Legend of the Paper Monkey made a reality for Black Country author
An Oldbury man has had his first book published and now has ambitions to complete a sequel and for it to be turned into a film.
Scott Richards, aged 35, studied film at Worcester University and began writing his debut novel, The Legend of Paper Monkey, in 2008.
However, he was forced to "put it on the back burner" after his partner, Elizabeth, aged 36, became unwell and their four-year-old daughter, Evie, was diagnosed with spina bifida.
Elizabeth also has three other children.
Scott said: "Life intervened and I just put the draft on a back burner.
"In 2012 I completed another rough draft but had a few rejections and I also tried writing scripts for television but these never took off.
"I am really pleased to finally have my novel published by Austin Macauley.
"The idea came about because I had a good friend who was in a band and used to sing a song called Paper Monkey.
"I decided to write about a rock star, called Johnny Rocket, who had dreams of being a mega-star but who did not really have the musical ability.
"The book details how he meets a student from Peru and how their lives become intertwined.
"They go on an adventure to Peru where a tribe believed in a god, called Paper Monkey.
"Members of the tribe want to sacrifice Johnny because of their beliefs."
Scott is now working on writing a sequel to the book and said that his ambition was for them to be turned into films.
The book is available for £9.99 on paperback through local shops and Amazon and for £3.50 from Kindle.
