Chris Madeley has always enjoyed words, books and writing for as long as she can remember.  Having been brought up in a family which did not possess a television, she was well used to making her own entertainment and with a very fertile imagination and a preference for her own company, she immersed herself in the world of make-believe and fantasy.

Throughout Chris’ school life she developed a great love and respect for the written word and reading and writing featured right at the top of her favourites list.

Hardly surprising that her career took her into working with English and led her to some very interesting Executive P.A. posts in several major well-known companies.

After a career break to have her family, Chris went back to work part-time and after training changed disciplines to work as an Independent Financial Adviser.  It was during this time that she received the inspiration for writing The Cones.

Chris spent many a long hour on the M1 motorway with her husband Keith as they travelled from their main office in Bradford to their company’s branch office in Hertfordshire and guess what happened? Yes, they sat in road works surrounded by miles and miles of CONES!  Thus, the ‘conecept’ of Cones coming alive and having adventures was born.

There had to be a beginning, so the magic was introduced.  We have to have a good guy, so meet Police Car.  There HAS to be a baddie, so on stage comes Cone Collector (Cones don’t like to be stacked!).  There has to be a guardian, so we have Wise Owl, and there has to be helpful mischief so in comes New Moon.  The Cones have Cone names and there is a Cone language.  We meet the first two of the four friends in “Cones – The Beginning,” and quickly the other two join them.  From this point they learn road safety, why Cones are needed and are a force for good, they learn to have adventures without malice, manners, respect but above all, how to behave like good Cones and keep children safe.  Road safety, safety around water, electricity, wet floors, road-building and building sites etc are the order of the day for Cones.

They live by strict rules, the most important of which is : when a human eye looks at a Cone, they are just Cones: no eyes, no hands, no faces,  no voices – just Cones.  It is only when the human eye looks away that adventures can happen… and they do!