Kara Siert, who lives with her parents at the US base at Lakenheath, has written a book called Tales of Cunburra and Other Stories, which is now for sale on the internet.

Her mother, Linda, said: "This is her dream, she's always wanted to be published. Ever since she was six or seven years old she has talked about it."

"From the day she could hold a pen she has been writing, she doesn't watch a lot of television so she has a lot of time to work on her stories."

Kara is currently receiving chemotherapy for osteocarcoma, a form of cancer, which was discovered in her right arm just before her tenth birthday. She recently had an operation in Birmingham to replace her bone with a titanium rod.

Linda said: "We were really worried because we thought if they couldn't save her right arm then she wouldn't be able to write, but thankfully we had a great surgeon and he did a great job."

The charity Dreams Come True arranged for Kara's book to be published and it is now on sale priced £10.99 through www.amazon.co.uk and www.arimapublishing.com.

Kara was adopted from a foster family in Nanning, China, by Linda and her husband Ward, who is a major in the US Air Force.

Linda said that even from an early age she showed that she would one day be a writer.

"Her foster family gave her a tray of objects when she was 11 months old which is a Chinese tradition and out of everything on it all she wanted to hold was a pen," she said.

Kara's book is about a fantasy land with talking animals and dragons and features a range of stories.

Linda said that despite everything that Kara has been through she has remained cheerful.

"She's very brave about the big things and she's almost always has a smile on her face," said Linda.