Award-winning children’s author Ali Sparkes visited Southampton to sign copies of her new spooky adventure.
The real-life Maguire family, who are featured in the book, accompanied Ali as she met readers at Waterstones in WestQuay.
The book, The Man in the Water, will raise money for the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at Southampton General Hospital, which saved eight-year-old Victoria Maguire’s life when she was a baby.
Vicky’s mum Kirsty said: “Ali is a patron of Friends of PICU and at a charity auction she offered the chance for a real family to be in one of her books, to raise money.
“We won the bidding – and eventually turned that story into a paperback to raise even more money.”
At least 70 per cent of every book sold on the day will be going to the charity.
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