Tanya Landman, a writer of children's stories who lives at Bideford, visited Holsworthy Library last Friday evening and spoke to a group of children and parents. She also presented gold badges and certificates to the children who had read 100 books under the 'Book Track' scheme.

She showed them a picture of her pet pot-bellied sow Tilly, which was the inspiration for her first published book '100% PIG'. In 1998 two Tamworth pigs made the news headlines when they escaped from a sausage factory and went on the run, and this led her to create Terrence, a Tamworth boar with an Australian accent.

She chatted to the children about the seashore and what can be found there. Then using two large carved puppets, who looked as though they had been washed up as driftwood on the shore, she read the Grimm's fairy story 'The Fisherman and his Wife'. Together they became the inspiration for her 'Flotsam and Jetsam' stories.

Between school and library visits and attending book festivals, Tanya is using this winter to work on a book for publication next year.