A former Dumfries woman has realised a lifetime dream of getting a novel into print.
Linda Wheatley first began writing as an 11-year old growing up in Abbeytown, near Silloth in Cumbria.
Now more than 40 years later she’s looking forward to launching her first book at Waterstone’s in Dumfries later this summer.
Linda, 53, who lives near Dalbeattie, told the Standard: “The whole thing is very exciting.
“It took me three or four years to write Reaching Out Across the Waves and I didn’t have any intention of doing anything with it.
“But then a couple of people read it and said: ‘Oh my god, you have to get this published’.
“So I thought you know what, I’ll maybe just do that.”
Linda, a self-employed life coach, said her inspiration came from boating holidays in Spain with her engineer husband Dave.
She said: “Dave and I had a boat, the Ocean Dream, which was based at Benalmadena on the Costa del Sol between Malaga and Marbella.
“He got his skipper’s licence and we would be out there eight or nine times a year.
“It was a 33-foot cruiser and was our second home – it was just like a floating apartment.
“We made a lot of friends – a couple of characters in the book are based on real people and I had to get their permission to include them.
“Jessica is the main character of the novel which is a mixture of research, lived experience and a great deal of creativity and imagination.”
The mum-of-one, who also works part time with people living with dementia, has lived in Dumfries and Galloway for more than three decades and after a career in the care sector is loving life on “The Galloway Riviera”.
She said: “We were in Dumfries for 32 years and only moved here last year.
“I have always worked in health and social care and came up to Dumfries to do my nursing training at the Crichton in 1999.
“I’m a life coach too and believe in living for the moment – you have to go out and enjoy life.
“If there’s something you want to do, go out and do it.”
Linda describes Reaching Out Across the Waves as an “adult romance” – and hopes the novel will leave readers more than a little breathless.
She said: “I wanted to write a book that would leave people feeling so emotionally involved and connected that they really could not pick up another book for a week or two.”
Having got her first book over the line, Linda is already halfway through writing her second of what will be a trilogy.
She said: “It’s very nerve wracking putting your stuff out there. This is my baby and it follows the main character through what is emotional journey for her.
“When I began writing this it was never really intended for publication!”
The book can be pre-ordered online via several outlets.
