50,000 copies in six week

13-year-old Emma Maree of Inverness has written a book about a teenager who is dragged into a virtual reality game involving a dragon. If she dies in the game, she dies in the real world.

Emma Maree was writing short stories at the age of 10 and is determined to pursue a career as a novelist. She writes in longhand and then transfers the material to a computer. The novel took her about a year to write. "“It came naturally,"” her dad said. “It just flowed out of her.”

Emma says, “It’s a perfect read for the computer generation. Lots of kids out there like playing computer games and this is taking it to a whole new level. The characters go into the world and experience it for real.”

“I enjoy writing,” she said. “It’s a lot of fun. My parents encouraged me to write. It has been a long ambition of mine to write a book and get it published. I have been writing stories for quite a while, but none of them have been as good as Dragon Tamers.”

Her father, Ian, an electrician, said: “She does everything off her own back. We have to safeguard her, but she’s taken everything calmly. She’s coping well, with our support.”

Aultbea Publishing Company have had calls from collectors asking to buy up to ten signed copies at once. Dragon Tamers, retailing at £9.95, is on eBay for £35.

The book has sold 50,000 copies in six weeks. A second print run for Emma Maree Urquhart’s Dragon Tamers has been ordered.