Last week we were very fortunate to have Stacey Gregg, a popular, world-renown author visit us at Heaton. Leah and Emily from Room 4 share their experience. 

Stacey always had a passion for writing (free writing was her favourite thing to do at school) and worked as a fashion journalist for many years.

While her daughter was a baby, in her spare time, she wrote the first book in the Pony Club Secrets series; Mystic and the Midnight Ride. Harper Collins was interested in publishing this book but unfortunately at the last minute, withdrew. Five years later, there was renewed interest but this time she was asked to develop the series. 

During her time with us, she talked about her amazing adventures as a full-time writer, travelling the world researching settings and finding inspiration for her upcoming books. She considers this a very important part of her writing process. These adventures captivated everyone's attention and inspired many of us to fulfil our dreams.

Stacey Gregg has written many thrilling books, including a couple of series such as ‘Pony Club Secrets’ and ‘Pony Club Rivals’. She has also written six novels that take the reader to exotic places such as Spain, Russia and the Caribbean.

Her latest book is set in Parnassus, a town near Kaikoura. ‘The Thunderbolt Pony’ is about the recent Kaikoura earthquakes and how a girl named Evie, who suffers from OCD, has to evacuate her town but doesn’t want to leave her pony Pegasus behind. Evie is forced to ride her pony Gus the long road around from Parnassus to Kaikoura. This a breathtaking book full of adventures and bravery, particularly meaningful to us all here in Christchurch. 

Some of us were so inspired by Stacey Gregg that we decided to visit Scorpio Books later in the day for the book signing and photo opportunity. Special thanks to Scorpio Books for providing us with this opportunity to host Stacey at Heaton and Mrs Boniface for organising this memorable event.

Leah and Emily, Room 4