CRIME writer, David Simson, 55, celebrates his third book with launch next week.

The Harder than blood series focuses on the complex story of a female assassin, the author describes her as not a cold heartless murderer but someone who has to be pushed to extremes to act.

Mr. Simson said: A lot of people like her and sympathise with her because of her awful personal history. Some people, me included, prefer her to the law abiding characters in the book.

Since his childhood the engineer has been passionate about reading, and so it seemed only natural for him to write his own book. This series started in 1982 when he was just 18.

The author said: “I grabbed a stack of lined A4 sheets and began to handwrite a storyline. This was the beginning of what would later become Jewel Agenda I wrote about 40 sides of A4 and then the project faded.”

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After the loss of his parents David rediscovered the beginnings of the story in 2012 and transferred them onto the computer.

He said: “There were 20,000 words. Carrying on from this point, Jewel Agenda became something real. So, all in all it took over 30 years to write the first book.”

“I have to write every day to keep the story moving. It is genuine escapism, but it does intrude into your personal life. It was definitely a factor in the breakdown of my relationship.”

Mr. Simson has seen great success in his previous books and said his readers keep him motivated;

“I am driven by a desire to finish what I've started and part of that is undoubtedly due to people's expectations. I had several pre-orders for this book so that's a strong motivator.”

Following its recent release, the launch event for Jewel Control will be held at The Old Oak pub in Drakes Broughton at 7pm on December 16.

The final book in the Harder than blood quartet, is due to be published in the summer of 2020.

To find out more go to: www.davidsimson.co.uk