A CHRISTMAS story with a twist in the tail marks Nicola Spencer's first foray into the world of children's books.

The talented designer, who graduated last year from Glasgow School of Art, has brought to life a festive feast that is as warm and cuddly as the puppy who takes the starring role.

She says it was her love of picture books as a child that inspired the drawings of the adorable young black Labrador in Jet - Forever Home, written by Lucy O'Farrell Carter from Yorkshire.

"As a child, I used to love when my parents read picture books to me, and I was captivated by the illustrations," explains the 23-year-old.

"The bright colours and the characters brought the stories to life, and I felt as if I really knew the characters.

"The number of times I asked my parents to read The Very Hungry Caterpillar to me ... just to see the caterpillar turn into a beautiful butterfly in the final illustration was worth it every time."

Specialising in mixed media, Nicola started working on pencil drawings for the story of the dog who is desperate for a forever home.

She then combined her sketches with pastels and digital work to create the story's other characters, including Penelope the poodle, who lives next door; an angry squirrel, who hangs out over the fence, and Jet's friend, Patch the Terrier.

"Lucy really liked the style of some pencil drawings I had done, because they had an old-fashioned feel. In other illustrations, we wanted to give them more of a modern touch," says Nicola.

"There was a fair bit of collaboration between the two of us to get the style right, but I think what we finished up with works really well.

"Lucy sent me pictures of Jet from when Lucy was a child. They ranged from Jet being a small puppy to an adult dog, so I was able to get a sense of Jet's character.

"When I was growing up, my neighbours had dogs that we would take for walks regularly.

"Some of my family got puppies not so long ago so this all helped with styling the drawings."

Nicola developed her love of storytelling at Glasgow School of Art, where she studied painting and printmaking.

"I liked the whole idea of telling stories through pictures and being quite narrative and I liked creating characters.

"By the end of my time there I was creating characters out of clay and little models."

Jet and Patch were real dogs, who influenced the story by Lucy, who grew up in Bradford in the 1970s.

The writer says the book's human characters - Mr and Mrs O'Farrell and Nancy - are all based on family members.

"When I was a child it was normal to play out until the street lamps came on, and the local dogs wandered around the estate with their own agendas," she remembers.

"These were very happy times and I spent most of them at my grandparents' house.

"When I found Nicola I was so impressed with her illustrations of wildlife and dogs that I asked her if she would be interested in illustrating my book.

"She worked very hard to get the illustrations just right.

"As Jet and Patch are based on real dogs, I wanted them to be as near to the real thing as possible.

"It's been a real pleasure working together and I believe she has done justice to some of my favourite memories."

The writer also works for charity OCD-UK, for people with obsessive-compulsive disorder, and some of the proceeds from sales of the book will go to it.

l You can buy Jet - Forever Home on amazon or from www.jetforeverhome.com for £4.82.

angela.mcmanus@ eveningtimes.co.uk