A children's fantasy book, "The Tree of Seasons," penned by the late Boyzone star Stephen Gately, is to be released later this year after a heart-warming effort by his friends and family to finish it.

Gately, who tragically died last October while on vacation, was only pages away from completing his first novel before his sudden death in Mallorca, Spain. Not wanting to leave his book unpublished, family and friends banded together to finish the book using Gately's notes go guide them to the story's end.

At Gately's funeral, Boyzone bandmate Ronan Keating spoke of how the people who loved him would finish his book.

"There are only a few pages left to do -- and by hook or by crook, those who loved him, and there are so many in this room, are going to finish his book," Keating said.

The book, with Elton John writing the foreword, is expected to make the best-sellers list when it's released.

"The Tree of Seasons" chronicles the adventures of three children who use the tree as a hidden gateway to magical worlds representing the four seasons.

Gately's husband, Andrew Cowles, said Stephen really wanted to get this book published.

"The storyline had been something he had been bouncing around for many years and he was enjoying the creative process of finally sitting down and writing this story in between the other demands on his time," he said. "Stephen was very excited about this book and hoping to become a published author."

"Stephen had almost finished his book -- his trip to Mallorca in October was to give him time to complete this and he had made good progress in the few days he was there, leaving only a few pages to be finished after his untimely death.

"Fortunately Stephen did have detailed notes which meant there was enough information to allow the story to be completed exactly as he had planned."

In April, Gately poke about his book and how happy he was with what he had done so far.

"It's aimed at (age) 10 upwards . . . I'm having a massive battle between good and evil in the book so it's quite fun, I think a lot of people will like it," he said.

The book will be published on April 29.