Thereby Hangs a Tale

Two hundred thousand words and 10 years in the making, Diana Jackson is delighted her first novel is now on the shelves of all good bookshops.

Diana, who teaches business studies at Barnfield College, said: "I kept putting it aside. Three years ago, I decided to go part-time and write on my days off."

Riduna, the Roman name for Alderney in the Channel Islands, is an historical romance set in the 19th century.

"As a child, we spent summers on the island which has a family connection. My great-grandmother lived there. The novel is not about her rather she was the inspiration for my writing.

"I didn't go about writing the novel in a formal way. I had an idea about a pattern of life and the story. The characters just appeared out of my head.

"Even with the ending there were several possibilities."
Diana spent a summer in Alderney researching the book.

"It is a beautiful, inspiring place to write. It is so inaccessible with the weather very unpredictable."

The new author is busy researching a sequel at the moment.