A COVENTRY man has co-written a children’s fantasy book entitled Lance of the Golden Cobra: Knights of the Neverwas based on stories he was told by a former Indian soldier who stayed with his family during the war.
Clayton Moseley’s gran put up a Sikh family and the man, who was known as Uncle Albert.
The family moved to Leicester with relatives after three weeks but Uncle Albert stayed.
He told Clayton stories about his time in India which inspired him to write his book during lockdown.
Because Clayton, who used to work down the mines at Coventry Colliery in Keresley, is dyslexic, he enlisted the help of Emery Sinclair to help him rewrite the story and the pair set to work.
Clayton said: “I wrote it for my seven grandchildren – it’s full of make believe, along the lines of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter.
“I gave it to another children’s author to read and he gave me some really good feedback so hopefully a lot of people will enjoy it.”
Connie is based on one of his grandchildren, while other characters are inspired by people living in Exhall and, of course, Uncle Albert is also in the book.
The story centres on Connie Morgan – an ordinary girl who ‘does not believe in fairies’.
At school, three rude pupils bully Connie for having dyslexia but a meeting with a new girl Namisha Singh changes everything and the girls find out about a thrilling family secret.
The discovery leads them on a fantastic journey into the techno-magical world of the Neverwas, the domain of mythical beasts and powerful, mysterious beings.
Here, engulfing the King of the Goblins and the Queen of Snakes is a hideous conflict of power.
With their grown-up guides, Albert, Connie’s uncle, and Babu, Namisha’s grandpa, they begin a dangerous crusade for the folk of the enchanted land, to recover the lost Lance of the Golden Cobra.
They become the Knights of the Neverwas and, for the chosen ones Connie and Namisha, nothing will be the same ever again.
Lance of the Golden Cobra: Knights of the Neverwas is available here at amazon.co.uk and from all good book shops.
