My novel way to change

IT almost sounds like a joke – the woman who swapped the role of political spin doctor for that of fantasy writer. But Lari Don tells LINDA SUMMERHAYES it really wasn't that big a change.

IT is a world where anything can happen – where centaurs roam, dragons fly and evil enemies must be defeated.

This place of folklore and fabled beasts is where mother-of-two Lari Don has immersed herself ever since swapping her life as a political spin doctor for that of a professional storyteller.

Writing speeches for senior politicians in the Scottish National Party might seem far removed from telling tall tales to rapt youngsters, but Lari says engaging people with a good yarn, imaginatively told, is not a million miles away.

"You're dealing with information and you're trying to get the voters on board by trying to make things interesting – and the best way of doing that is to make them care," says Lari, making the link between her previous career and her role as a storyteller. "The difference with campaigning is that you are not just telling a story, you are actually looking to make things happen."

Lari, who lives in Leith with her husband Colin and their two daughters Mirren, eight, and five-year-old Gowan, has now translated her talents for storytelling and writing to pen her first novel.

The children's book, called First Aid for Fairies and Other Fabled Beasts, centres around the adventures of a young girl called Helen who suddenly finds herself immersed in a world of magical creatures. Her adventures begin after an injured centaur visits Helen's garden, looking for help. As Helen's mother, a vet, does not believe in magic, it is down to Helen to help.

"Part of my book is set in underground Edinburgh – the best part of the city," adds Lari. "It's not set anywhere in particular but I was imagining places like Mary King's Close and under the Tron Kirk and, in my mind, I put them all together.

"As well as these magical places, the adventures are also part of Helen's life so they also involve her family and her school and so they don't just happen somewhere magical but within a real girl's life in Scotland."

The 39-year-old's inspiration came when she noticed her eldest daughter Mirren playing with a plastic toy pony and a spiral shell they had picked up on a beach combing outing to Portobello.

"She placed the shell on the pony's head so it looked like a unicorn and we started playing with the idea of a vet fixing a unicorn," recalls Lari. "Then I got to thinking: what if there was a vet who specialised in helping magical animals? And that's where the idea came from."

Lari, who was born in Chile and grew up in Speyside, has lived in Edinburgh for more than 15 years after she arrived in the Capital to take up a role as an assistant press officer with the SNP.

"I feel like I am part of a community here," says Lari of her Leith home. "I feel very much like I come from here and I love the fact that this is where my kids will grow up."

Originally a member of the Labour Party, Lari became passionate about politics while studying maths at university.

She switched allegiance to the SNP after Labour backed away from nuclear disarmament. She also became disillusioned with the lack of focus on issues affecting Scotland.

"At the time, when I first took the job in Edinburgh, there wasn't even a Scottish Parliament and our campaigning was very much an opposition job," says Lari, who remains fervent about politics. "For them to get into power was such a highlight.

"The feeling of opportunity and change is amazing, particularly now, having children, a lot of things I used to campaign for that once seemed abstract have become very personal.

"I am worrying about things like health services and schooling and my children's future when they become students. A lot of policies have stopped being just policies and have become things I care about deeply."

Lari points out that although this is her first novel, she has enjoyed writing since she was a child and she says that working as a spin doctor, eventually running the SNP press office, involved being articulate and writing with clarity.

"With speeches and press releases, you are putting imagination and creative gloss on factual information to make it interesting, inspiring and exciting," she adds.

It was when Lari's first child Mirren was born eight years ago, that she became a full-time mum and started to pen short stories, one of which won the Canongate Prize for new writing in 2001.

But after entertaining her children with tall tales, she began writing stories for a younger audience and thought it would be fun to attend a storytelling workshop.

It was a move that would change her life as she now works as a professional storyteller, visiting classrooms throughout the Lothians to tell tales of Greek myths and Viking dragon stories.

As well as telling stories that fit in with the school curriculum, she has created workshops using traditional tales that bring local history alive. She also plans to use her novel as a foundation for future workshops.

"Stories are one of the best ways to link us to our past and to the rest of the world," says Lari.

"Stories are also a great way for people to share and they are fun and exciting and one of the best forms of entertainment.

"But also, stories should be universal and enjoyed by everybody, adults and children alike."

• First Aid for Fairies and Other Fabled Beasts is published by Floris Books and will be available from bookshops from March 27.