Gabrielle Kent

Gabrielle Kent writes children's fiction and designs games, combining magical puzzles with the structure of adventure play. Alfie Bloom and the Secrets of Hexbridge Castle introduces an ordinary boy who unexpectedly inherits a castle and responsibility for an ancient form of magic. Scholastic Children's Books published the British edition in 2015 as the first Alfie Bloom novel, with the series later continuing through new mysteries and time-shifting adventures. Alfie's cousins Maddie and Robin, the flying bearskin rug Artan, and the unusual butler Ashford help him protect Hexbridge from forces seeking its secrets. Kent drew the initial idea from a visit to a Welsh castle, then developed it into her first novel after years in games education and development. She has taught game production at Teesside University, presented the Animex festival, and served as a BAFTA Games Awards judge. That background informs its escalating challenges, rules, hidden spaces, and collaborative problem solving.