What experience have you got as an author?’ you ask. ‘What credentials or qualifications do you have?’ ‘What have you written before?’

Well the truth is, nothing! Absolutely nothing qualifies me to be an author. That is, unless you count a B grade at GCSE English and I didn’t even read the question properly then! I’ve got a degree in physiotherapy but that didn’t teach me to write (though I could write a Dickens style novel about all the characters I have met as a Physio!)

‘So, with no qualifications, what makes you think you can be an author then?’ you ask.

Well here’s some background. My favourite books growing up were Little Women (Lousia May Alcott) and Anne of Green Gables (Lucy Maud Montgomery). If I have learnt anything from these books, it is that to write you don’t need qualifications, just life experience and somebody honest (a Gilbert Blythe or a Frederick Bhaer) who will tell you when it’s rubbish! Somebody close who will give you an honest opinion and challenge you to be better when you thought you had done your best already.

Growing up my Dad would take apart my essays and make me rewrite them, basically starting again. He would challenge me to be better. He challenged me recently to write about life, life with three small boys and the funny day to day things that happen. So there it began, I started to sketch and write for the first time in years and with that a never-ending amount of material to use. Thanks Dad!

In 2019, I had my 3rd beautiful little boy. In the months that followed I had the most difficult time of my life with debilitating Post Natal Anxiety and was later diagnosed with Post Natal PTSD. I was paralysed by flash backs, anxiety and panic attacks. During this time, my husband (my Frederick Bhaer ) bought me a sketch book and pencils. Sketching and writing were the only things that I could do and alongside my Christian faith helped me get through each day. To cut a long story short I started sketching with my Uncle, a former Royal Marine Sergeant well accustomed to the horrors of PTSD.

So, this is our story, a fictional tale, based on true life events written with the hope of helping children with mental health issues and encouraging adventure in us all! Enjoy!