Having lived in the Sevenoaks area for 20 years with three children, Christine, Helen and Angus, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and, following surgery and chemotherapy, I undertook a course of radiotherapy. This meant travelling up to London and back daily for five weeks and it made me think I should do something useful with all that time spent on trains. I remembered having a dream in which I had clearly seen rabbits hopping around my garden with little horns on their head and this was what I needed to give me an idea, why not write a book? So, armed with a notebook and pen I started making notes on a story designed for children aged around 8 to 11 years. I had never written a book before and wasn't sure I could but working on the premise that books are only sentences linked together to make a story, I made a start.
It took me longer than I thought and as the book grew I realised it wasn't going to be right first time. Some rewriting was needed before I thought the story was good enough for someone else to read. Once I had got it how I wanted it, my teenage daughter offered to give me her opinion. She liked it! More than that, she said she would be willing to illustrate it and despite all her school commitments, she sketched out my suggestions and brought the characters from my book to life on the page, just as I had imagined them. Her idea for the front cover shows a world turned upside down which gives an indication as to the way Lucy, the lead character, finds her world changing. The explanation for the title is left for the reader to discover later in the book.
So now the project is complete and I can hold my book in my hand. I would love to share it with everyone who has ever wondered "what if" and let their imagination run away with them, like I did In particular I would love children who like fun adventures with animals that speak to give it a go. It's also a great book for parents to read to younger children and for older more confident readers to enjoy reading independently.
I hope everyone who reads it has fun, after all, life is always full of surprises!