Amanda Hartley

My name is Mandy Hartley and I live in Norfolk with my husband, two children Annabelle, 11yrs, and Harry, 8yrs, and dog Milly. I have a PhD in Genetics and worked for 15 years in various different laboratories using DNA to study subjects as diverse as populations of fish at the genetic level, detecting inherited human diseases, criminal work and paternity and relationship testing. I now run science workshops to teach children as young as 4 years old about DNA and perform stories to explain difficult scientific concepts such as evolution, natural selection and inheritance to children. I also write articles for "The Week Junior Magazine" and act as a consultant for various non-fiction children's science books.

My book "The DNA Detectives - To Catch A Thief" was inspired by my children and my workshops where I teach young children about DNA. With my workshops I can reach children in my local area of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire and get these young people excited about science and genetics. Imagine though if I wrote a book how many children I could reach!

The funny thing is the story for this first book was in my head for a long time which made it easy to write. The characters in the book are based on my dog, Milly and my children who provided me with endless material! Each chapter was written when I had finished my work for the day and in between the school run. Then I would read what I had written to my children as a bedtime story. They are harsh critics! If they didn't understand something or looked bored I new it had to be re-written. If they begged me to immediately write the next chapter I know I had got it right!

I wanted to create a series of science based adventure books which were also educational. I have designed the stories so that the reader can see how the characters in the book use DNA to solve a mystery just like real forensic scientists! At the same time the reader will learn all about DNA as part of the story.

I have developed a series of web links to accompany the book with the Sanger Institute in Cambridge. I thought this would be a great way for children to find out more about DNA and forensic science. They can also print out the DNA evidence from the book and become real life DNA Detectives. In addition I have developed a live workshop to compliment the book where children can find out what it is like to be an author, help me write a chapter from the book using our senses and "Wow" words and look at the importance of sentence order. We find out what DNA is, where it is found in the body, how big DNA is and then use DNA to catch a pet thief. I am currently looking into getting funding to turn this workshop into an online "E-learning" resource. Schools would also have access to props to make the workshop come alive. The book fits with various elements of the curriculum for English and science and the idea is that the book can be used as a cross-curricular tool to inspire children with a love of literacy and science.

https://www.thelittlestorytellingcompany.co.uk/the-dna-detectives-to-catch-a-thief/

Writing this book was a real pleasure. I wanted to share my love and passion for science with children and hopefully inspire some future scientists. Hearing from so many children how much they enjoyed reading the book and now want to become scientists was music to my ears!