Writing dream becomes a reality for games designer turned academic

Childhood dreams of writing a book have finally come to fruition for Teesside University academic Gabrielle Kent who is looking forward to seeing her first novel in print.

Gabrielle, Senior Lecturer in Computer Games Development in the University’s School of Computing, has worked in and around the games industry for around two decades. But as an avid reader, she’d always had a passion for writing and dreamed of writing her own book.

And now having recently signed a three-book deal, Gabrielle’s debut title is due to be on sale next summer. Alfie Bloom: The Secrets of Hexbridge Castle, published by Scholastic UK, will be the first in a series of novels.

The series will follow the story of 11-year-old Alfie, who inherits a castle and discovers he carries an ancient magic which was hidden inside him over 600 years ago during a magical timeslip. With the help of his two cousins, a shapeshifting solicitor and a flying bearskin run, Alfie must keep the magic safe from one of his greatest adversaries.

Gabrielle said: 'I’ve always loved reading and wanted to write a book since the age of six. I initially started writing this book about 10 years ago, writing mainly during the summer months. Once I’d finished the book it took around two years to secure an agent, who helped me to find a publisher. 'Although set in the real world, there are some other-worldly elements. The story has been described as Harry Potter meets Famous Five meets Roald Dahl, but unique in itself, which is an unbelievable compliment. It is aimed at an audience of around eight years and over, but I’m hoping it will be enjoyed by a wide audience of readers of all ages.' She added: 'I love visiting castles and the idea for the story came to me during a visit to Castell Coch in Wales. Although not specified in the book, it has a North-east location with regional influence through the fictional town of Hexbridge, which I derived from Hexham and Corbridge.' Gabrielle added: 'As a child I spent many summers on farms in Ireland with my family and cousins, so I’ve incorporated many childhood memories in the book and there were many influences in creating the main character, who is a mixture of my own childhood, my friends and friends’ children.' There are also plans for a spin-off web game centred on Alfie’s story to link with the book’s launch next summer, as Gabrielle plans to set her own computer games design students a brief, to give them experience of working for a live client. She added: 'I’m looking forward to involving my own students and giving them experience of working to a brief on a live project. While I was working in the gaming industry I’d get a big thrill from seeing a game I’d been involved in creating on sale in a shop. With the book, the excitement is even greater as it’s something that’s all my own work and not just something I was a small part of.' As well as teaching, Gabrielle also directs Teesside University’s massive annual Animex games and animation festival, which attracts visitors from around the world, along with the cream of the animation and games industry who give talks and hold workshops. Helen Thomas, commissioning editor with Fiction for Scholastic UK, said: 'I fell instantly in love with this wonderful, magical story and was completely absorbed throughout. Gabrielle has created a new hero in Alfie Bloom and a rich, exciting world that readers will want to dive right into and explore.' Once the first book is published next summer, Gabrielle will follow up with further books based on Alfie’s adventures.

Alfie Bloom: The Secrets of Hexbridge Castle was short-listed for both the Northern Writer’s Awards and recognised by literary magazine Mslexia's Awards in their unpublished categories. An excerpt from the novel also won the Friday Night Live Award at the 2013 York Writer’s Festival.

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