Grandmother's surprise at three-books debut deal

Teacher and theatre director Myrrha Stanford-Smith said she was astonished to be handed the three-book agreement, which saw her first work, The Great Lie, appear on shelves last week. The trained actress, who lives in Holyhead, North Wales, has always held a passion for creative writing.

She decided to see if her talent could really take off after receiving positive feedback on a short children's story she sent to BBC Radio Wales.

The Brighton-born writer secured herself a deal with publisher Honno, for a trilogy based around her swashbuckling Elizabethan hero Nick Talbot. It reignites, in fictional form, the rivalry between William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe.

Ms Stanford-Smith said of the deal: "It was out of the blue. It was such a wonderful surprise."