A Stoke-based author is hoping to publish his second Children's book using reward based crowdfunding.

Forty-year-old Matthew Massey, from Stoke-on-Trent, is hoping to publish his rhyming book What? No Cheesecake?! with the support of Kickstarter contributions. 

Matthew has teamed up with artist Tom Poyner, from Stafford, to illustrate the story of a cheesecake-loving Giraffe who sets out on his birthday to find his favourite treat but everywhere is sold out. 

The book is inspired by the bedtime stories that Matthew, a father of three, made up for his children. 

Matthew said: "At night I read the kids bedtime stories, but my youngest son prefers it when I make stories up. 

"This is one of the stories that evolved over time with his input. 

"When I first made up this story it was about a mouse, but my five-year-old said that it needed to be a giraffe." 

The book is still a work in progress but Matthew hopes to have printed copies ready for Christmas (image via Matthew Massey and Tom Poyner)

Matthew and Tom hope to cover the costs of making the book through donations to the Kickstarter which allows contributors to pre-order paperback or digital copies of What? No Cheesecake?! which they will receive if the target is met. 

If Matthew reaches his £650 goal, he hopes to print all of the pre-ordered copies in time for Christmas. 

As part of the campaign, contributors are also able to gift copies to local schools, nurseries and hospitals through their donation. 

Additionally, Matthew and Tom hope to donate another book for every 20 that receive backing.  

Matthew has teamed up with Stafford based artist Tom Poyner to illustrate the book (image via Matthew Massey and Tom Poyner)

Matthew self-published his first book The Curious Tales of Nanook of the North in 2024 as a present for his grandmother's 90th birthday and hopes to continue writing in the future.

Matthew said: "It is always good to see someone from your hometown do something fantastic. 

"Seeing all of the names and faces of Stoke being celebrated for the centenary inspired me and it would be really nice to be one of those names and faces in 100 years time. 

"But even for my kids to be able to see the book in their school would be a really nice thing. 

"I love the city, I've been here all my life and I would like to leave a lasting impression on the place that brought me up." 

The deadline to contribute to What? No Cheesecake?! is 30 November. 

The project can be found on the Kickstarter website here.