A book written during lockdown by an East Kilbride schoolgirl could soon appear on the bookshelves of a well-known bookstore in the town.
Sophie Bicker, nine, and her dad, Kenny, put their creativity to good use during lockdown last year and wrote an impressive three books together.
The Book of Rox is about a little girl called Sofo and her pet dog, Floof.
The book follows Sofo and Floof’s adventures in the magical land of Bourbonville.
Proud dad Kenny told Lanarkshire Live: “Just like many others, Sophie and I were bored during lockdown.
“So Sophie decided to start creating characters, all of which are based on our friends and family.
“Once we had the characters, we had to come up with a place where they came from.
“We wanted the place to be in the clouds but we couldn’t think of a catchy name, and so taking inspiration from a favourite tipple of mine, we came up with Bourbonville.
“And of course we had to have Sophie and our family pet, JD in the book, so they are the main characters, Sofo and Floof.”
To entertain their family, Sophie and Kenny printed off the book at home and, following Covid guidelines, dropped it off on the doorsteps of relatives and friends.
Kenny explainedd: ”We wanted to spread a little joy and let everyone know what Sophie had been up to during lockdown, so we distributed the book.
“After that, we decided to write another two, following the adventures of the same characters.
“Across the three books there’s about 25 characters involved, all based on friends and family.
“I play Sophie’s dad in the book and her grandmother who has sadly passed away is a big character, Pee-Lee.
“It’s all close-knit and family orientated.”
The books were so well received by Sophie’s family and friends that a publicist combined all three together into The Book of Rox.
The book is now available to buy on Amazon, Waterstones and Authorhouse websites, and Sophie and Kenny are hoping to get it on to the shelves of the Waterstones store. in their home town.
“We have a meeting with the Waterstones team this week.," said Kenny. "It would be great to have Sophie’s book in a local store.
“She was only eight when we wrote and produced it, so it's a real achievement.
"The family are all super proud of Sophie."
However, the adventures of Sofo Rox don’t end there.
The book ends with a "to be continued", and Sophie is excited to announce that the pair's next book is already underway.
The Long Calderwood Primary pupil added: “We have just finished writing the next part of the book.
“It’s a Christmas book and we are aiming to have that out by October, in plenty of time for Christmas, which is very exciting.”
The Book of Rox is available to buy on Amazon or through links on the Sofo Rox Facebook and Instagram pages: www.facebook.com/soforoxofficial
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