In October 2024, I sat in front of a Times Radio microphone at the Cheltenham Literature Festival and talked about a book I wrote during the hardest period of my life.

Not as a writer. Not as an author. As a mother who was separated from her son.

The Adventures of Gabriel was created one hour a week, on a Friday night, over FaceTime. Gabriel would tell me his story. I wrote it down. Week after week, that one question, "What happens next?", became a book. Then an international bestseller.

What I told Times Radio that day is what I tell every parent and every teacher I meet: children do not need to be taught to imagine. They need to be invited.

Gabriel and his sidekick, Platy the Platypus, go on adventures in that book. They face fears. They break invisible cages. They discover that anything is possible with focus and a good story. Gabriel was 10 years old when he created those ideas. He did it in an hour a week. With no writing desk, no classroom, and no red pen in sight.

If your child has stories inside them waiting to come out, this is where to start.

"When children write their own stories, they realise they are the heroes. They are strong, creative, and capable of facing anything." — Kate Markland