A RETIRED Newton Abbot resident has now had both his second and third novels published.
However, Dennis Humphreys, the author in question from Forde Park, Newton Abbot had not planned to start a new venture as a writer.
During lockdown he was fortunate to avoid Covid, but caught the writing bug instead, which he has not been able to shake off.
Like his first novel, The Curious Tale of a French Salesman, his second novel, Rainbow over Rocheville (The Curious Tale of a French Guitarist) is set in France and is also based on a short story he originally wrote in French, when attending French classes in Kingskerswell.
It tells the romantic story of a young French carpenter, who plays the guitar and sings. He is very talented but is a daydreamer and drifter, who loves rainbows.
But how will he face up to the complexities and challenges of adult life, including his relationship with a highly focused profession woman? Will it all end in tears or success? This novel is published by Austin Macauley of London.
His third novel is titled The Transit of Venus, and is a romance/ fantasy. It is about a successful novelist, who becomes infatuated with a character in his latest novel. Then strange things start happening. His comfortable life and that of his wife are thrown into disarray.
Will his resourceful wife manage to negotiate the challenges facing them or is he heading for disaster? This novel is published by Pegasus Publishers of Cambridge.
Dennis has now completed another novel, about to be offered to publishers: this time a historical novel set in the fifth century CE in Britain and Brittany at the time of the withdrawal of the Roman legions from Britain, and of the Anglo-Saxon invasions.
This is the darkest of the Dark Ages. The character on whom King Arthur may have been based features in the narrative.
The Transit of Venus and Rainbow over Rocheville are available for sale at Westcountry Books of Queen Street, Newton Abbot and can also be obtained from the publishers and from High Street and online retailers.