Sally Doherty talks about her new book – Max and Monty: The Raven Thief – and explains why she jumped at the chance to write a book for children with a protagonist with ME, as part of the HarperCollins new disability series. The ME Association is proud to say we had some input in this book, and are credited in the inside front cover.
In November 2022, I received an unexpected email from HarperCollins asking if I’d like to pitch a book idea for a new disability series. Umm… the opportunity to have a book published by one of the big five children’s publishers with an ME theme? Yes, please!
By Sally Doherty
My ME Journey
I’ve had Severe ME for over eighteen years now. I know what you’re thinking – how can she write books if she has Severe ME? For the first few years, I was nothing but a shadow, able only (with difficulty) to keep on top of eating, drinking, and washing – basically, the essentials to stay alive. Then gradually, a tiny space amongst all the pain, fatigue, and fog started to open up in my brain, and stories trickled into my imagination.
It was many more years till I could begin to get them on paper (or rather screen), just five minutes three times a week to start with. Nowadays, I still have to spend about seventy percent of my day resting in bed, but I can write/edit for forty minutes. It’s my main task other than the essentials (plus, most importantly, cuddling my three-legged dog). I’m fortunate that my husband does all the cooking, laundry, dog walking, and house chores so I can concentrate my tiny energy on something that brings me joy.
A protagonist with M.E.
My first book, Toby and the Silver Blood Witches, features a young carer whose mum has Severe ME But HarperCollins wanted a book where the protagonist, rather than a secondary character, is disabled. This brought a whole new challenge. Main characters are supposed to drive the plot forwards, and books for children need to be fast-paced. How to do this with a main character who lives with an energy-limiting condition? Thankfully, HarperCollins were looking for ideas for educational, school books which are much shorter than typical mainstream books – think 5,000 words rather than 50,000 – so my protagonist wouldn’t have to be living an action-packed life for days/weeks.
After much brainstorming, I came up with an idea, and Max and Monty: The Raven Thief was born. I set the adventure over one afternoon and located it on a beach where my protagonist, eleven-year-old Max, can spend time resting (wearing noise-cancelling headphones and ear plugs, of course).
I’m never keen on the whole ‘I can do anything despite my disability’ belief, as the fact of the matter is that ME affects every aspect of our lives. So I wanted to make sure the difficulties of this illness were portrayed. For example, Max is an ambulatory wheelchair-user, and he can’t join in all the fun. However, I did also want to ensure that Max’s illness wasn’t the main focus of the story and show there are other aspects to his identity, despite the symptoms he deals with on a daily basis.
At Plunder Cove, Max uncovers a burglary and must foil the thieves and their feathered fiend before his family are caught up in danger. Best of all, he has his three-legged dog, Monty, to help save the day. Trouble is, Monty is a bit of a liability!
Working with a publisher
I was delighted to be able to include a sidekick based on my own dog. And even more excited to see him in illustration. This book has colour illustrations throughout, drawn by Sonny Fletcher who also has ME and is a wheelchair-user. HarperCollins are publishing eleven books as part of their Big Cat disability series, and they’ve purposely hired writers and illustrators who share lived experience of their characters’ disabilities/illnesses.
Initially, I was concerned about working with a large publisher and meeting deadlines when living with such limited energy. Fortunately, my editor has been brilliant and is empathetic and supportive. I think it’s important to be open and clear about your needs right from the start – for me, in particular, this was making sure that I would have a lot of time to meet deadlines.
Max and Monty: The Raven Thief was published on 8th September 2024 for ages ten to eleven (available in paperback, £7.50, from Amazon). I’m so pleased that it’s going to be in schools and chuffed that children will be reading about a character who has ME and hopefully gaining understanding of the condition too.
When I fell ill, I lost all sense of my own identity and self-worth. It’s wonderful to be slowly rebuilding this through my writing journey. ME has brought me many losses, but being an author is an unexpected bonus I never saw coming.
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