by Nancy Lynner, AWCC Scotland
I began my career as a children’s performer, using mime, juggling, puppets and clowning with various theatre companies. I met my husband, who was also a performer, and we created our own shows for families, schools and performing arts venues. We expanded into sourcing other entertainers and events vendors to create multi-faceted special events. My many various jobs have been within the industries including performing arts, events business and centers of education from nursery schools to universities. For the last 40 years I have created dramatic enactments of classic folk and fairy tales in classrooms. I have written children’s books for 30 years. I was not successful getting published, but continued to write for children. 
During the pandemic of 2020, my daughter-in-law was pregnant with their second child. As I began to ponder the changes wrought by the dilemmas created by COVID-19, the words of What is a Perfect World? came to me. I wrote it for my grandchildren. I built the order of the pages to start with clean air, clean water, and good food as being the priorities of what a child needs. At age 0 and age 3, the grandchildren might feel dispirited with the book’s list of heavy work ahead. I had to write a soft ending. Ice cream appealed.
Giving the book as only text would not do. I began selecting free online coloring pages to illustrate the book for my grandsons, to increase their interaction with the book. After years of writing stories, acting out dramas, and making puppet shows for children, I had written non-fiction. I sent it to family and friends. Five months later, when I confided to Amanda Drollinger that I wanted to spend more time on children’s literacy and literature, and mentioned my book, she introduced me to Tharien van Eck. A talented artist, Tharien had never illustrated a children’s book, but she rose to the occasion, and her watercolor and ink characters and settings are incredible. They are whimsical, airy, colorful and full of optimism.
We formed a team to self-publish this book, with all proceeds to go to the FAWCO Target Project in perpetuity. Our team worked together on Zoom once a week, and when we needed a book designer, our fellow American Women’s Club of Central Scotland (AWCCS) member and our webmaster, Joyce Halsan, joined the team. We published on August 31, 2021. On January 16, 2022, the AWCCS sponsored an art exhibit of van Eck’s original watercolours at The Upright Gallery, 3 Barclay Terrace, Edinburgh. The show was open to the public for a week. In spite of the upsurge of a new variant of the virus, and the dark cold winter date, we were able to earn £500.00 for a donation to the FAWCO Target Project.
Stay tuned for future projects related to this wonderful team with whom I have been privileged to work!
Interested in purchasing What is a Perfect World? To order:
Within the EU: €15 (plus postage). Contact Tharien van Eck at .
Within the UK: GBP15 (plus postage). Contact Nancy Lynner at .
Rest of the world: What is a Perfect World? (Amazon UK); What is a Perfect World? (Amazon.com).
