Two Wagga children have teamed up with their mum to write a novel.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The trio – Annabel Bowcher, daughter Mia and son Lincoln – have written The Story Snatchers, the first in a planned eight-book series called The Story Weavers of Bacalen.
The adventure novel, published under the pen name A J Hill, M E Grace and C Hook, will be officially launched on Sunday at the River and Wren Markets in Wagga.
Proceeds from the sale of the first book will be donated to The Heart Centre for Children and Westmead Hospital, where a young friend of the authors, Hugh Culley, has had a number of operations.
More than 200 copies have been pre-sold to readers from NSW, Queensland, Victoria and New Zealand.
Creating the first novel took Ms Bowcher, a science writer,and her children just 10 days.
The Story Snatchers became a birthday gift for their two cousins and two friends.
The four children all have their own characters in the story and with Mia and Lincoln, they became the six Story Weavers of Bacalen.
The book series also serves to raise awareness of a common known as Irlen Syndrome or perceptual dyslexia
Both Mia and Lincoln have perceptual dyslexia, but it hasn’t held back their love for stories and reading.
“They wear glasses with tinted lenses to make reading easier,” Ms Bowcher said.
The Story Weavers of Bacalen all wear these coloured lenses. This is why these children have been called by The Great Archives of Bacalen.
The novel has been published using Dyslexie font, which was created by a dyslexic graphic designer in Holland and is easy to read for both dyslexic and non-dyslexics.
“It was such a special experience to write with my children. There has been such a positive response by parents and children to the first book,” Ms Bowcher said.
“Undoubtedly the most exciting thing about writing this story was being on the journey with my own children. It will be a story they can read to their own children one day and inspire a new generation of Story Weavers.”