Liana Hall has written a children’s book that she hopes will inspire a new generation of readers.

The Little Cottage is the story of a Bermuda home that sits abandoned for years before the lock is mysteriously opened. It’s illustrated by Alicia Wanklyn.

The author spoke with The Royal Gazette about their incredible experiment.

What inspired your first children’s book?

The story is actually based on a real cottage on Somerset Bridge that belongs to my friends Aziza and Cal Furbert. They moved into their house a few years ago. I was a bridesmaid in their wedding and their cottage was so cute. One day I was just sitting there with them and decided to make a little rhyming passage about it. I said: ‘You have the cutest little cottage on the littlest drawbridge in the world ...’. I thought it would be a cute poem or something. I took out my phone and got out the first paragraph on that. Later that day we went to Dockyard and there was a little clay house that was the same colour as their cottage and that sort of inspired it all.

And what happened after that ...

I decided to keep writing the book, but after writing a few chapters I sort of lost momentum with it. I decided to read it to two little girls who were six and eight to see if they liked it. They actually loved it and wanted to hear more, so I told them “Why don’t you help me to write it?”. We spent the next half an hour writing down their ideas and then within another half an hour the book was done. Then I just started editing it.

How did you end up getting Alicia Wanklyn to illustrate it?

Alicia had done a portrait of my little brother and sister and I love her style so much. There are adult picture books and there are children’s picture books, but I wanted to combine that to have art that adults could relate to and something that children would love as well because of the bright colours. Alicia hadn’t done a children’s book before. Actually neither of us had done anything like this so it’s been a big experiment for both of us. It’s been an awesome process, sometimes stressful, but also incredible at other times. Every time Alicia would send me a picture I would literally squeal with excitement because she nailed my vision so perfectly.

So how long have you two been working on this project now?

It’s taken a few years. We actually won a Bermuda Arts Council grant early in 2013 to get a book published. We also had donors who have contributed to the cost of the book.

Why did you want part proceeds to go to local charities?

We always knew that it was going to be for charity. I just wanted to give something back and a children’s book was the perfect way to do it. I know of so many charities doing such great work on the Island. For instance, we chose Agape House because my dad [the late lawyer and politician Julian Hall] died in Agape House and our experience there was so incredible. It’s such a wonderful place and the staff there were so great. It’s a charity and run by funds they get from the community. To be honest it was hard to choose because there are so many great charities. Chewstick is another one we picked because they just lost their home. I would like to contribute something to help them find another one. Lastly, we chose Masterworks [Museum of Bermuda Art] because they are supporting us with our launch and just because of its support of arts in general in Bermuda.

What was the most rewarding part of writing the book?

I think one of the best parts actually happened in the beginning, reading to the little girls Gabriella and Saskia. They are two Bermudian girls who live in England. Just reading it to them and hearing their response was great. Then after leaving them I got really excited because I realised I could do something that little children could actually really love and appreciate. The idea of the book involves a magical cottage and that’s how I remember childhood being for me, full of magic. I just wanted to crawl up and live in books like Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland. Childhood is inherently magical. It’s so short and the effects last for so long.

Were there any challenges that cropped up?

The challenge was in having two of us working together. Sometimes Alicia would doubt her own work. She would come and do something brilliant, but as an artist she’d come back and say “I don’t like that”. So I would try and encourage her about her work. The same thing happened with me. I would have my doubts about my writing and she would encourage me. The other difficulty was just the logistics of finding the right printer to do the right quality work. There were so many options, but I knew we had to keep the costs down. Some of the quotes were really high and that means the profit would be so low for the Bermudian charities. In the end we went with Print Ninja in China.

I understand you started your own publishing company called Hall of Life. Why did you decide on that?

The reason I did that was because I wanted to keep the accounts separate so I could deal with everything surrounding The Little Cottage. After that I basically decided this doesn’t have to be the end of this with this one book. Now we are looking for other authors with other book ideas. Every single book we publish has to have a charitable aspect to it. They don’t have to donate all proceeds to local charities, but just something. It’s important especially in this recent economy in Bermuda where a lot of charities are struggling, just like everyone has been struggling, and I guess it’s my way of giving back. I got a scholarship for university from the Bank of Bermuda Foundation and I have received so much from this community. I’ve also won the Bermuda Arts Council grant twice and I just wanted to give back. Part of the reason I called the company Hall of Life is because there is life behind all these charities and they are giving out all these incredible opportunities to people.

How does it feel to be able to say you’re an author now?

It feels really good. I have done a lot of things, but this is the first thing I really feel proud of because I have executed it from start to finish.

What do you hope children will get from reading it?

I am hoping that children who read it will develop a bit more pride in Bermuda life and our culture and that they understand the sense of magic that’s inherent in this place.

A book launch and reading of The Little Cottage takes place at Masterworks on Saturday at noon. The book costs $25 and will be available at Masterworks and The Bermuda Bookstore. For more information e-mail info@lianahall.com