Marlborough postie finds plot while on his round

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/10928869._/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;?

POSTIE Mark Stroud has swapped his post bag for a pen and paper to write a murder mystery novel set in a rural Wiltshire town.

Delivering Death follows DCI Callum West as he tries to solve the mystery of four murders that occur after a seemingly harmless letter arrives in the post.

The 48-year-old started writing the 452-page book in September 2012 and it is now available on Amazon in hard back and for e-readers.

Mr Stroud, of Five Stiles Road, Marlborough, now hopes that the novel will be picked up by a publishing house.

He said: “I’ve had the idea to write a book in my head for a while but I’m not really sure what finally made me write something.

“I think I was doing my post round one day and got a bit bored so I started to thinking and the plot just came to me so I started writing it.

“It changes a lot from when I started writing it to when I finished because I kept thinking of different and better ideas. The main plot hasn’t changed but things around it have.

“I advertised it on my Facebook page and I know a few people have seen that and bought it and I’ve had some really good feedback.

“I’ve got a five star rating and a four star rating and all my family and friends who have read it really like it and one person said to me that they couldn’t put it down. People at work have said ‘go for it’ and I know a few people I work with have bought it and seem to like it.”

Inspired by the feedback from his first novel, Mr Stroud, a former pupil at St John’s in Marlborough, is working on a second murder mystery book around the same protagonist.

He said: “I’d like to write a fantasy adventure at some point too. I have a good plot for that.

“Coming up with a good plot takes time, it doesn’t just happen in a day. It takes two or three weeks.”

[Viewfindergeneral]

That's funny, because when I'm on my round I'm usually losing the plot.....