Former teacher from Ormskirk publishes first book after leaving profession to follow her writing dreams

Jan 3 2013 by Rob Pattinson, Ormskirk Advertiser

A FORMER school teacher who left her job to follow her dreams of being an author has released her first children’s book.

Michelle Scott, who writes under the pseudonym Michelle Booth, spent 10 years teaching IT at Kingsfold Christian School, in Hesketh Bank.

But, after leaving last year to focus on her writing, the 48-year- old, from Ormskirk, has now published her first book.

Written for 8-12 year olds, Mo the Talking Dog tells the story of a dog born without a bark, who is given the ability to talk by a scientist specialising in genetically-modified tissue.

Michelle began writing when her daughter, Anna, was six to keep her interested in reading. The tale of Mo was inspired by the family’s dog Finn, who is very vocal.

After working on it for the past few years, Michelle decided it was time to release the book after Anna began working at Waterstones, on Church Street – and persuaded her mum that now was the right time to publish it.

Michelle said: “As a former teacher, I know what children are into, and they like things that are just about possible but not quite yet. I began wondering what it would be like if a dog had the ability to talk and it developed from there. I didn’t want to publish it until it was perfect but, after working in a bookshop in the lead-up to Christmas, Anna said the time was right for Mo. I’ve been really inspired by teaching – a lot of Mo is written for the children I taught.”

The book has been illustrated by former Ormskirk School pupil Sam Peel, who is currently on a graphic design course at the University of Lincoln.

Michelle said: “Sam is friends with my son, Josh. I saw a picture he had done and it was amazing, so asked him to work on Mo. He’s really brought him to life.”

The book has sold more than 800 copies online after being released initially for Kindle through Amazon. A paperback version will follow this spring. Michelle said: “What’s great about releasing a book online is you can tap into the international market – it’s proved really popular in America.

“Hopefully, if it sells well, it will end up being a series.”