Brighton Author To Support Children's Charity With New Halloween Book

Jack Noddings will donate 30% of profits from his new Halloween-themed book, set in Brighton, to Rockinghorse Children's Charity.

Brightonians will recognise many of the locations and goings-on mentioned in Giggling Zombies in Brighton, including Elm Grove Primary School, Brighton Pride and The Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital. 

It's the first book in his Way and the Witch series, which was launched yesterday (October 12th).

The book is aimed at nine to 11-year-olds and is based in the author's hometown of Brighton.

A semi-professional writer, Jack has worked with the BBC, Channel 4 and Comedy Central over the past 10 years of his career, but this year he decided to turn his hand to children's books.

He said:

"I wanted to write something that was loud and full of energy with fun characters, but also had a lot of heart.

"I like finding ways to write emotional stories in exciting ways. 

"I also wanted to write about Brighton in the same way some of my favourite books, films, and TV shows are set in places like New York or LA or London.

"Brighton is so cool, has so many different parts and such a character.

"It's a very unique place and it was fun to write about it."

The book follows the adventures of Way, an ordinary 11-year-old from Brighton, who accidentally releases a witch called Stella from a magic box, as well as the most dangerous kind of unwelcome magic: Wild Enchantments.

So, it's up to Way and Stella to recapture the Wild Enchantments before they destroy Brighton.

Jack included the children's hospital as he had first-hand experience of being treated there in the mid-80s.

He said:

"I was born with club foot on both feet in September 1985 and had five operations up until the age of four, which corrected the shape of my feet, so they didn't bend inwards. 

"My parents were told there would be a big chance I wouldn't be able to walk.

"But the reason I can is because of the treatment and post treatment I received at the Alex, which included lots of physio and special shoes. I wore the shoes until I was nine or so. I hated them - they were big chunky boots.

"I think that's why I'm kind of obsessed with trainers now! But having club foot hasn't really affected me. I played a lot of sports when I was younger, I even played a sport called Fives for England when I was 14 (it's like squash but with your hands)."

And this experience is partly why Jack chose to support Rockinghorse by donating a portion of the profits of his first book:

"Rockinghorse is such a great cause and I loved the idea of being able to raise money for the charity with Way And The Witch. 

"I wanted the book to be full of as many Brighton references as possible and Rockinghorse is a Brighton landmark. People know it and trust it and it's been around for so long. And because this is a children's book, I wanted it to be a children's charity."

Rockinghorse is a Brighton-based charity that has been supporting sick and disadvantaged children, babies and young people in Sussex for 53 years.

Hollie Tresize, Schools and Community Fundraising Manager at Rockinghorse, said:

"Having a book that's set around your hometown, with lots of local references, is a great idea and one which will hopefully appeal to lots of children throughout the city.

"It's really generous of Jack to offer this kind of support to us, especially at the moment, and we really hope the book appeals to all those zombie hunters out there! We are really looking forward to working with Jack in the future and can't wait to read his next adventure."

In the coming months Jack is planning on releasing more of Way and Stella's adventures:

"My plan is to release a new book every two months, the next one at Christmas, and in every story Way and Stella will have to recapture a Wild Enchantment. 

"There will always be a link between the adventures and something going on in Way's life. In the first book, it's all about being okay with yourself, but every book will deal with an emotional problem in a fun way that I hope readers will relate to." 

To pick up a copy of Jack's book, head over to his website, www.wayandthewitch.com.