An author is celebrating her first published children's book.

Retired secretary Pam Marr, of Ponteland, felt the spark of inspiration to write a children's book after writing to her grandsons who had moved to New Zealand.

Trying to keep positive and not let the distance affect the relationship, Pam started writing letters to them which created the idea of a book.

"I would write to Ewan and Callum often, always enclosing a story or poem," Pam explained.

Hexham Courant:

"They remarked how much they enjoyed my stories and suggested I should collate a book for other childen to enjoy.

"As they both love drawing, they were very keen to do the illustrations. And so, I created The Life of Hugo.

"The book is about Hugo, who is 9 years old and lives on a farm near Hexham. His hobbies include football, running, riding Jasper his pony and playing with superhero figurines.

"Readers can find out what happens to Bruno, his favourite superhero, when he takes him into school, his adventure on a fishing boat, his friend's naughty puppy and mum's answer to what really lies at the end of a rainbow.

Hexham Courant:

 

"There are several short stories which children can relate to, nearly all containing a moral."

Storytelling has always been something of a talent in the family as Pam vividly remembers her father being the same.

"He would also be telling me some made-up story from the top of his head," Pam laughed.

"So I wanted to be the same.

"At school I was loved writing essays and being creative with it but after I left I did not pursue it.

"I became a secretary but in my early forties I broke away from office work and qualified as a Swedish body massage therapist and then later qualified as a crystal healer and reiki practitioner.

"As I worked part-time, I could watch and care for my grandchildren but when they were 7 and 9 years old my daughter told me about the move to New Zealand.

"Although I was terribly upset, I did not want to stop her dreams, so I started writing to fill a gap of not seeing them as much."

The books are available from Amazon, Waterstones, most bookshops and pegasuspublishers.com.