Star Wars & Me

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…

I was a young boy with a vivid imagination. To be honest, in my head, I am still that young boy with a vivid imagination. Either way, as a youngling, I had an inbuilt need to submerge myself in stories where I could escape to new worlds. Once there, I could go on amazing adventures with various characters. So many wonderful creatures lived in these make-believe worlds, too. New creatures, monsters and other such things were everywhere.

From memory, this all started when I was a toddler. I remember my dad reading me Rudyard Kipling’s ‘Just So Stories’, and I still have that book now. Then, there was C.S. Lewis and ‘Narnia’. I desperately wanted to be able to climb through my wardrobe into different worlds. Roald Dahl’s ‘BFG’ was also a particular favourite, and I have to mention ‘Lord of The Rings’ (how can I not?).

To be concise, I love great stories, and I always have. I love it even more when remarkable things are born out of pure imagination. Here’s my point…

Star Wars first arrived in our home through the T.V. one Christmas. From the first minute, it fired my imagination like NEVER before. Perhaps it was because I was a child, and a movie is more visual in some ways. Honestly, there could be many reasons why. What I do know, is from that point my ‘need’ to live in these new worlds was unstoppable. Everywhere I went, and in everything I did, my creativity took over. In the classroom, I visualised monsters lurking around outside the windows. Walking to school, I wondered if any of the cars driving passed may turn into robots (yes, I loved Transformers, too). Every part of me lived inside these stories. I discovered new ‘things of wonder’ on a daily basis. They were in books and comics that I read, and T.V. shows or movies that I watched. They were everywhere! Better still, I began developing my own creations; from curious new places, through to the people who lived there. Then came the mighty creatures, or even monsters, that resided alongside them. As a writer, that’s where it all began for me, and my hope is to spark people’s imaginations, too. I want to create amazing adventures which we can journey through together.

Throughout all this, Star Wars has remained particularly special to me. In Star Wars, there has always been everything I wanted (or needed, I haven’t decided which). What I do know, is that I still get excited every time there’s a new movie coming out. In essence, Star Wars is a fairy tale set in another galaxy (far, far away of course). But it has always been so much more. I always find each of the tales spellbinding, and the Jedi, well…
Who wouldn’t want to be a Jedi?

For me, the characters are all loveable in their own unique ways. How amazing that even the droids have such well developed personalities? The creatures are equally awesome, and I’ve always had a particular soft-spot for taun tauns. In fact, Hoth is one of my favourite settings, too. Star Wars is timeless, and the force will be strong in us for generations to come.

Then, there is Princess Leia…

In the beginning, like all classic fairy tales, there (apparently) has to be a princess who needs rescuing in some way. Despite that, Princess Leia was always so much more. She was feisty, independent and the leader of The Rebellion. Let’s be realistic, without Princess Leia holding it all together, things may have gone much better for The Empire. I mean, she played a critical role in taking out two Death Stars.

Carrie Fisher did an amazing job of bringing Princess Leia to life. She will also carry on inspiring so many people for generations to come. Needless to say, I know how sad we will all feel, watching her once again in ‘The Last Jedi’.

Rest in Peace Carrie Fisher – I miss you so much already.