Welcome to the Squirrel Saga
By Margaret Laidler
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Squirrel Saga Book One Launch
Tails of Two Cities, Book One of the Squirrel Saga
Lulu turned round to find herself nose to nose with a male squirrel. He was hanging from the bars of the trolley by his hind legs, peering under the base at her, clutching a bread roll in his front paws…
“Per’aps”, he asked, “you would like a nibble of my baguette?”
A thrilling tale of thrilling tails!
Victoria Laidler, Editor-in-Chief
Tails of Two Cities is the opening book of the Squirrel Saga which is, unsurprisingly, about squirrels… but squirrels you will have certainly not encountered before.
In Tails of Two Cities, the reader first meets Lulu (Crown Princess Louella), a feisty and determined squirrel from the Rovanov tribe of Eastern Europe, and Franc, a happy-go-lucky but resourceful French squirrel. There is instant chemistry between the two, but their new-found friendship is to be cut short by Lulu’s duty: to form an alliance with the English Grays and save the Rovanovs from the paws of Bru-tal and his Bulgars.
Franc and Lulu’s chance meeting in Paris turns into a tale of adventure, excitement and loyalties set alongside a love story. Amongst London’s underground animal scene, we meet the villainous raven twins, a brave ferret and a busty barmaid.
This story is not for the faint-hearted, with torture, kidnap and murder amidst the frivolity, as well as some adult humour. Paraphrasing one of the smaller, but deadlier, characters:
“Rovanovs, ravens … and the rest of you! Take heed!”
And don’t worry, as in all good stories, there’s a twist in the tail/ tale!
Tails of Two Cities, Book One of the Squirrel Saga
£5.99
Printable PDF and audio book
Lowlife in the Highlands (working title), Book Two of the Squirrel Saga
TBC
Printable e-book and audio book
An interview with the author
Free
5 minute listen
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The challenge
It all began with a word…
Some years ago, my daughter’s boyfriend asked if I could write a story based on a single word. I accepted the challenge, and the word was provided with a snigger. I sighed. At least “latrine” was more refined than “lavatory”.
Overnight I slept on it (not the lavatory) and, the next morning Princess Louella La Trine was born. Franc arrived shortly after and soon more animals followed, all begging to be included in the tale. There were far too many applicants, so I had to ask some to wait for the next installments.
…and so, The Squirrel Saga was born.
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Unexpected insights
The original short story was written to amuse my daughter and her university friends. She provided some of the characteristics of Lulu and Ferocious Flick, the strong but kindly ferret. I hasten to add that, provoked or not, she does not normally bite anyone.
The idea for Maria, the voluptuous black squirrel pub owner, came from a fellow student mentioning, admiringly, that the daughter’s housemate was perfectly proportioned: “she sticks out as much in front as behind.” To clarify, the housemate looks nothing like a squirrel, but she likes nuts and has a fair knowledge of pubs, where she goes purely to follow rugby on a large screen.
The inspiration for Princess Sasha Randolvski now has squirrelets of her own – although just the two as far as I know! Like Sasha in the story, she has her hands full.
To the housemate who was cut: though you didn’t make it into Book One, you do appear early on in Book Three as a mother fox. I was going to say “vixen”, but that would give the wrong impression now that you are settled with a cute little cub of your own. Sadly, you do not appear in a suitcase, as per your party trick.
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Where are we today?
The Squirrel Saga has proved to be unstoppable, although it has taken a while to emerge into the public domain. The saga currently contains four books under development… of approximately 120,000 words. So, a big thank you to the original boyfriend – long gone from our lives, but not forgotten – and to my neighbours across the road who, as young children, provided the first feedback.
The first book The Tails of Two Cities is now available for pre-order on the website as an audio book – read by the incomparable Eilidh Beaton – as well as in a printable PDF version for children (or adults) who wish to read it for themselves.
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The future
Book Two is near completion and will be available later in 2020. There are at least two further books in the pipeline, with a fifth currently being dreamed up as a spin-off for one of the naughtier characters.
I am currently squirrelling away on corrections, but my editor has interrupted with another communication. She informs me she wants a “bit of the author for the website”. I now know how Antonio must have felt in The Merchant of Venice!
I’m delighted to make these stories available to my readers, both young and not-so-young, and hope you have as much fun reading and listening to them as I did writing them!
About the author
Margaret started writing stories for her young daughter when the family was in The Sultanate of Oman in the early ‘nineties. Her stories were initially based on a collection of soft toys owned by the then “Vicky-Ann” who, like some of the characters, has changed her name over the years. It should be noted, however, that Margaret has always had her own, ever-increasing collection of toy animals: an otter arrived at Xmas to join the red panda and a myriad of squirrels, foxes and ferrets already in situ. They all have names… which probably explains a lot.
When the family moved to Perth, Australia, Margaret attended courses in short story writing for adults at Curtin University. On her return to the UK, in reaction to authoring the Squirrel Saga, she decided to try her hand at a novel for adults (as against an “adult novel”), now on its fourth draft and begging to come out of the drawer and see the light of day.
Apart from writing, Margaret manages the admin for her daughter’s company, an activity which may well give rise to a further saga or two. In return, Victoria continues with her strict editing and major suggestions for change just prior to a deadline.
When not writing, or irritating her long-suffering husband, Rob, Margaret enjoys walking in Richmond Park. She also regularly pumps iron at a local gym which ironically was originally a Victorian pumping station. It is quirky… but Margaret enjoys quirky. She hopes you do too!
Whilst in Muscat, Margaret was asked by the producer of a children’s radio programme to write for Radio Oman.
The first story, Mischievous Michelle, was based on her daughter’s hamster, which over time managed to destroy a sofa, curtains, potted plant and, finally, the fax machine.
By popular request, a further series of stories was broadcast. It featured a family of feral cats who lived in a courtyard in Muscat, and starred Roland, the Cat Who Couldn’t Meow. This short audio-file is available to Book One pre-registrants.
“What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn’t happen much, though.”
J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye
Do you have a question for the author?
Meet the author herself, using a lure of coffee and chocolate brownies…
© copyright 2020 Margaret Laidler
Squirrel Saga 