What happens when a tale with real magic, that was supposed to be finished, never was? This is a story about one of those stories ...Midge loves riddles, his cat, Twitch, and - most of all - stories. Especially because he's grown up being read to by his sister Alice, a brilliant writer. When Alice goes missing and a talking cat turns up in her bedroom, Midge searches Alice's stories for a clue. Soon he discovers that her secret book, The Museum of Unfinished Stories, is much more than just a story. In fact, he finds two of its characters wandering around town. But every tale has its villains - and with them leaping off the page, Midge, Gypsy and Piper must use all their wits and cunning to work out how the story ends and find Alice. If they fail, a more sinister finale threatens them all ...A rich and twisting tale of magic, riddles and the power of imagination, from a classic author. 'An exciting, original, gripping adventure, embroidered with riddles and curses, laced with dry wit, and which gallops along at a terrific pace'Daily Mail 'Beautifully written...a true testament to the power of storytelling' Guardian 'A story brimming with magic, riddles and extremely mischievous ink. Wonderful storytelling' Abi Elphinstone, author of the Dreamsnatcher series
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I've been writing short stories since I was a teenager but had it in my head that I would write a novel one day. I began writing The Thirteen Treasures in my first year of university after being shown work by fairy artists and children's illustrators by my tutor. It was at this point I knew I wanted to write about a girl who is persecuted by malicious fairies. I researched fairy legend and folklore, learning about the beliefs people used to hold about protection from fairies, and of the mysterious thirteen treasures. Many of the ideas developed as I was writing the story, although I had a rough idea of the beginning and the ending when I started.