How Olivia Hope went from athletics pioneer to children's author
Olivia Hope, author of childrens' books, pictured in her study at her home in Baraduff, Co Kerry. Picture Dan Linehan
Olivia Hope’s career trajectory is a reflection of her energy and zest for life.
From a national record-holding hammer thrower to a children’s book writer, Hope has marched to her own beat, living life to the full and imbuing all that experience into her books.
Her latest book, , released this week, is her third.
Nature and wildness have been key themes in the Kerrywoman’s books, from , which was inspired by watching her three young boys playing freely in nature, to , a story about bringing your children somewhere new, like a big city.
While she was writing her latest book, one of her three sons, Thomas, was put on the kidney transplant list. Now 14, he was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease at just two months old.
“As of today, he’s been on the transplant list for 178 days waiting for a deceased donor kidney,” explains Hope.
But when he was put on the list, the family’s team of doctors asked if anyone from the family wanted to put themselves forward as a potential kidney donor.
“I put myself forward in the hope that we had the same blood group. It took three months for the results to come through, but I found out in June that I was a blood match and a tissue match.”
Any living donors need to be declared medically fit, and so Hope had a series of tests in August to assess her fitness and kidney function.
One more test in September, coincidentally the day after her book launch for The Lonely Only Dinosaur, will assess her cardiac fitness.
“The hope is, if I’m declared medically fit, we’ll be given a date for the surgery. It could happen in the next two months.”
Her sense of hope is palpable through my laptop screen. This is clearly a monumental moment and the fact that it coincides so completely with her book launch is kismet.
Hope started off writing children’s stories because of her kids. She’d make up stories for them when they were younger, and found she had to write them down so she wouldn’t forget the details.
“Making stories for my kids makes me happy, and it makes them happy, it’s a two-way street. And I think in the nicest way possible, making stories has been a way for me to relate to kids, my kids especially, and then if it relates to other kids, that’s brilliant.
“So, I am writing for my fellas, even though they’re big lads now. I’m writing for their approval. To make them smile. If I had a New York Times bestseller, it wouldn’t matter if my boys didn’t enjoy the book.”
Hope also relishes what she sees as a responsibility of children’s books writers to create books that help children to recognise “big feelings” but also entertain them and spark their curiosity and imagination.
“I think picture books are very special. I’m quite serious about picture books and their place in children’s growth and development. With picture books, you’re giving children their first foray into literature, their first foray into art.”
The unique thing about picture books is that you’re writing for two different readers, says Hope.
“I’m writing for a very special, shared audience. The books that I write get more demand put on them for re-reading than other books would get. So I’m very aware that the stories I write have a very special place.”
Any grown-up reading to a child will be familiar with that thrill of finding a book they enjoy reading too.
Reading to my own daughter I remember books that made me smile and laugh, and even books where the words rolled off the tongue, making the act of reading itself enjoyable. Hope compares it to writing “a catchy tune or song”.
“With a catchy song, you will sing it over and over again. You’ve got that lovely flow of words, and you’ve got feeling created by the music. And it’s the same with a picture book.”
But with so few words in a picture book, finding the right ones can take some time.
“It’s somewhere between poetry and brain surgery. When I initially write a story, it’ll be about 3,000 words long, and then it is a case of having a block of stone and chipping back what you don’t need.”
For Hope, the idea for a story may come quickly, but she could spend a year writing. “I spent eight months trying to get the text right for my latest book.”
While the inspiration for her latest book is rooted in nature and connection, Hope travelled further back in time to a world where dinosaurs roamed the Earth.
Her inspiration stemmed from the discovery of two dinosaur fossils in Antrim, Northern Ireland (the only dinosaur fossils ever found in Ireland).
One was the fossil of a megalosaurus theropod (like a T-Rex), the other a smaller plant-eating dinosaur, similar to a stegosaurus.
“I just thought, these are two such different types of dinosaurs. What if these are the only two dinosaurs on an island that happens to be on the edge of the world?”
And so Hope created Marsha, a “stompity stomp” dinosaur with a huge ROAR, and her friend, the little dinosaur, who is initially frightened of Marsha’s larger-than-life personality. Speaking with Hope over a Zoom call, it’s clear there’s a bit of her in Marsha.
“Marsha is full on. She’s 100% herself, and I like to write characters who have a bit of wildness and dynamism to them. There is probably a bit of my boisterous side in there, but I promise I will not be eating anybody soon!”
That statement belies Hope’s t-shirt which features a silhouette of a dinosaur with the words “Let’s eat kids. Let’s eat, kids” in a play on the importance of good punctuation.
There’s an energy and a restlessness to Hope.
Back in the 90s, she was a national champion in the hammer throw, and was part of a pioneering group of women competing internationally in hammer throw before it became an Olympic or World Championship event, participating in European Championships and World Student Games.
Hope initially had her heart set on sprinting and the long jump, but it didn’t pan out. The speed and power she’d harnessed in those events, though, came in handy for the hammer.
“The hammer is ludicrous on paper. You’ve got a four kilo solid tungsten ball of metal that you need to swing around so fast that it generates tons of force. And then you launch it into the air and it’s going to travel 100 kilometres an hour – it doesn’t make sense. And yet, it’s so beautiful and so graceful.”
Being in the world of elite athletics, Hope says she got used to being ok with failing.
“You’re training to fail. You’re going to be beaten all the time. So you’re figuring out what you can do to improve. There are definite parallels between that and writing, because writing isn’t for the faint of heart; there’s a lot of editing and critiquing, but that doesn’t bother me. If someone has feedback to give me up, no problem, give it to me.”
The hammer throw and writing a children’s book aren’t natural bedfellows, but much like letting go of a solid ball of metal and watching it arc through the air, sending a book out into the world requires a leap of faith Olivia Hope has well harnessed.
- The Lonely Only Dinosaur by Olivia Hope and Anna Süßbauer, published by Gill, is out now
