AN UPWARD SPIRAL: MEET STEVE, THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR DONATING THE PROFITS OF HIS CHILDREN’S BOOK TO ELLENOR

So begins the tale of The Golden Snail – a children’s book written and illustrated by Gravesend gardener Steve Franklin and dedicated to raising funds for local hospice charity ellenor.

For every copy Steve sells for £3.50, he donates £1 to ellenor. This helps the charity raise the £7 million it needs each year, the majority of which comes from the generosity of its local community, to continue providing vital care and support for Kent and Bexley families facing life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses.

Steve’s connection with ellenor is deeply personal. When his mother was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic, it felt like life was falling apart. As his mother moved from one care facility to another, it was an uncertain, challenging time until she was referred to ellenor for end of her life care.

“ellenor was the first place where there seemed to be as much emphasis on us, as a family,” Steve says. “Up until that point it felt like everyone was either fighting us, ignoring us, or letting us down.”

Steve’s mother spent 12 weeks at ellenor and though she didn’t pass away on the hospice’s Northfleet-based inpatient ward, Steve will never forget the dignity, respect, and high-quality care she received there. He also cherishes the way ellenor’s team kept in touch with his family after his mother’s death to check in on them.

Steve struggled deeply with his mother’s death. He began to experience ongoing psychological challenges, which caused him to withdraw from his responsibilities and those around him.

Then, around the same time, two events occurred. Combined, they would shape Steve’s life forever.

First, Steve underwent counselling, which had a profound effect on him. Armed with mental exercises and strategies that “unlocked something in my mind,” Steve began to recover. The creativity that had been dislodged by the counselling began to grow and needed an outlet.

That outlet was creativity.

Then, one day, Steve was walking in the park with his granddaughter Billie when she stopped, stooping to pick something up. “I think he’s lost!” she cried, turning to Steve.

In her palm was a tiny snail. With a golden shell.

“Golly gosh!” she cried. “You must be very proud to show off your beautiful shell around here. The little snail looked at her sadly and said “Actually, the truth is that I hate it. All the other snails won’t have me around because they can’t see that, really, I’m just the same as them.”

Steve began work that day: starting with an A4 sheet of paper, a few early pencil sketches of the characters, and the beginnings of a basic story. At first, it was only intended for his grandchildren (who are also the story’s main characters). But, after it was read out in Billie’s school – to the joy of the class – Steve’s son convinced him the tale deserved a wider audience.

Now, The Golden Snail – written, illustrated, and published by Steve Franklin – is available to buy for just £3.50, with £1 of that going to ellenor. (The rest funds further rounds of published copies.)

Steve – who had a 35-year career in the advertising industry working with some of the world’s biggest brands before becoming a gardener – is marketing the book himself, primarily via Facebook, where he shares fundraising updates and pages from "The Golden Snail.

What’s more, Steve plans to further build out Billie’s world with three more books: The Button Field, The Astral Circus, and The White Elephant Doll. If The Golden Snail continues to sell well, he will publish the others; and, though none feature the titular Midas mollusc of the first book, they all share similar themes: unconditional kindness, acceptance, and finding one’s way home.

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Another recurring motif is one Steve describes as the “golden heart”.

All four books feature Billie and a character who benefits from her benevolent intervention. Steve’s other younger grandchildren, Jack and Nancy, also appear as various characters. These books aim to elevate his own family to storybook heroes and encourage children everywhere to embark on their own adventures of kindness and creativity; to dream big and find no limits in the worlds of their imagination.

“I want children to be able to see themselves in a central role – and inspire them to be a Billie, too!”

Now Billie was feeling sad too. “If you really are the one and only then how did you come to be here?” she asked. The little snail tried very hard to think but, as usual, his mind went blank. “I just can’t remember!” he wailed. “It feels like I’ve been sliding around lost and alone forever now and I am so tired of being an orphan”.

In many ways, it’s hard not to find parallels between the journey of Billie’s spiral-shelled friend and Steve’s own story. Both tell a tale of a moment of kindness changing everything: whether it’s a young girl taking a small snail home, or a hospice charity like ellenor supporting a family overwhelmed with grief and uncertainty during the most trying time they’ll ever face.

Both stories contain struggles; and in both, it’s the strength of spirit, and of family, that triumphs over adversity. But ultimately, both paths are paved with the power of that golden heart – and with a sense of just how good it feels, after a long time away, to finally find one’s way home.

“Well, you are not alone anymore” announced Billie. “You must come home with me to live as one of my family where we are all very different, all very special, and all very much loved.”