Lottie Brooks book success makes Hove author 'grateful'

The best-selling author of the popular Lottie Brooks series of children's books says writing them has been "lots of fun to do".

Katie Kirby, from Hove, has sold three million copies in five years.

The tenth in the series, Lottie Brooks's Twelve Disasters of Christmas, has just been released.

Kirby, who illustrates the books herself, said: "I feel really grateful that so many people love to read about Lottie's life and I get to write it for my job."

She added: "Lottie is a naturally, clumsy and chaotic character who is always going through lots of disasters.

"She's just a real, everyday girl going through all the things we all go through - growing up, going to a new school, going through puberty.

"I'm writing about how she gets through it all and tries to be a better person.

"But they're all happy tales essentially."

Kirby previously worked in advertising, and started writing a blog when she had a baby and toddler at home.

"That led to three adult books - and then people said my sense of humour and style would work well for children," she said.

"I wrote the first Lottie book as something I would have loved to have read when I was that age.

"Everybody can see a bit of themselves in Lottie."

Kirby said the new book is written as a collection of short stories, rather than a diary.

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