AN ACCOUNTANT who started writing just a few years ago has found a hidden talent.

Author Philip Neale, who writes under the pen name Neal James, has already had three books published.

He hopes that more people in Notts will read his books now they are being stocked by the county's library service.

Mr Neale, 58, who is an accountant for a power company, said: "I have worked in the accountancy profession for over 30 years, and came into writing as a result of an entry in an international short story competition in 2007.

"That piece, although failing to win, did finish in the top ten entries and spurred me on to further writing."

Mr Neale, a lifelong Forest fan, lived in Langley Mill and now lives in Heanor.

All of his published books are stocked by major high street and online book chains in the UK and USA.

Two Little Dicky Birds was released last year and tells of the hunt for a serial killer.

A Ticket to Tewkesbury, published in 2008, is a spy thriller also telling of the love story of Madeline Colson and Roger Fretwell, and their involvement with a set of secret files brought back from Germany at the end of WWII.

Mr Neale said: "I have two further books at the finished stage, and waiting to be submitted to my publisher – Threads of Deceit and Full Marks. Two more are at the writing stage, The Rings of Darelius, my first attempt at a science fiction novel, and Day of the Phoenix, the sequel to A Ticket to Tewkesbury."

His current books are stocked by libraries in the UK including Notts, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Essex, Gloucestershire and Cheshire. Visit www.nealjames.webs.com for more information.