A BARRY woman has won an award for the first book she wrote.

43-year-old Estelle Grace Tudor's book, Octavia Bloom and the Missing Key, is aimed at children aged nine to 12 and was self-published through her own imprint: Inlustris Publishing.

Octavia Bloom and the Missing Key is the first in the Through the Fairy Door series and has won a bronze award in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards.

Barry And District News:

Explaining what inspired the book, Ms Tudor said: "I had always written but took a break to raise my four children.

"When they were younger I became an ambassador for the Fairy Nice Trading Company, who make magical fairy doors.

"I began to wonder what would happen if a child went through the door and what adventures they would have.

"Thus, my series was born and I wrote five books about the Bloom family and the adventures they had in Fairy Land.

"I have been honoured to win a Bronze Award in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards, and placed in the top 10 of the Book Bloggers' Novel of the Year Awards."

Octavia Bloom and the Missing Key follows almost 10-year-old Octavia Bloom who is looking for adventure – and finds it in the shape of a tiny fairy door.

Dragging her reluctant sister and cousins into the mystery, Octavia discovers her family are hiding two life-changing secrets. She's certain the answers lie behind the fairy door, if only she could just find the key... 

Although Ms Tudor wrote short stories in her 20s, the Through the Fairy Door series includes her first full-length novels. She has written more since and is gearing up to release an adult fantasy book this summer.

She hopes to pursue a traditional publishing career with her new material, with her existing books available at Barry Library, Griffin Books in Penarth, and from online booksellers.

Want to find out more about the books?