'My horror novel was published four decades after I started writing it as a teenager when I retired from my job as a journalist in Shropshire'
A former journalist and sub-editor for the Shropshire Star has published his debut novel, more than 40 years since he finished the first draft.
Ian Harvey, 62, retired last year after almost 40 years working as a sub-editor and internet editor for the Shropshire Star and the Express & Star.
But before that, as an 18-year-old trainee reporter, Ian put pen to paper to write a horror novel he entitled Saint & Sinner.
Over the next four decades the unpublished manuscript gathered dust at his home in Priorslee, Telford.
He said: "The typed manuscript has variously sat in cupboards, attics and on bookshelves until I decided to dust it off post-retirement and see if it held up to scrutiny.
"I discovered it was the proverbial curate’s egg; good in places and absolutely awful in others, so I set about knocking it into some sort of shape I’d be happier with nowadays.
"It was scanned, uploaded and edited after retirement - so it really is 'a story over 40 years in the making'. After over four decades I genuinely couldn’t remember the ending - and I was pleasantly surprised!"
A tale of horror set in the sleepy fictional town of Stockleigh, the book features a battle between two men of God and the dawn of a hellish new age threatening the entire planet.
Ian added: "The book was written pre-personal computers on an old-fashioned typewriter and I was delighted that technology meant I could now scan it directly into my computer and didn't need to retype it all!
"Even though I’ve had bylines for years on articles and for concert photos at gigs which I reviewed for the Express & Star and Shropshire Star, it was a unique and extremely pleasant thrill to see my name on an actual book cover.
"My next project is set to be a collection of short stories called Four Season Of Chills; not all horror, but they'll be decidedly off-kilter.
"I am also writing a short story a month for an online fiction challenge called Deadlines For Writers which I like to try in all sorts of different genres, not just supernatural. It's a fantastic challenge and helps keep my fiction skills sharpened"
The book is available on Kindle and in paperback at amazon.co.uk/Saint-Sinner-Ian-Harvey/dp/B0F7XRD89G
