Scratby mum looks for next steps to publish children’s books

An aspiring author from Scratby has finished her fourth book in a series inspired from when she was a young girl.

Lisa Hawthron, 46, started writing following a family holiday to Scotland at the age of 15.

She picked up a pen and started the story of Henrietta the Haggis, a characterised 'fluffy' version of the famous food, based on a stuffed toy souvenir bought for her by her mum.

But the story was never finished, until years later that Lisa was reminded of it, while reading to her own daughter Megan, now 7.

'I became a mum, and I was reading to my daughter and I couldn't help thinking 'I could write something better than this'', said Lisa, who works at Palmers.

So she picked up where she left off and finished the story of Henrietta the Haggis, who lives in a hillside.

'And all these magical, stupid things keep happening to her,' Lisa added.

Since finishing the first book, called Henrietta and the Great Adventure, Lisa has written three more - although one remains unfinished due to a computer breakdown.

'As friends read them to their children, they kept asking for more and to find out what happens next. One of my friend's daughters even wrote a school book report about Henrietta,' she said.

But now, Lisa is looking for where to go next, to hopefully get her works published.

'The first book finished itself,' she said. 'And the others just came naturally out of nowhere. I've sent things off to publishing houses but never had a reply, and I don't really know where to go next.'

Lisa is also looking to have the books illustrated.

'Henrietta is a real character, she wears hats, she wears a tie to school, so she really needs to be shown through pictures,' she said.

In the meantime, Lisa is looking forward to reading the books to Megan as she becomes interested.

'She's said to me that I can read her the one about the Loch Ness monster,' Lisa said. 'And then we'll see where Henrietta takes us after that!'