What started as a way to encourage my daughter to read snowballed into writing a book

A 12-year-old’s struggle with screens turned into an unexpected self-publishing project after one parent decided to write a book designed to match her daughter’s exact tastes. In 2024, during an evening walk, the daughter said books were “boring” and didn’t hold her attention. She described her ideal story as a funny, local murder mystery with short chapters. The next step was direct: the mother wrote the novel, printed chapters on A4 paper, and used her daughter’s feedback to revise as she went. The finished book was later shared with younger cousins at Christmas, and all three kids read it, leading the author to pursue self-publishing.