Royal Fergie shares Gold Coast author’s children’s book about her late-mother on Facebook

A book written by Gold Coast author Casey Gillespie for children with ‘invisible grandmothers’ has gone viral and catching the eye of royalty.

BURLEIGH WATERS mum Casey Gillespie has become a best-selling author overnight after her self-published book Nanna Maureen: Here and not seen went viral and caught the eye of the Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson.

“I’m shocked really I have to say, these things happen to other people,” said the 35-year-old mother of two.

The modern-day nursery rhyme is based on her late-mother Maureen, who died 10 years ago from cancer. The story explains how Nanna Maureen is magical and invisible and spends her time looking after her grandchildren.

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Gold Coaster Casey Gillespie (centre image) wrote a book that caught the eye of the Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson and she has shared her story with the royal’s followers.

“I wrote the book on Mother’s Day for my children Jesse and Scarlett. Actually the process was quite cathartic because for years it was difficult for me to talk about losing my mum, but now I’m telling the world.”

Mrs Gillespie said the Duchess’s people contacted her on the anniversary of the passing of Lady Diana, August 31, and asked her to record herself reading the book.

Today it’s been shared to Fergie’s Facebook and Instagram pages, Story time with Fergie and Friends. Every day at 4pm the Duchess reads a children’s book to her followers, but instead of reading Nanna Maureen, she invited Ms Gillespie to share her story.

“Casey, oh my goodness, so thank you very much for bringing smiles to children’s faces – fantastic,” said Fergie.

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On her Facebook and Instagram pages Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson personally thanked Gold Coast author Casey Gillespie for “bringing smiles to the faces of children”

Mrs Gillespie said it took a few goes to film her reading the book, with her two children and niece Harper, whose middle name is Maureen, alongside her.

“It all seems quite surreal but it’s just incredible to think that maybe the Cambridge children might actually read this book because they too have an invisible grandmother,” she said.

“And I’m such a royal fan so it’s been such an amazing experience for me. My husband will have to put up with me talking about this forever.”

She said her father and extended family were in lockdown Victoria but were cheering her on from afar.

Mrs Gillespie was in sales before COVID-19 lockdown and instead of sitting idle she decided to turn her hand to self-publishing the story she dedicated to Jesse, Scarlett and Harper Thyer.

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Casey Gillespie, reads her book, a story about her late mother called Nanna Maureen, to Jesse Gillespie, 4, Scarlett Gillespie, 2, and Harper Thyer, 4. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

“I’ve been contacted by so many people who have shared similar stories, people who have lost their parents and even people wanting advice on how to self publish a book,” she said.

The first-time author isn’t sure how many copies have been sold but considering it was only published on August 17, it’s likely to become a household name in years to come.

Nanna Maureen is a print on demand book and is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble in the US and Dymocks and Booktopia in Australia. Mrs Gillespie also had a dedicated Facebook page to showcase her successes.