An author has described her latest children’s book as the most personal yet because it touches on issues experienced in her own life.
Hannah Gold’s new story Turtle Moon hits the shelves tomorrow (Thursday) following the success of her other stories The Last Bear, The Lost Whale and Finding Bear.
Turtle Moon follows 11-year-old Silver Trevelon and her friends as they try to find the stolen eggs of a leatherback turtle in Costa Rica.
Hannah is renowned for writing animal-themed adventures but this time she also raises the issue of infertility.
In the story Silver’s parents are unhappy as a result of struggling to conceive a second child. They are invited to help paint a turtle rescue centre in Costa Rica which leads the family to this next adventure.
Hannah, who lives in Stamford, said: “There’s a flavour to the writing that is different to anything I’ve written before and it’s also my most personal book yet.
“According to the World Health Organisation, one in every six couples globally is affected by fertility issues at some point in their lifetime. One of those couples was me and my husband.
“For some unexplained reason it didn’t happen for us. It hurt a lot and it still sometimes does but at the end of 2018, when my life felt pretty grey without the prospect of children, a friend suggested I turn to writing as a form of solace.
“It was the best advice anyone could have given me because out of that writing, my first book was born and all the longing and love that was in my heart poured out on the page.
“Then something miraculous happened and the book went on to win multiple awards and connect with thousands and thousands of children across the world.
“It wasn’t the way I had envisioned having ‘children’ but somehow it was the perfect way. I felt it important to capture some of this in a new book – to show that when life doesn’t manifest in the way you expected, there is still hope.”
Turtle Moon is published by Harper Collins and recommended for readers aged eight and above. It will be available to buy from Walkers Books in Stamford and Oakham from tomorrow.
Hannah’s debut novel, The Last Bear, achieved critical acclaim, winning Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and the Blue Peter Book Awards 2022. The Lost Whale won the Edward Stanford Children’s Travel Book of the Year and Finding Bear was a top five bestseller.
This post was originally published on here
