Let’s Go Fly a Kite

How did I get the idea for Valkyrie? It was August of 1964. My mother, Norma, took me and my sister to see Mary Poppins. I remember sitting very still, utterly enchanted. This was one of the first marriages of live action and animation in a film. Of course, I didn’t know this. I just wanted to be Jane Banks!

I loved Mary Poppins so much that I begged my mother to take us again. And she did. Twice. (She was a great mom.) Norma also bought us the LP. I spent hours dancing around our living room. For Christmas, I got a Mary Poppins doll, complete with a carpetbag, umbrella and one change of clothes…the supercalifragilistic outfit. 

The LP and doll are long gone – worn out by love – but the memories remain. Mary Poppins was my first experience with fantasy weaving perfectly with real, everyday life. It is probably the reason I’ve always loved books that combine these elements and the inspiration for attempting to do the same in Valkyrie.