A Suffolk crime journalist has released his debut novel after he was inspired on a round-the-world honeymoon trip nine years ago.
Michael Steward spent six weeks in China in 2013 as part of an extended 10-month honeymoon with his wife and decided to set the book in Beijing.
The thriller, entitled Harvest, follows two private detectives on a hunt for a missing British teacher in the Chinese capital.
The 41-year-old, who works for the East Anglian Daily Times and Ipswich Star, admitted writing the book had been “a labour of love” but said he is thrilled to be self-publishing at last.
“I think I started the book just after the honeymoon trip and put down the first 5,000 or 10,000 words pretty quickly,” he said.
“Then I left it alone for a long time, and life got in the way really. My wife and I had two children, I changed careers into journalism and it was one of those things I kept meaning to go back to.
“I picked it up again probably in 2017 and started chipping away, a few hundred words a night. I finished the first draft in February 2020 so this isn’t a lockdown book – it’s just taken me this long to get it up to scratch!
“I’m absolutely delighted to finally get it out there and I hope people will enjoy reading it.”
Michael, who lives in Bury St Edmunds, said Beijing seemed like the perfect setting for his dark thriller.
“We visited many countries on our trip but I have to say I loved China the most,” he said.
“It was such a different culture, and the people were incredibly welcoming and friendly.
“It was probably quite ambitious of me to set the book there, but I just felt it made such a great backdrop for the story.”
The father-of-two said he has already started the follow-up.
“I was keen on writing a series so the second book will be with the same characters and set a little closer to home in London. Hopefully, it won’t take me as long this time,” he added.
“There have been times, of course, when it felt like I was wading through treacle, but overall I have really enjoyed the process.”
Harvest is available now as an e-book or paperback from Amazon.
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