Andrew Crooks and seven-year-old daughter Lucy.
What if your bedroom wasn't always what it seems?
What if your bedroom could transform within your dreams?
Imagine all the stories and the secrets you could keep,
Of the marvellous, incredible adventures in your sleep.
Ballymena school teacher, Andrew Crooks, has penned his first children's book, My Amazing Bedroom, inspired by the imaginative dreams of his seven-year-old daughter Lucy.
Head of Maths at Dunclug College, Andrew has taught at the school for the past 19 years. The father of three who now lives in Portrush with his children and wife Anne, grew up locally in Ballymena attending both Gracehill Primary School and Cambridge House Grammar School, and played for and captained Ballymena Men's 1st XI for many years.
Amid the studying of numbers, a keen interest in sport and developing a successful teaching career, it wasn't until 42-year-old Andrew became a dad himself, and a very popular reader of bedtime stories in the Crook's family home, that he often found himself wishing for more engaging stories for his children, and decided to take a stab at writing his own.
Andrew explained:
"We read bedtime stories every night to our kids so, like all parents, I've read very many stories over the past seven years! Often I have been guilty of rolling my eyes at my wife during or after a story which doesn't really 'grab me'. I often said I could do better myself, and eventually she challenged me to get on with it."
Motivated by wife Anne, Andrew did not have too look took far for inspiration.
"My daughter Lucy has a very creative imagination, so the idea for a book about her dreams really came from her," said Andrew. "She frequently tells me about what she has dreamt about. I came up with the idea that, during the night, her bedroom would transform into lots of her favourite places."
The rhyming story took shape in one week over lunch breaks and evenings, noting ideas on his phone and piecing it together, bit by bit. It was wife Anne's nod of approval that provided confidence to share My Amazing Bedroom with a wider audience.
Andrew continued:
"My wife liked it enough that we decided we might send it to some publishers. Austin Macauley wrote back to say they loved it and would like to publish it. This was just before Christmas 2022.
"I have found them extremely supportive throughout the whole process, and very patient with a Maths teacher who feels very much out of his comfort zone!
"They sent me regular emails to let me know what was happening, they provided an illustrator (although the front cover was a collaborative effort between myself and Mrs Simpson our Head of Art in Dunclug!), and we spent many months emailing back and forth until finally, in January 2024, the book was finished!"
My Amazing Bedroom tells the story of a young girl's dreamlike adventures as her bedroom transforms into fantastical locations, from a zoo to a sweet shop. It is a story that unsurprisingly resonates with daughter Lucy, and no doubt will be enjoyed by brothers Scotty (5) and Jonny (1) - as well as a host of other children whose imagination carries them off to many strange and exciting places unseen.
Concluding Andrew says:
"I've other ideas, notes, stories that I would love to pursue to publication, but I'm currently content to watch how this story unfolds."
My Amazing Bedroom will be published on Thursday 28th March 2024. It is currently available for online preorder at a number of websites including Amazon and Austin Macauley.