The Story Behind the Story
It is rare for a writer and illustrator to have her book bought by the first distributor she meets offshore as her first book and One Lost Feather is exactly that for Lai Peng Chan – One Lost Feather is a gift book and children’s picture book with a universally empowering message. Inspired by the vision of a single white feather cradled in the grass at a crossroads in her life, the journey of the book began with a simple thought – that the bird that had lost the feather is likely to still be flying and that we as humans can take that lesson and continue on our journey even when we lose something or someone precious in our lives – in this brief moment of realisation the idea of the book was born. With the feather as a symbol of someone or something precious to our hearts and flying being the symbol of love, joy and freedom, a colourful bird inspired by fairy wrens, rainbow lorikeets, peace doves, willy wag tail, scarlet macaws and hummingbirds, and a wish to help many others overcome adversity began the adventure that is now the One Lost Feather.
From this very humble beginning, the book has since taken flight and reached many and touched the hearts, minds and spirit of many more through venues including the Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) and Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) Gallery Stores, State Library of Queensland (SLQ) Library Shop, Peter Pal Library Suppliers, Coaldrake’s Emporium, Black Cat Books and Cafe Paddington, Moss Flowers and Gifts, Shon’s Books and Gifts Eagle Heights, tourist attraction Tamborine Rainforest Skywalk, Divine Scents Gallery Walk, Mott and Mulberry Indooroopilly Shoppingtown, Chocolate Moments Albert Street Brisbane City, Mother and Child Indooroopilly (http://www.motherandchild.com.au/) and Kuta Cafe and Gifts atop Brisbane’s landmark Summit Lookout Mount Coot-tha. Legal deposits are now held in the National Library of Australia (NLA), State Library of Queensland (held in the John Oxley Collection) and Queensland Parliamentary Library (QPL). Copies of the book have since been made accessible, circulating in libraries across Brisbane and Logan region for loan to the public through the Logan, Gold Coast and Brisbane City Council Libraries (Google: eCatLib):
http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/facilities-recreation/libraries/library-catalogue/index.htm
An industry outsider with no formal training in writing nor illustrating, Lai Peng spent two (2) years working on the book, carefully hand-writing and hand-illustrating each page with love, putting the soul back into children’s picture books. In 2009 she left for Paris in search of a new direction .. two weeks of Paris fashion week became three months of voiceovers and dialogue coaching and writing when she met French actor, screenwriter and director Jean Kinsella whose work was showcased at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. Two years after Paris, Lai Peng completed the final illustration for the book the day before the floods hit Brisbane, Queensland. With the help of photographer extraordinaire Anthony Byron and IT guru Michal Dobrzynski for the final touches, the book was polished to a print-ready state. Whilst still recovering from major surgery, friends Keith Banfield and Maria Moore helped her record the audiobook version of the One Lost Feather. She often talks about the importance of friends and family referring to her dream team of supporters, believers and helpers as her “rock” including her parents Kim and Lilian Chan, nephew Ilkka Chang Khai Hung, niece Ilmi Chang Wing Mei and her former high school principals Kenneth Kulasingham (TBSS) and Brian Lawley (Indooroopilly State High School) who continue to stand by her and encourage her. Fellow creatives in life Jean Kinsella (Paris) and Lai Peng’s “lil sis” Nga Nguyen (NYC) were there for her throughout the process and beyond. Melissa Koc (LA) and her pet bird Kunefe helped influence the draft illustrations, Angela Voth (LA/MN) helped to meticulously edit and proof-read the book, “LA brother” Hugh Gibb, Barnes and Noble’s John Gahret (LA), Jon Borg (LA), “Grandma” Gloria Larcher, Peter Eustace, Sajeda Isaacs (S. Africa), Frederic Jobin (Melb), milliner Lynlee McHarg (UK), Mary Schupan (Washington DC), Derek Kulasingham (KL), Adriene and animator Terence Raj (KL), Isobelle Torralba, Sue and Felic Cremona-Meteyard, Portia, Ann and Tony Jones (MD), pharmacist Matthew Tuch, Jean-François Méli, Karin Bryer, Bruno Ibghei (Paris), Iwan Lambert (Paris), Matias Mendes (Paris), Mama Monique Soyez (Valenciennes), Great Aunt Doris Chin (Singapore), Godma and Godpa Oi Man Cheung (HK), “Uncle Peter” Yeoh AO, Hollywood motion picture special effects and costume specialist Charles Sowles, casting director Jill Loof, LA producer Kalor Marche, actress and cafe owner Ling Hsueh Tang (Sydney), hypnotist and speaker Keith Banfield, psychologist Liz Nelson, master magician and author Sean Tretheway, radio show host Rebecca Carpenter (NSW) and Feng-Shui expert Debra Jarvis whose belief in her propelled her forward .. these wonderful life-long friends and many more continue to inspire her in her endeavors. She still has furniture and drafts of the book in storage with her flatmate Andrew Brainard (LA) including scanned copies of sketches she made for the book during her three-month stay in Brentwood and West Hollywood, Los Angeles, USA.
Upon completion of the book when Michal who had helped her attach her hand-written numbers to the pages of her book asked her what her next step would be, she said she would have to find good printers in Malaysia to print the book. He told her she would just have to win the raffle prize at the AMBCQ ball – the next day she did! Still in recovery from major surgery, she traveled to Malaysia on one of the two Air Asia X premium return air tickets to Kuala Lumpur she won. The last few days before her departure to Malaysia quickly filled with essential tasks including obtaining ISBNs and barcodes and CiP applications and the finer details of publishing a book including her search for a name for her new publishing company .. with the assistance of Geoff Shera (poet and librarian), Robert Deveridge (library manager) and the rest of the wonderful team of librarians at the Mount Ommaney Brisbane City Council Library, the barcode and ISBN were sorted out .. and within days, with the help of ace accountant Troy Johnson “Middle Park Physiotherapy” became “Rainbow Starfish Pty Ltd”.
