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There are a lot of milestones you imagine as a writer. Finishing the book. Holding it in your hands. Seeing it listed somewhere that doesn’t involve your own login details. I didn’t realise I’d be lucky enough to add fan art to the list.
My first fan art
I received my first piece of fan art months ago, drawn by Jenson, the talented son of someone I worked with. I knew he’d read The Potion Experiment. I did not expect him to have remembered quite so much of it or enjoyed it enough to spend time drawing his interpretation. I adore this artwork!
The drawing shows a potion sitting on a table, my character peering at it from behind the table – cautious, curious, very much in character. Floating above are the ingredients collected throughout the story. All of them! Every feather and flower.
I’m so impressed by the worldbuilding details, and awestruck that they have made the leap off the page and into someone else’s imagination – and then into a physical drawing. That’s a magical feeling.
I met Jenson when he gifted me the artwork, so I got to tell him how much I loved it!
Ingredients list from The Potion Experiment
- 1 moonflower, picked at night, crushed with mortar and pestle
- 500mL fresh water, purified
- 2 toad legs
- 1 lemon’s zest
- handful of thyme, chopped finely
- 15 skullcap flowers, chopped finely
- 1 crow feather
- 2 moth wings, from a single moth
- 40 dandelion seeds
- spoonful of honey, to taste
Fan art from a future reader
Not long after, I received another kind of fan art – one decorated with stickers. Many stickers. Hello Kitty made several appearances, alongside a collection of other characters. I give a 10/10 for sticker curation!
This one came from a young girl my mum gifted the book to. She included a note.
Dear Elle
Thank you for your book.
I love the book.
I will read it when I grow up.
Mikishen
“I will read it when I grow up” might just be the most adorable book note.
It’s so sweet to hear that your book will be part of someone’s future reading list. Not their present reading level, perhaps, but their anticipated one. A version of themselves will come back to it later.
A packaged note from a reader
Not long after, another kind of fan response arrived – this time not a drawing, but a letter.
The note came from a reader named Sienna. It was folded carefully and accompanied by a tiny cube drawing of Bentley and the instruction “You can take him off!”. I love it!
The letter reads:
Dear Elle,
Thanks for the book! I love it and will make sure to recommend it to my friends.
To be honest I think you could make The Potion Experiment into a series.
Although series sometimes take a lot of time, I think it will all pay off.
My favourite character is Eva! Her cheekiness and boldness really highlight her.
Once again thanks for the book and please consider making the book a series!!!P.S. sorry Bentley doesn’t have a tail.
Love from: Your reader, Sienna
I was so delighted by every part of this – the enthusiasm for Eva, the persuasive case for a sequel, and the fact that Bentley needed a written disclaimer about his missing tail.
A handwritten letter from a reader is so earnest. It feels very personal. Not only did Sienna read my book; she sat down, thought about the story, and decided it was worth writing to the person who made it. That’s a lovely, incredibly special, forever-keepsake thing to receive.
The best feedback is fan art
Fan art is the best kind of feedback because it’s evidence of connection. Someone noticed The Potion Experiment enough to respond creatively. Someone held the story long enough to turn it into something new. Someone thought about the story even after turning the final page.
These artworks and letters weren’t public reviews for clicks or promotion. They were private, generous and unselfconscious. Writers spend a lot of time alone with imaginary readers, but these moments remind me that real readers exist – sometimes with pencils, sometimes with stickers, and always with a deeply sincere thank you from me.
I’ve kept all pieces safe. I love that the story went somewhere beyond my creation. I hope, in time, there will be more moments like these.