A WEST Cumbrian author is set to release her debut children's book, after working on the story for over three years.
Emma-Louise Summerfield, originally from Whitehaven and now residing in Cleator, is releasing her first-ever fiction story, 'The Guardians of Celestria' on November 30.
The story is a tale of a young space and time traveller who arrives in a mystical new land and embarks on a journey of discovery.
Known locally for her work in jewellery crafting and organising holistic events, Emma-Louise had designed a tribe of dragons, with healing crystals and different meanings for each.
Emma then stepped into the arena of storytelling after being inspired by her daughters.
She said: "I loved sharing stories of the dragons with my own daughters Rhianna and Tabitha, and they kept saying I should write them into stories. In lockdown, I took the plunge and I wrote my first children’s book. The book features seven dragon guardians plus unicorns and many more magical creatures."
She admitted writing her first book, especially as a dyslexic, was like "going uphill in treacle-covered roller-skates".
Nevertheless, she persisted and after a year and a half of writing, she had a manuscript ready to send to publishers.
Ultimately, Pegasus Publishers picked up her book.
Emma took it upon herself to draw her own concept illustrations, which were then expanded by a digital artist to prepare them for the book.
She detailed her journey saying: "The whole process from start to finish has taken me over three years, from writing my first manuscript, to drawing my own initial illustrations, finding a publisher, working on my illustrations, then working alongside a brilliant digital artist Antonella to expand them and make them book ready.
"I formatted my own book with great help from my wonderful husband Paul, who runs a local IT and website design company Quantumistic Solutions, based in Cleator and also help from my publishers, to make my book ready to print! So exciting!"
Emma is excited for her book launch on November 30 and is proud to be a west Cumbrian author. She said: "I remember this time last year, I was Christmas shopping in Carlisle with my daughters, in Waterstones, and they said: Mum, you could be here this time next year!
"And a year to that date, my debut children book is now available to pre-order on Waterstones website! I feel so blessed and proud."
The eager author is working on a sequel focusing on one of her characters, Zelenia, and her 'cosmic adventure-filled childhood.'
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here