THE SPRITE SISTERS - FOUR SISTERS, FOUR ELEMENTS, FOUR POWERS FIRE, WATER, EARTH & AIR
NEW MAGIC is the fifth title in Sheridan Winn's bestselling Sprite Sister series about the magical adventures of Flame, Marina, Ash and Ariel. Aimed at girls readers aged 7-13 years, the books have have sold over 500,000 copies.
Each of the Sprite Sisters has a magic power related to one of the four elements: Fire, Water, Earth and Air. Magic runs through the Sprite family, but nobody knows who has it. The sisters must keep their magic secret or their power will weaken. When they balance their power together, their magic is strong - but they have a powerful adversary in Glenda Glass, a Sprite who has turned to dark power, and who is determined to destroy them.
When the Sprite Sisters' distant cousin, Verena Glass, inherits the magic power of the Sprite family, her evil grandmother Glenda Glass sees a way to get rid of the Sprite Sisters for once and all. A deadly battle begins as Glenda pushes her granddaughter towards using dark power. Flame, Marina, Ash and Ariel will only be free if they solve the mystery of the Crossed Circle - but that means trusting Verena . . .
'There's a strange feeling in my fingers,' said Verena, staring at her hands. 'My grandmother says I've inherited the Sprite magic power.'
Flame saw Verena's frightened eyes. What should she do? If she talked about their magic power, she might lose her own.
'Please help me, Flame!' cried Verena. 'I'm terrified of what my grandmother may do!'
The idea for a series of books about four sisters with magical powers aligned to the four elements, popped out at 1.30am on 22nd January 2007. Sheridan Winn was writing her diary and noted down the one-sentence idea. When she woke next day, she had the certain feeling that this was a good idea – the one she had been waiting for. She approached Piccadilly Press, who agreed, and commissioned The Circle of Power.
Sheridan was born in Norfolk. Aged six, she moved to a big, rambling house in the country. Her family home, Littlewood House, became the inspiration for Sprite Towers. The eldest of four sisters, Sheridan drew on a many of her childhood experiences for the Sprite stories – such as camping out in the old white caravan in the woods. As a child she loved to be outside learning about the natural world and looking after her animals. At the age of twelve she went to boarding school, which taught her to be independent.
Sheridan studied graphic design and for her degree wrote a thesis on Norfolk barns. This was later published as, ‘Barns & Granaries’ by Boydell Press & Anglia Television.
Sheridan then trained as a teacher and spent some time working in Norfolk schools as a supply teacher. For many years she worked with author and illustrator, Chris Winn, as his business and creative manager. Together they produced a number of children’s picture books, along with the ‘Mad Gadget’ cartoon – the most popular strip in the Daily Telegraph’s Young Telegraph for over seven years. Mad Gadget followed the adventures of a crazy boy inventor and was based on their son.
In 2001, Sheridan became a freelance journalist specialising in profiles of business leaders and lifestyle features for international newspapers and magazines. Today she focuses mainly on writing books.
Between 2008-2010, Sheridan published five Sprite Sister books: The Circle of Power, The Magic Unfolds, The Secret of the Towers, The Ghost in the Tower and New Magic (all Piccadilly Press, originally). These stories take place within one year when Flame is 13, Marina 12, Ash 10, and Ariel is 9 years.
In 2012, Sheridan self-published the sixth title in the series, The Boy With Hawk-like Eyes, as a paperback and e-book, and bought back the rights to the first five titles from Piccadilly Press. She then set about re-publishing the series herself, with new-look titles – so became publisher and a bookseller, as well as a writer. Since then she has written ten Sprite stories and is currently working on three prequel titles.
The Sprite Sisters series has been hugely successful in Germany, where the books have sold over 500,000 copies and are known as Vier Zauberhafte Schwestern.
A lively and engaging speaker, Sheridan enjoys the chance to interact with her readers. She still lives in Norfolk and has two grown-up children. She finds walking in the countryside a good way to think up ideas and always carries a notebook.
