Retired Fife teacher and college lecturer publishes first book

Linda Butcher published ‘The E.A.R.T.H Gang’- (the acronym stands for: The Earth Angel Ready to Help Gang - at the start of December.

The former Denend Primary school teacher and holistic therapies lecturer at Fife College gave a summary of the plot and explained where the idea for the story came from.

She said: “It is an out-of-this-world adventure, where four children and a dog must risk everything to help the Earth.

“When weird, dark clouds appear over Scotland, a theory spreads like wildfire. Climate-change is producing these masses and soon they will shroud the planet in darkness.

"Eleven-year-old Kirsty is an Earth Angel and knows the extraordinary truth behind these sinister clouds. So, when Star Beings ask for help to save the planet, Kirsty and her cousins agree to embark on a top-secret journey. But incredible missions come with unimaginable challenges and risks for the Earth Angel Ready to Help Gang.

“Inspiration can appear in mysterious ways. I was knitting dolls to go with picture books as presents – ‘Maggie’s Mittens’, when a friend suggested that I created my own character and within hours I was writing about an eleven-year-old girl called Kirsty whose mum was an environmental scientist.

"The environmental theme for the book is really important to me. This generation of children can find the solutions we need for the Earth using their creative intelligence. If we can send tourists on trips into space, surely we can solve climate change.”

Linda, who has used the pseudonym Ellie Linden for the book, revealed how long it took her to write: “It took me three and a half years to write the book as it was a major learning process,” she explained.

“I joined Jericho Writers – an online writing club – where you can hone your craft with their video courses and webinars. I also had my manuscript professionally edited by Eleanor Hawken, a children’s author herself. Her advice was transformational and several rewrites later, it was ready to go to print.”

Linda has also created a special web page to accompany ‘The E.A.R.T.H Gang’: “It is a place where children can sign up as Earth Angels, and share their positive ideas in the blog. The headings are campaign, create and earth’s gifts.

“There will also be competitions where the winners will receive a special E.A.R.T.H Gang mug.”

Linda explained what she is looking to achieve with her first book, which is hoping to develop into a series.

She added: “In this time of fast living and pandemics, we can lose the magical mystery and wonder of life.

"But if everyone fell in love with the natural world, they would want to make the changes needed to save their beautiful home planet, Earth.”

Anyone wanting to buy a copy of the book can do so via the website at https://theearthgang.com - or online at Amazon.

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