A REDDITCH author who entered herself into a national publishing competition, and subsequently won, recently took part in a special book reading at Redditch Library.

Thanks to the support of the people of Redditch, Sarah Bates realised her dream and has had her first book published with another six planned in the series.

Her beautifully illustrated picture books, titled The Amazing Adventures of Roddy the Magic Cat, lead children on a magical adventure to different countries of the world.

In this first book, Roddy travels to Nepal where he realises a lifelong dream to see Mount Everest.

Along the way, he is accompanied by his new friend, a dog called Hobo, who guides and teaches him about life in the mountains.

It is a story of friendship, possibility and adventure that educates and inspires children to learn about places beyond their doorstep.

Her first public read was at Redditch Library when her book was in manuscript form.

She recently returned to where the journey began.

In between readings she took time out to sign books and speak to fans.

A spokesman from the library said: "We are always happy to support local authors as much as possible at Redditch Library."