LOCAL author Sarah Bates visited children at St John’s Middle School with her new book ‘The Amazing Adventures of Roddy the Magic Cat’.
Sarah has entered a national publishing competition to become Britain’s Next Bestseller and, having reached her target for 250 pre-orders, the book will now be released in September when the writer will also be doing book signings.
As part of the competition, Sarah has been giving parents the chance of having their children’s name included in the story, making it a sentimental keepsake as well as a good read.
In the first book, Roddy travels to Nepal to realise a lifelong dream of seeing Mount Everest. Along the way he is accompanied by new-found friend, a dog called Hobo, who guides him and teaches him about life in the mountains.
Sarah is already planning to release another six in the series.
She said: “The stories are based on my real life experiences whilst backpacking, so the people or situations you encounter are authentic rather than researched, told through the eyes of a most magical cat called Roddy.
“The illustrations are based on the 15,000 photos that I took whilst travelling.”
Sarah’s inspiration for the books began on a 12-hour bus journey through Laos in South East Asia and she began writing in the overcrowded, chaotic and cramped conditions.
Teacher at St John’s Middle School Claire Hirons said: “This was a fantastic opportunity not only for pupils to interact with a truly magical story but also to recognise their own aspirations through other people in the community.”
Visit www.britainsnextbestseller.co.uk and search by author’s name ‘Sarah Bates’ for more on ‘The Amazing Adventures of Roddy the Magic Cat’.
Those visiting the website will be able to watch a trailer of the book, read teachers’ reviews, download a sample and pre-order the book.
Anyone wanting to have their children’s name in their own individual book has until Tuesday (July 8) to pre-order their copy.
