I don’t believe in chance meetings, so when Julie Warne emailed to tell us about a book her son had written and illustrated when he was seven, I was immediately intrigued to learn more.

It transpires that Alex Warne was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia, aged six. His granddad, or Grandans, as Alex called him, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer three weeks later. The generation gap was never an issue for these two inseparable pals, which made it all the more poignant as they went through their respective treatments together.

Tragically, Grandans lost his brave battle, but happily Alex survived.

Always nurturing a passion to write and tell stories, Alex wrote and illustrated a beautiful tale of love and loss through the eyes of a seven-year-old boy, to whom the world had dealt some difficult and painful circumstances. It was Alex’s way of dealing with the grief he felt, even though he couldn’t properly analyse those emotions.

Alex is now an extremely mature and sensitive boy of twelve, who can also add bullying to his list of life’s experiences, but he and his mum believe his spontaneous telling of that story has the ability to speak to countless other children, and adults, about facing the death of someone you love.  His innocent and touching interpretation of Heaven encourages young and old alike to believe in a hope beyond this mortal life.

Canaan Press have teamed up with Alex to help him get his story into print. It is his heartfelt desire to bring comfort to anyone suffering loss of a loved one, and to help younger readers be able to speak about death, without fear of this vast, unknown frontier. The story has an amazing afterword, but I won't spoil your enjoyment by sharing that here - look out for its publication.

Not to be missed, The Heaven Flower ©Alexander Warne, will be available later this year through Canaan Press. Meanwhile, determined to make his name in the literary world, Alex is working hard on his second book, a mythical tale of courage and adventure, perhaps even reflecting something of this unique young man today.