Having lived each moment of the triumphs and tribulations through the entire process from the conception, writing and illustrating of the book to the colour separation to getting the book to print and on the shelves has been an amazing experience. Lai Peng believes that each of our experiences enriches our lives and makes us who we are today and “.. to those friends and family who believed in me, encouraged and supported me with words and actions, and to the amazing people I have met along the way to have made this journey possible, I wish to say thank you .. this book is for you. Having seen what I have seen and done what I’ve had to do to get to this point, I have a new-found respect for authors and illustrators, printers and publishers ..” A woman on a mission, Lai Peng knew she had to move mountains to complete this project and move mountains she did. Going to Malaysia with not much more than her digital print prototype, scanned copies of the book and a lot of faith, through synchronicity and serendipity and laser point focus, she met the right people at the right place at the right time. Lai Peng believes in putting love into her work and her creations and wanted her book to be handmade as much as possible. She got her wish when her printer had the pages of her book hand-folded and hand-glued. “It was a joy working with my printer Nick who understands the business of printing like the back of his hand. I was even more impressed when he arranged for me to go down to the factory floor to work hands-on on the colour separation and printing process with him and for the first time allowed footage to be taken of the place in action. He even had a work desk for me to work from in his office while waiting for the next stages of the printing process.” she said. Determined to make her book a reality, Lai Peng extended her stay for an additional month in Malaysia to find “that suitable printer”, after her family returned to Australia, staying with friends until she had to come home when her post-surgical medication, which was not available in Malaysia, ran out. No stranger to hard work, she continued on her quest, working long hours under time pressure and under what her friend described as “Spartan conditions” in the sweltering heat to keep her dream alive! Two weeks later, One Lost Feather went to print on 11.11.11 and was taken on board by MPH distributors who supply to MPH, Borders, Times and KLCC’s Kinokuniya Malaysia-wide.
Barnes and Noble in Santa Monica, Los Angeles will also be stocking her book. A week after returning home to Australia, her friend took her to the launch of “Look! the art of Australian picture books of today” at the State Library of Queensland and through a sequence of events including an adventure-filled impromptu trip on the Brisbane Citicat led to Queensland Art Gallery and GoMA calling her to order copies of her book for their Gallery Stores the next day, making them the first in Australia to debut the book to the Australian public – the first book sold within the first few minutes before a price tag could be attached – and has since sold out and been restocked. One Lost Feather is currently being translated into French, with requests for sequels and future translations into other languages to make the story accessible to more children and grown-ups too, bringing hope and inspiration where there is none left. Lai Peng is looking for an international children’s charity to work with as she has earmarked a number of books and related items for auction/sale for philanthropy.
Conceived in Australia, written somewhere between Seoul and Paris, developed in Paris, storyboarded on another flight on the way home, illustrated in Brisbane and LA, published in Australia and printed in Malaysia, One Lost Feather is a story about a little bird that loved to fly. One day she loses her special feather. Will she ever fly again? In her search for the feather, her adventures begin.. A spell-binding parable for everyone.. for the young and the young at heart and for those who have lost their special feather in life – a story of hope, courage and determination. Find out what happens to the One Lost Feather bird in this unique, exceptional book written for you about you, about each of us and about all the people the world over who have lost their special feather.
Being an actress and voiceover artist go hand in hand with her work as an author and illustrator, engaging in storytelling and playgroup readings at libraries, childcare centres and schools and soon to be on air on radio and TV appearances. In a world thriving with creativity, Lai Peng also loves designing wearable often avant-garde couture creations, and in between creating postcards, stickers and merchandise, she is currently juggling her acting and modeling career whilst planning the launch for the book TBA post-Queensland state elections, and promoting and distributing her book, producing the audiobook version of her book and spending time with her 3 year old niece Ilmi and 5 year old nephew Ilkka to whom the book is dedicated, and has begun planning the outline for the sequel to the One Lost Feather. As a child, Lai Peng loved impersonating little birds and chicks by making life-like chirping noises – an ability that would later come in handy in her voice recordings of the One Lost Feather audiobook. Her father Kim and her nephew Ilkka – her chief consultants quoted in the book (Ilkka was then 3 and a half years old), together with her mother, Lilian, and her niece, Ilmi, and her family and friends from the four corners of the world are her treasures in her life. “All over the world so many have come on board to join the One Lost Feather bird on her quest, which has enriched her journey and mine .. hence this story behind the story.” At a pivotal point in her life, from the depths of despair emerged the story of a little bird – a parable that has captured the imagination and hearts of many and many more to come.. Along her journey, many a feather found its way to the author and illustrator in some very unusual places in the most curious ways .. Never may these feathers be able to replace the special feathers she has lost, but more than ever these found feathers lift her spirits and inspire her to continue to create, write and share. Feathers continue to find her as one journey ends and another begins .. “Through every adversity, something beautiful is born .. for every tear of sorrow, even more tears of joy will follow ..” – Lai Peng Chan, Author and illustrator, One Lost Feather. The book is scheduled to be launched in 2012 first in Australia then will travel around the world on a launch itinerary TBA. Friends and fans of the One Lost Feather bird who click the “like” button on these Facebook pages will receive launch invitations – feel free to contact us and visit www.facebook.com/onelostfeather and www.facebook.com/rainbowstarfishpublishing
Available as a Physical Book, eBook or Audio