Rye street the ‘perfect inspiration’ for new children’s book
Cat Gray, author of Spellstoppers, revealed she had a picture of Mermaid Street while writing the book.
She said: “Mermaid Street has so much personality, with its steeply sloping cobbled street, and those things found their way into Yowling, the seaside village where the book is set.
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Hide Ad“It’s mainly in the way there are so many different styles of houses, sitting alongside each other. I love how you get the sense of how Mermaid Street evolved over time through the houses - they’re so wonderfully irregular and characterful.
"It’s such a remarkable atmosphere that it seemed like the perfect inspiration for a magical seaside village - I actually had a picture of Mermaid Street as the background image on my laptop while I was writing Spellstoppers.
"I love Rye - it’s got such a rich history and I love that it was once a port town but slowly made its way inland. I still can’t get my head around it, it seems very magical to me! My husband and I are trying to buy a house in Sussex so I’m hoping that I’ll be able to visit Rye more often. It’s a very special part of the world.”
The book has received praise from children’s fiction author Sarah Webb. She said: “Spellstoppers has all the elements of a terrific children’s fantasy – excellent characters, incredible storytelling and a plot involving a boy who has the gift to stop magical spells.”
Spellstoppers is out in book stores now.