Dreams to be realised now fiction is fact
Published on 22 October 2004A WOMAN from Cambridge will fulfil a lifetime's ambition next week when her first published book goes on sale nationwide.
Ana Fischel, 34, wanted to write and illustrate her own children's books ever since studying at Long Road Sixth Form College in Cambridge as a teenager.
She has been working on the seven- volume children's series, The Zartarbia Tales, for five years.
Publishers PenPress are predicting the book, aimed at seven to 12-year-olds, will be a huge success.
Jacqui MacCarthy, of PenPress, said: "A lot of money has gone in to this and we want it to work. The essence is letting children be children."
The Zartarbia Tales follows a girl called Isabella who stumbles across a locket which is the key to another world.
Once transported to the world of Zartarbia, Isabella finds herself caught in between the conflict of two enemy groups.
Ana, who has been living in Spain for two years, has given up running a hotel to promote the book with her husband, Robert Fischel. She has been amazed by the feedback.
She said: "99.9 percent of people who've read it loved it and said it was a great story. We've been staggered by the response."
She also said a Hollywood film company has shown interest in making the book into a film.
PenPress publishing agent Joanna Anthony hopes all seven books will be top-sellers. She said: "It deserves to be successful. It would be a crying shame if it isn't."
Book one of The Zartarbia Tales costs £5.99 and will be available from Tuesday, when Ana will also be signing copies of the book at Borders bookstore in Market Street, Cambridge, from 11am to 4pm.
A novel response to author's first bookPublished on 04 November 2004A CAMBRIDGE author has sold an unprecedented 3,000 copies of her first children's book nationwide. Some bookstores are saying her book signings are the most popular children's book events only after appearances by well-known author Jacqueline Wilson. Ana Fischel, 34, released the first volume of The Zartarbia Tales, a seven volume series aimed at 7-12 year olds, in Borders bookstore in Cambridge last week. Borders said the event was "packed out" and that the book went down well with parents and children alike. Joanna Anthony, publishing agent for PenPress, who published Zartarbia, said: "This is a staggering amount to sell and we're all really pleased. This is unprecedented for a new author." Mrs Anthony said Ms Fischel's early achievements outstripped that of more well-known authors. Nicky Boardman, events manager at Borders in Cambridge said: "The event was packed out and we had hundreds coming in and out throughout the day. "We had 150 copies but we could have sold double. It was the second best children's event since we opened in June 2001 - second only to Jacqueline Wilson." Mr Boardman added the Zartarbia event was in the top 10 of celebrity signings, along with TV personalities like Laurence-Llewellyn Bowen. Book collectors have also been chasing Borders Cambridge for first editions of Zartarbia, Mr Boardman said. Book one of The Zartarbia Tales: Isabella Zophie and Le Cirque Magique costs £5.99 and is available from bookstores in Cambridge. The second volume is expected in May 2005.
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