Is Brabbles & Boggitt my thing?

Well as Brabbles & Boggitt move into the final 15 weeks of their story I've started to write the next tale.

And as I sat on the sofa, jotting down the meat and bones of the next story, I began to think back to when I first created these two little characters, and I thought it might make an interesting post for you, especially if you've taken both Brabbles & Boggitt to your heart, as so many seem to have done so.

First off I didn't think of Brabbles & Boggitt. Oh sure I created them and the world of the modern twist on fairy tales and folklore that they travel through; yes, I drew the original pictures and designed all the characters, but I didn't invent Brabbles & Boggitt, no, that distinction goes to my eldest daughter, Hannah.

Let me explain this in a little more detail: one day I was doodling about at my drawing board when I sketched, for no reason I have ever been able to fathom or understand, a ridiculously over confident yellow mouse and a doom and gloom caterpillar. I had just finished drawing them when my eldest, then probably no more than three or four, came toddling up to me to say my dinner was ready.

I showed her the picture of the two strange characters, as I always did with my girls, and she looked at them quizzically.
"Who are they, daddy?" she asked. I just shrugged my shoulders
"I don't know, I just drew them" I replied "who do you think they are sweety? I continued
She thought for a few seconds and screwed her little nose up in the cute way kids do. She nodded, as if with the finality of some inner decision and said, without a shadow of doubt:
"Brabbles and Boggitt!" then she toddled off to have her dinner.

I looked at the two characters and wondered where she could have gotten two such unusual, random names from. I shook my head and fortuitously I scribbled 'Brabbles and Boggitt' above the two and went off to have my dinner.

Hannah always loved to draw like her dad; and had about the
same attention span

This is a true story and I've often wondered why my daughter should've come up with such strange names that actually fit the characters so perfectly: it is true that everything that came after: notably the world they lived in, the storylines, the themes, the personalities and the myriad characters all came from my mind. But the names? That I owe all to one little girl who was just coming up to tell me my dinner was ready and set me on a course that you are all joining me with on every Friday.

Cheers Hannah, your Daddy loves you xxx

Don't forget to come back on Friday for the latest weekly instalment of the Brabbles & Boggitt tale: the Goldilocks Affair, or if you're new to Brabbles & Boggitt? click here and start reading from the beginning.

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