Cheryl Milligan

I’m Cheryl Milligan. I am an English Language teacher based in Northern Ireland. I am also an artist (not professional) and I do paintings of animals, people and landscapes for friends and family.

I have written, illustrated and published the first two in a series of quirky fantasy children’s animal action and adventure books. The Adventures of Sparkles (book 1) and Sparkles and Friends (book 2) are based on a new family real life kitty called Sparkles. I'm currently in the process of publishing book 3, More Adventures with Princess Sparkles, coming out in June 2022.

I wrote this as a dedication to my lovely husband, Steve, who is battling terminal bowel and liver cancer. He always wanted to write a book, and when our son, Sam, asked for a kitten for his 11th birthday, that started the ball rolling. It was just too hilarious NOT to put down on paper! Those of you who have ever had a kitten will sympathise with the ridiculous situations they get themselves into! And, with a bit of fantastical imagination, it goes much farther than that!

Sparkles finds her magical powers through misadventure and chaos. Although she may look cute and is tiny, she finds herself travelling to another world, the Cat Kingdom, where she must face the ultimate challenge and save her friends. A tale of courage, love and silliness! Sparkles and Friends continues on her magical journey of discovery with her ‘human’ family and her ‘other’ family and friends.

My website https://sparklesbooks.wordpress.com has a picture of the real life Sparkles, a you tube video of me reading the introduction, https://youtu.be/eJePmI76e-k and some example pictures of inside the books. If you want to buy the books, they are available on www.lulu.com, Amazon and other retailers. You can also follow Sparkles updates on https://www.facebook.com/Sparkles-stories-102191432420233/ .

I know that it put a smile on my boys’ faces and took them away from cancer, which is all around us and never stops. My drawings and paintings have been a therapeutic way for me to deal with Steve’s diagnosis, and I encourage Art Therapy for kids to express themselves and their emotions through this. https://www.facebook.com/Art-by-Cheryl-11298369129522