Oldbury author Linda is living the dream with Dolly Daydream

Linda Mason, from Oldbury, has written a children’s book called ‘Dolly Daydreams’ Garden Friends’, the story of a girl who finds friends and surprises while exploring her grandfather’s garden.

The 69-year-old said the name of the book came from a nickname her grandfather called her when she was a very young girl, and explained how she found it.

She said: “I was sitting in my back garden daydreaming and thinking about the fact that I no longer have an older family, after my mother recently died and all my other grandparents, aunts and uncles.

“I remembered my childhood and remembered that she was very happy because the family was so close, so I used a lot of those memories to create this book, including a lot of first names used for those characters.

“It’s nice to be able to keep the memory of my aunts, uncles and parents alive through this and it’s kind of reliving my childhood.”

Linda’s success in publishing a book and a second book set for publication, which has yet to be named, has been made all the more remarkable by the fact that she is blind, having lost her sight there. at 15.

She said she was helped a lot throughout the process by her sister and her six children, who helped her type up her stories and check them for her.

Linda said she was living her dream and hoped she could inspire people to take up writing a book.

She said: “I always wanted to write a book and to be honest I thought the luck had run out when I lost my sight. But it was when my mum was nearing the end that I realized I was last in line and must keep the last name alive.

“It’s quite an achievement because I never thought I could do it and I honestly think anyone can do it if they take up the challenge and realize there is nothing to fear.

“I’ve been able to attend school assemblies and hear one of the kids read my stories and it’s just nice to know they like to hear what I’ve written.

“It was especially nice when some of them came up to me and thanked me for enjoying it, and I told them I enjoyed it just as much, so that’s really lovely.”