Welcome to #TheQuickSixInterview with Ashleigh Barton!
We’re delighted to welcome back Ashleigh Barton, best-selling and notable author of popular picture books and middle grade novels, including the ‘What Do You Call Your…’ books and the Solomon Macaroni series (see our interview here). Today she is here to share her newest, achingly beautiful middle grade novel, How to Sail to Somewhere. Described as ‘a story of lost and found, of friendship, family, hope and the power of the ocean, for middle-grade readers who love a mystery‘, this evocative and grounding tale is one of intrigue and magical adventure with a classic feel that promises a memorable and unputdownable read.
Thank you, and congratulations, Ashleigh, on another charming, must-read adventure! 🙂
About the Author
Ashleigh Barton is a children’s author and content and copywriter based in Sydney, Australia. This means all her working hours are spent on her own creative projects or crafting copy for clients in various industries all over the world. No two days are the same – just the way she likes it. Before writing full-time, Ashleigh pursued her love of books (children’s books especially) by working in some of Australia’s biggest publishing houses. She ran marketing and publicity campaigns for globally-renowned authors and illustrators, including some of her all-time favourites. ​​
Ashleigh is the author of several picture books including WHAT DO YOU CALL YOUR GRANDMA? (CBCA Shortlist 2022), WHAT DO YOU CALL YOUR GRANDPA? (CBCA Notable 2021), and HOW DO YOU SAY I LOVE YOU? (CBCA Notable 2023). She is also the author of middle grade novels including SOLOMON MACARONI (2022 and 2023) and FREDDIE SPECTOR, FACT COLLECTOR (2024).
Please find Ashleigh Barton at her website: Ashleigh Barton | Children’s Author | Australia and on Instagram.
How to Sail to Somewhere is available for purchase via Hachette Australia.
WHO wrote, illustrated and published this book?
This book was written by me (Ashleigh Barton) and published by Hachette Australia. There are no illustrations other than the stunning cover illustration which is by Nancy Liang. Kirby Armstrong was the cover designer who pulled it all together.
WHAT is it about?
How to Sail to Somewhere is about a young girl called Bea who lives in a town that empties of locals and fills up with tourists each summer. Bea is left there with none of her friends because her parents stay to work, but luckily every year her super fun uncle Byron comes and gives her the most magical and adventurous summers. The summer before the story starts, Byron discovers an island off the coast of this town and promises Bea when he returns the following summer they’ll sail there together. But summer returns and Byron does not. Bea, who is sad and angry over this broken promise, soon begins to discover a series of clues that lead her firstly to make a new friend, Arabella – another little girl who is also left behind each summer – and then seem to be leading the two girls to sail to Somewhere on their own.
What is your favourite part of this book?
I don’t think I could pick a favourite part – I really enjoyed writing all of it. If I absolutely had to choose, I think I’d pick the memories Bea has of her uncle, Byron, which are interspersed throughout the story. He was such a selfless and joy-filled character who made sure Bea knew that she was loved.
WHEN did you begin writing this book?
I started writing this book a really long time ago – perhaps eight or so years. I was writing it (and thinking about it) all while working on the other books I published before it.
When is its release / launch date?
It was released on March 26th 2025.
WHERE did the inspiration for this book come from?
This story actually started as a picture book idea following a throwaway comment from a colleague. When my agent wasn’t super keen on that picture book, the characters kept reappearing in my head and I realised that they needed their story to be told but that their story was a different one to the one I’d first written. These characters came to me so clearly and I knew the overall premise of the story and the kind of story I wanted it to be, but it wasn’t until I had the title pop into my head that the plot really began to unravel.
WHY is this book meaningful to you?
This story and its characters spent a really long time in my head and I grew to really love them and the town that they live in. Of all the books I’ve written, it is probably the closest to the kind of stories I loved reading the most as a child. I loved stories grounded in reality but with a larger-than-life adventure I could only ever imagine embarking upon, and I loved stories that dealt with heavy things and made me feel a wide range of emotions.
Why would its message resonate with readers?
The book addresses many big themes, but it does so in a gentle way and in a hopeful way. I have noticed that often my story ideas start with the difficult thing rather than end with it and I think this is a subconscious decision to provide some hope – to show readers that we can make it through difficult things.
HOW do you feel about the cover design? How do they convey the feeling or mood you envisioned?
I LOVE this cover. I think Hachette, Kirby Armstrong the cover designer and Nancy Liang the artist who created the illustration, did such an amazing job capturing the whimsical, adventurous and mysterious mood of the story. I get a lot of compliments on this cover and think it really helps raise a lot of questions about what might be going on in the story.
How have you promoted this book and how can we find it?
So far, I’ve been promoting this book at school talks, the Somerset Storyfest literary festival, bookstore signings and some podcasts (The Arts Unit: Between the Bookshelves, Words and Nerds with Dani Vee and Your Kids Next Read – Friday First Chapters). The book can be purchased at all good bookstores and online!
OTHER information or experiences you’d like to share?
While How to Sail to Somewhere is a grief story, I intended it to be a hopeful one. It’s filled with friendship, adventure, a bit of mystery and a whale for good measure. Hope you love reading it as much as I loved writing it!
I’m sure readers will love it, too! It sounds beautiful. Thanks so much, Ashleigh! 🙂
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Thanks to Gemma Creegan for sourcing this interview.
