Banbury author looks to excite with science

A Banbury author and science club business owner has released her first novel that she hopes will inspire the next generation of female scientists.
Author Sue Priest with her book Chagford Twins 1 The Quizling Question published uner her maiden name SP Davidson NNL-170320-120518001Author Sue Priest with her book Chagford Twins 1 The Quizling Question published uner her maiden name SP Davidson NNL-170320-120518001
Author Sue Priest with her book Chagford Twins 1 The Quizling Question published uner her maiden name SP Davidson NNL-170320-120518001

Sue Priest released her book, Chagford Twins. 1 The Quizling Question via Amazon, on International Women’s Day and now has copies available in paperback.

Mrs Priest has had a long interest in the sciences which has continued in her professional career paths, so the inspiration for the book’s subject matter has always been a passion.

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Mr’s Priest said: “There are twins in the book, a boy and a girl but it is the girl who is the stronger character and becomes a hero in the end.

“I’ve always been the girl that was into sciencey stuff. At quite a young age I was interested in all things mechanical, I got a ZX81 when I was 14. I was quite inspired by reading the Harry Potter books and I thought they were cool but science is the real magic because it’s true, it’s real.”

She added: “So I wanted to give children of that age group (7-14) inspiration, something that was magical but real, so I decided to write a book that was different in that all of the science in it is predicted.”

Set both on Earth and Mars, the book tackles a number of pressing scientific topics that are only going to become more important for future generations with climate change at the forefront.

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Mrs Priest said: “I ran a climate change business transformation agency for ten years so I know a reasonable amount about the science behind climate change and most importantly the innovations we are going to have to come up with .”

She added: “During the research for the book I looked at what the innovations were going to be so the book is set 50 to 100 years in the future when these changes have happened.”

Chagford Twins also introduces children to the concepts of mining for nonrenewable resources as well as the mysteries of quantum mechanics via the use of teleportation.

Mr’s Priest is also challenging children’s perception of science through her after-school club ScienceClubz, which currently operates in nine Banbury primary schools with plans to expand in the future.

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Mrs Priest said: “We cover things in our after school clubs that would never be covered in schools. We cover science from the point of view of an interesting story line. Can we power spaceships with poo for example?”

The ScienceClubz also explores if a teddy bear can blow up a football pitch and the effects of earthquakes using jelly, introducing university level concepts in a way that children can enjoy.

The book, published under Sue’s maiden name SP Davidson is available on Amazon.

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