No winter flu bug was going to drag down Palmerston North Detective Laurie Howell. When he found himself off sick for two weeks in May he wrote a children's book, and on Friday (31 July) he shared his creativity with a group of children at Central Normal School as part of their Book Week.
Laurie's inspiration came from the Blue Light Trolley Derby held in the city for the first time this year. He was one of the organisers who joined crowds of people to race their home-made mean machines down Pork Chop Hill.
It was shortly after that event that Laurie fell ill and The Great Manawatu Trolley Derby book was born, bringing the event to life and capturing the thrill of the day in pages of rhyme and photos.
"I've always liked reading Lynley Dodd books to my kids," said Laurie, "and have always found it quite easy to make rhyme. The first paragraph came to me and the whole thing flowed from there."
Laurie has two sons aged 12 and 7 and a 9-year-old daughter and when they arrived home from school they were 'blown away' that dad had written a book.
He is now hoping to find sponsors to have the book published and raise some money for St John and the Square Trust rescue helicopter.
"I got so much support when I was organising the derby from local groups and businesses," said Laurie. "I don't want to make any money out of the book I would just like to see it published to help recognise the event and the hard work that people put into it. If the book did profit it would be only fitting that that the money was given back to some of the emergency service volunteers who helped make the day such a success."
Laurie has been well and truly bitten by the writing bug. He is part of a huge extended family who originate from the UK, and had already begun work on a historical novel tracing their roots. Writing the children's book has reinvigorated him, and the historical project has gained new momentum. It is a much larger task however, so don't expect to see that finished project any time soon.
Anyone who is interested in helping Laurie to get his children's book published should contact him at Palmerston North Police Station on 06 351 3600.
