. She helps solve problems and beat the bullies. But I try not to make her too prissy or goody-goody, because kids wouldn’t fall for that.”

With her calculator buried in the back of her desk drawer, Julie couldn’t be happier with her new career direction. “I’m finally doing something I really enjoy,” she said. “If someone told me I had to go back to accountancy now, I think I’d cry.”

Michelle In: Crabbit Comes To Stay is published by Starlet Publishing, at £6.99. £1 from the sale of each book will be donated to Beatbullying. For more information visit www.juliehegarty.com