A CWMBRAN author is celebrating the publication of his first children’s book by donating a copy to a local church.

Tony Kidney, 59, of Marlborough Road, Greenmeadow, started writing children’s stories after the birth of his granddaughter, Tassyana Jenkins, now seven, who is the namesake of the main character in Tassyana Pumpkin.

Mr Kidney grew up in Cwmbran and his family has always had close links with the Holy Trinity Church in West Pontnewydd and so he decided to donate a copy of the book to the Sunday school.

Mr Kidney, a business systems manager, said: “I’ve always written little bits and pieces of poetry and I’ve had a couple of poems published through competitions.

“What spurred me on to write the book was the birth of my granddaughter, who the main character is named after. I used to take her up to bed and tell her stories and I thought it would be nice to do a book of about seven or eight that she could read herself.

“My daughter said they were quite good and that prompted me to try and get it published.”

Tassyana Pumpkin is made up of short stories, written in poem form, about a fairy queen who lives in a magical place behind a rainbow. The book is available priced £9.95 online from Amazon, Blackwells and Waterstones.