A SAFFRON Walden grandma has published her first book in a bid to show her grandchildren that anything can be accomplished if you try hard enough.

Margaret Barnes, of Peaslands Road, said she wanted to encourage her six grandchildren to chase their dreams – so she wrote a book to prove her point.

“I wanted to show them that you’ve got to fight for the things that you want and that anything can be accomplished if you keep at it and don’t give up,” Mrs Barnes told the Reporter.

“I decided I wanted to write a book so I went for it. There was a lot of research that needed doing so it was a bit of a struggle but I kept pushing myself and can’t believe it now I’ve seen it in print.”

Mrs Barnes, 73, said she wrote a fictional children’s story set in Poland during the second world war after attending a number of writing courses where the message was ‘to write about what you know’.

She took her inspiration from visiting a bible school with her husband Rufus in Jerusalem and the couple’s many Jewish friends – including a number of holocaust survivors.

Escape to Jerusalem follows the courageous journey of two children as they trek from Poland to the Middle East during the second world war in search of safety.

A first time author, Mrs Barnes worked as a nurse for most of her life, including a stint in South Africa, and has also volunteered with the Cubs and Brownies.

Writing has also been a keen hobby of hers but it wasn’t until six years ago that she embarked on penning her first book.

Escape to Jerusalem is available at Amazon.co.uk for �5.99, by emailing info@peaslandspress.co.uk and can also be downloaded to an Amazon Kindle for 77p.