Where the love of stories began
When I was little, I loved listening to stories. I grew up in India in the early 1990s, a time when mobile phones and computers were still a distant idea for many. My childhood was filled instead with bedtime tales and simple anecdotes shared by elders.
The person who shaped this love most deeply was my uncle. He had a busy routine, running his business in the mornings, coming home for lunch and a short rest, then returning to work until evening. Yet every day, he brought home a story.
He would read from a local magazine, then reshape the tale for me, filling it with woodland animals and gentle magic. My aunt would let me chatter endlessly through her chores, and just when she longed for a moment of quiet, my uncle would step in with a story that made the whole world pause.
Those moments stayed with me. I would drift to sleep dreaming of the characters, and wake speaking of them as if they were real.
Even now, I remember the feeling of being carried into a world that was safe, hopeful, and full of quiet adventure. Many people, especially my parents, nurtured my love for stories, but it was during those afternoons with my uncle and aunt that something deeper took hold.
That early spark has stayed with me through childhood in India, through my years in England, and now into my life in the United States.
It is that same feeling I now hope to create for children through my stories, a gentle world they can return to, again and again.
How Lilly Came to Be
That sense of wonder never left me. Years later, when I became a parent myself, I wanted to pass on that same kind of magic.
Children today are surrounded by screens and fast entertainment from a very young age. There is wonder in those things too, but I wanted to create something gentler, a world where the pace is slower, where stories are shaped by kindness and curiosity, and where lessons are woven softly into each adventure.
Lilly the Llama was born from that wish. She is scruffy, playful and full of curiosity. With her ever-changing scarf and warm heart, she stands at the centre of a valley filled with friendship, comfort and discovery.
A gentle world for children
Tumblebrook Valley is the home I imagined for Lilly and her friends, a whimsical place of mountains, winding rivers, hidden corners, rolling hills and endless green pastures.
Its illustrations are designed to feel warm and welcoming, as though the characters might step gently out of the page and sit beside a child as they read.
Every character has been shaped with care. Granny Sue, the wise mountain goat, Tio, the cheerful baker armadillo and Lilly’s circle of friends were all created to feel familiar and comforting.
Together, they bring gentle adventures filled with patience, kindness, bravery and friendship.
The hope behind the stories
Lilly and Tumblebrook Valley were created to bring back the joy of simple storytelling.
These are books for children at the beginning of their reading journey, when the world still feels full of wonder. The lessons are woven into clear, gentle tales that young readers can enjoy easily, while still carrying ideas that stay with them.
My hope is that when you share these stories with a child, you both find some of the same comfort I once felt as a little listener, a comfort that lingers long after the story ends, like a scarf wrapped snugly on a cool evening.