A Chessington woman has published a children’s book after taking an early retirement.

Kristina Johnson was a former engineer HR manager in Portsmouth before she decided to follow her love of writing.

She has now published ‘The Cat Who Lost Eight Lives’ and she is currently working on part two.

“Writing a book is something I have wanted to do for ages,” Kristina told the Surrey Comet.

“It was hard to stay focused. There are so many distractions in life - it is much nicer to go for coffee with a friend!”

The book is based on her two cats – one being skinny and the other being bigger and furrier.

Kristina explained: “The bigger one is trying to lose weight, but every time he tries he loses one of his nine lives. He decides it is easier to chill and enjoy life.”

According to the new author – the reaction from kids has been “absolutely brilliant” after she attended reading events for five-year-olds.

She also advised people with a dream of writing a book to just go ahead and do it.

Kristina added: “A lot of people say they would like to write a book. My answer is you need to carry a pen and paper everywhere.

“There is always something to write about when you’re walking around. Whenever you think of something just write it down.

“I find myself walking up in bed and scribbling things down because I will forget otherwise.”

You can purchase the book on Amazon here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cat-Who-Lost-Eight-Lives/dp/1999994108/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1526310187&sr=1-1&keywords=the+cat+who+lost+eight+lives