Q&A with author Sarah Giddy

1. Your debut children's book FLIGHT OF THE DRAKKONBARQ is soon to be released by Riveted Press. Can you share what the book is about? How did you get the idea in the first place? 

Flight of the Drakkonbarq is about the human search for belonging, set in a world where people are the size of insects.

Bat Brikson, a twelve-year-old boy living in a snail-shell cottage, hates feeling like a misfit. He escapes his tiny world on his pet moth, Oddity, on a desperate quest to understand and be understood. Up in the treetops, he discovers the fearsome Drakkonbarqs, and falls in love with their world of exploration and adventure. He goes on daring honey quests, befriends the fierce heir of the tree, and finally starts to feel like he’s found his people. Then the doubt creeps in.

This is a story about a child growing up and shifting their view of the world. It’s a story about found friends, compassion, bravery, and what all people have in common.

Looking back, I think the first ideas came to me in late 2019, as I was outside staring at the grass. I started thinking - imagine being small enough to stand underneath that and look up at the sunlight! How would it change your view of the world? From these imaginings I formed the idea of the Groundlands and its inhabitants — specifically, my protagonist — a boy with never-ending curiosity. As I considered how the people would interact with different species of animals (beetles would be war-horses, ants would be messengers, crickets would be cattle and caterpillars would be pack-horses) one thought kept on coming back to me: Dragonflies are dragons.

From there, the mysterious Drakkonbarqs emerged, and I knew that Bat would never be content to watch these dragonfly-riders from afar. He would want to understand them. He would want to be one of them. 


2. What was the writing and rewriting process like for FLIGHT OF THE DRAKKONBARQ? 

Flight of the Drakkonbarq was my Covid baby - I began it in 2020 and finished the first draft in 2021. At that time, I was studying a Bachelor of Visual Art and Design. I decided that for my final major project, I would design and typeset a printed mock-up of the book, with full-colour illustrations. The only problem was that I hadn’t finished the text at that point, so it was a crazy rush. That was the first iteration of the book. It was lovely having a physical copy, but it was ridiculously expensive given colour-printing costs, and the text was pretty rough. Besides, is a book even real when it isn’t in the hands of readers?

So it sat around basically untouched for a couple of years, until I starting working on it with Rowena Beresford from Riveted Press. It felt bizarre coming back to the project as I’d grown a lot since then, and to be honest I was kind of sick of it. It took time to rekindle my love for the story and characters. The final edit was an insanely hard push, as I wrote in new scenes literally days before we went to print! Editing the illustrations was also tedious, as I had to rework them quite significantly for black and white printing, and being a perfectionist I took my time. 


3. How did your book come to find a home with Riveted Press and what was the publication experience like for you? 

In 2022, I booked a manuscript assessment with Rowena Beresford of Riveted Press, through the wonderful CYA conference. At the assessment, she told me she loved the concept and opening chapters, and asked to see the rest, which was an absolutely thrilling moment! From there, I ended up with a contract. The publication experience itself felt never-endingly long, as is the way with publishing. There were periods where it felt like nothing was happening, and periods where I was working insanely long days without a break. 


4. What have you learned about the writing and publishing world that you wish you knew when you began? 

Conferences (like CYA and KidLitVic) are awesome! However, it takes a huge effort to put yourself out there, and you often don’t see the fruits of your labour for years. You have to remember that writing and illustrating is a long slog. You’ll work on a project for five years and go through phases of utterly despising it. As a career, it makes zero sense financially, but everyone has a reason for writing. So you find your reason and you cling on to it. And at the same time, you find other ways to foster your creativity, so that you don’t burn out.

Another thing I’ve had to learn about the publishing world is that getting rejected by a publisher isn’t necessarily an indication of your writing quality. The publisher is faced with a huge dinner menu, and they can’t eat the parmigiana and the lasagne and the fettuccine all at once! It’s both disheartening and comforting to know that this is outside your control. 


5. Do you have a typical writing routine? What is your writing space like? 
A writing routine and space would be fabulous, but I don’t really have one. I’ve worked on Flight of the Drakkonbarq in maybe five different houses, plus cafes and libraries. Much of my first draft was written at my childhood home (back when I had escaped from the city during lockdown), so that was special. Typically I tend to switch between working at the kitchen table and curled up on the couch. Often there’s a lukewarm cup of chai tea lurking nearby.

My best planning always happens when I’m wandering aimlessly outside. I never really outgrew the phase of “telling myself stories while playing in the garden” — I’m now just better at disguising it. Ideas are normally hatched on a long walk, sometimes bouncing possibilities off a trusty friend or sibling. 

At the start of a project I’m always slow - maybe a hundred words every few weeks or months, and sketches and ideas jotted down in random notebooks. I always have a strong grasp of the characters, setting, and themes before I have any idea of the plot. I just start write the ending and the beginning of the book first, and then I gradually work my way inwards. Sometimes I get to the middle and have no idea how the story will sort itself out. In that case, I rely on my characters to take control. If I’m in the writing groove, I’ve been known to spit out 2,000 words a day, but it comes and goes.


6. Can you share anything about what you are working on currently? What's in the pipeline for you? 

I’m currently polishing an illustrated middle grade about a girl with a magic bottle of ink and an annoying dragon friend. I’m on my third draft and would love to find the perfect publisher for it (or an agent to represent me). I’m also in the ideas stage for a bunch of different projects — from picture books to a series of short graphic novels. 


7. Anything else you wish to add? 
I’ve been telling myself stories and drawing the pictures ever since I was a pre-schooler. But I’ve always hated the idea of showing my work to anyone, and felt a bit embarrassed about my imagination. Knowing that my book will be in the hands of strangers is terrifying to me, and I keep on thinking, What if it’s not good enough?

But good enough for what? I ask. 

Because, honestly, if one kid reads my book and sees themselves in it — if one kid reads it and feels a bit more compassion or a bit more hope and delight or a bit more courage — isn’t that all that matters?

And if the book’s a flop and I hate it the moment it’s out in print and think, why did I write that rubbish? Well, so what? Speaking from personal experience is always brave, and this story came from my experience — as a tiny person trying to make sense of a giant world and know that I’m not alone.

Flight of the Drakkonbarq is published by Riveted Press on October 14th, 2025.