Local author battles Harry Potter with debut book
By Connor Steel
A LOCAL AUTHOR from Portsmouth has started a battle with Harry Potter as he released his debut children’s book on the most recent Bank Holiday Monday; which raced to number two on its designated category best seller list via Amazon behind the fourth edition of the world famous series by JK Rowling (Goblet of Fire).
The book, entitled ‘Scragamuff and the Swamp Witch’, was written by Stuart Best and released to the public on August 25; which followed months of preparation by himself alongside ‘Thinking Bigger Ltd’. The artwork for the book was drawn by local illustrator Brendan O’Doherty and it is thirty-five pages in length.
Described as a “beautiful story with a strong message of avoiding prejudice”, it immediately received large amounts of sales and got praise for dealing with issues that are highly relevant in today’s current climate. At the time of writing the book has a five star rating from 12 reviews, with one stating:
“Such a wonderful read and great illustrations. I found myself as an adult enjoying it more than I care to admit, continuing reading it even once the kids had fallen asleep! Great author, we can’t wait for more books to be written, thank you!”
Stuart Best was at Portsmouth Central Library on the Wednesday afterwards (August 27) and carried out his first ever ‘meet and greet’ occasion, which was a great success with people of all ages eager to meet the author. They were all very delighted with how vibrant and colourful the amazing artwork in his book was, which complimented such a compelling story.
Due to the overwhelming support and community spirit over the release of his debut book, Stuart Best is focused on visiting local primary schools to help inspire young local minds. He is further using the opportunity to promote the important messages from his book, alongside work on the next 2 books in the series.
Readers can purchase the paperback book by visiting this link and it is available for the price of £9.99; whilst a small sample can be read before buying.
PICTURED BY STUART BEST: New book is now available on popular website, Amazon, and is the debut publication from local author.
