An Aberystwyth woman who took time off from one hobby to pursue another is about to release her third children’s book.

A regular on the Aberystwyth stage, Sarah Todd Taylor has appeared in over 20 shows with the Showtime Singers, as well as helping out backstage with a number of pantomimes and summer seasons.

But as well as performing, Sarah had another passion she wanted to pursue – writing.

And with an idea for a children’s book in mind, and an extensive background on the stage, Sarah knew exactly where she wanted to set her story, as she explained.

“I grew up reading the Famous Five and Agatha Christie and I love all sorts of puzzles.

“I really wanted to write some books set in the theatre too, because I love it so much and the theatre world is such a natural setting for mysteries, with everyone pretending to be something they are not.

“Originally I was going to have a young chorus member be the detective, but then I wondered about having an animal detective, someone who could listen in on the humans and not be noticed and, as I love cats, Max was born.”

Max is the title character and hero, and he’s been such a hit with young readers that Sarah is about to release the third book in the series.

Speaking further about Max, Sarah said: “I decided at once that he was going to be ‘all cat’ rather than a talking animal, and I try to make him as true to the characters of the cats my family has owned as possible.

“Because he can’t talk, it can sometimes be difficult for him to let the humans know that a crime has been committed, but it means I have to work a lot of action into the books, which young readers seem to really like.”

Though her love of the theatre provided the inspiration for the character of Max and his world, it also meant that Sarah had to make a difficult decision.

“In 2017 I got the deal for the first three Max books. It was an absolute dream come true, but fitting in all the writing alongside work and doing shows was proving difficult.

“I had to choose and so I decided to take a break from theatre for a while to concentrate on writing.

“All my theatre friends have been so supportive and it is they, rather than the performing, that I’ve missed most of all.

“Theatre is such a close knit community and I’ve made lifelong friendships through it. I hope I reflect those deep friendships in the relationships Max has with his human friends in the theatre.”

Sarah will be at Waterstones in Aberystwyth on Saturday, 26 October, from 2pm to 4pm when she will read from Max the Detective Cat: The Catnap Caper at its official launch.

See this week’s south papers for the full feature, available in shops and as a digital edition now