Author Ana Fischel is set to gain worldwide recognition for her debut children's book, part of her Zartarbia Tales series. She tells Women's Editor Lindsay Jennings why a Darlington school and its inimitable headmistress ended up with starring roles in her novel.

MOST children would dread the thought of spending their holidays at school - particularly under the watchful eye of the headmistress. But for author Ana Fischel and her sister and two brothers, their visits to Raventhorpe Preparatory in Darlington, where their great aunt Cicely Atkinson was headmistress, gave them some of their fondest childhood memories.

"It was a wonderful place to spend time as kids," says Ana, now 34.

"My great aunt used to encourage us to do a lot of writing and put on plays and either she or her husband used to play the piano and sing. There was one side of her which was a very proper headmistress and another side which was very childlike in her own way. We used to go up into the attic where there were all these costumes and scenery because they would often put on plays at Raventhorpe."

Part of the reason Ana wrote Isabella Zophie and Le Cirque de Magique, the first book in her The Zartarbia Tales series, was to keep the memory of her great aunt alive. Aunt Cicely features as a character in the book (spelt Cisely), as does Raventhorpe School and its attic - although, she adds, there is some artistic licence in parts.

"My great aunt never used to slide down the banisters as she does in the book," laughs Ana. "But there are other stories which will be put into the books which did happen. She wasn't a very good driver, her car used to be covered in bangs and scrapes where she would just barge through things and she would just say 'oh, it adds character'."

Ana's great aunt is not the only "real" character in the book. The Raventhorpe housekeeper Mrs Plum is based on a "lovely lady called Jean" who worked at the school for years.

It took Ana five years to formulate her plot for the seven books in The Zartarbia Tales series, which is based on the seven deadly sins. The series follows the fortunes of Isabella Zophie, who finds a beautiful locket in the attic of her aunt's school (Raventhorpe) and is transported to the magical world of Zartarbia. A previously uncorrupted paradise, the world is now threatened by the dark forces of the seven deadly sins - known as The Syndicate.

Ana, who was born in London but now lives in Estepona, near Marbella, in Spain, says she was inspired by her own childhood to create a classic children's storybook.

"I really noticed when I come back to Britain that children are encouraged to grow up too quickly," she says. "I had such nice memories of my childhood and I really like the idea of letting children remain children for as long as possible. I wanted to write something that all the family could enjoy and also something that wasn't patronising to children."

As well as writing the book, Ana also did the illustrations, using the skills she honed during an art degree at Edinburgh College and later as an artist living in Paris.

She was working in public relations for London-based architects David Marks and Julia Barfield (who designed the London Eye) when she and her barrister husband, Gustav, decided to move to Spain with their daughters Isabella, five, and Lujzka, 12.

Initially, the couple ran a luxury bed and breakfast business together at their home, a converted river mill. But then Ana found success with her book. With Gustav's legal background and Ana's public relations experience, the pair went down the self-publishing route, opting for London publishers Pen Press Ltd. "The royalties are a lot better and you also maintain the creative control," she says. The move has paid off for them. Ana's book sold 5,000 copies in the first two weeks of its sale in October. Pre-press copies have already been selling on the Internet auction site eBay for £185 with first editions going for £90. Ana is also in talks with a Hollywood producer about selling the film rights for the book.

"I could very much see it as a film, because it's a very visual book," she says. "But we'll just have to wait and see. We've been so pleased with the response. It's been really quite overwhelming."

Ana has almost finished her second book, Isabella Zophie and the Hotel Gastronomic, which is due out in April.

Sadly, Great Aunt Cicely died seven years ago. Ana was last at Raventhorpe for her great aunt's funeral but she says she'd love to come back soon.

As to what her favourite relative would have thought of her book, Ana says she has been talking to her mother about the same subject recently.

"She said she would have absolutely loved it and that she would have been very proud," she says. "And I think she would have. She was a wonderful woman."

* The Zartabia Tales Book One, Isabella Zophie and Le Cirque de Magique, by Ana Fischel (Pen Press, £5.99, www.penpress.net).