Local mum Terri pens new children’s books

Terri Lamberton also loved writing when she was at school, but had never considered having a career in literature.

Her first children’s book ‘Lacey Loo and the Christmas Adventure’ will be released next month by esteemed publishers Austin Mccauley.

“After my youngest child Daniel was born, I suffered from a bit of post-natal depression. Last Christmas my daughter Lacey came to me and asked to write a Christmas story.

“We sat down and created this wee elf ‘Lacey Loo’ and wrote a story. My daughter, who is now seven, gave me lots of ideas.

“Once we had finished, I thought to myself that really lifted me and then it just snowballed. I started writing more and more and sent some of them off to family living abroad and friends who are teachers.

Terri praised the encouragement she received from her sister, who lives in Turkey, and her husband Gareth gave her the confidence to send the book off to publishers.

“I got many, many rejection letters, but one day I came home and there was a contract sitting here from the publishers.

“It was a form of therapy for me and I never thought it would be picked up. Austin Mccauley got in contact and asked to see anything else I had written. There are now five Lacey Loo books written and two are getting published.”

Terri’s second book ‘Lacey Loo and the Lost Penguin’ will hit the shelves next year.

She said her daughter is so excited to be the inspiration for the main character, an elf who stows away on Santa’s sleigh and ends up in Derry.

Lacey Loo will take the readers around a number of Derry’s landmarks, which have been illustrated for the book.

Terri said it was ‘surreal’ when she saw the book for the first time and was proud to see Derry illustrated because she ‘loves her hometown’.

“We have created a doll, with the help of Louise Kelly, and a theme tune. I have written the music and words for that and it is going to be recorded this weekend.

“The dream is this will be a career for me. I think Lacey Loo is a character with a lot of potential I would love to see it become an animated series or something.”

Terri, whose background was in accountancy and early years, hopes that Lacey Loo will feature heavily on Christmas lists this year.

“I hope it might be the perfect Christmas book for children and also for the children of Derry people who live away. I know what it’s like to have someone away from home, they really cherish anything from Derry.”

She will be introducing children from a number of local primary schools to the character in the next month and the book will be launched on November 30 at 2pm in the Central Library.