LOCAL author Deane Saunders-Stowe grew up in the Forest of Dean and now lives in Ross-on-Wye with his partner, Kris, a disability fitness instructor and wheelchair user.

“I’ve always been interested in science fiction but I’d never contemplated writing a book until I first moved to Ross and passed a place called Sollers Hope. The name made it sound like some far-flung mining colony in the back of beyond … in space, maybe. In that instant, an idea was born. Later, taking part in the St Michael’s Hospice Wheelie Big Cycle in 2012, Kris and I rode through Yazor - another exotic-sounding name I could use."

Deane's first novel, Synthesis: Weave has now been published.

"I wanted to bring together the sense of awe and mystery I had when playing in the Forest as a child, along with my passion for technology," Deane explains. "I had many different ideas with no way of bringing them together. I needed characters whose backgrounds could bring events together in an interesting way, but it wasn’t until I met Kris that I realised how much of a challenge the very act of dealing with daily life could be for many people with disabilities.

Now Sollers Hope, Yazor, Cinderford, and other local names weave in an out of Deane's futuristic novel, copies of which will be launched at Rossiter Books in Ross-on-Wye on Wednesday, February 11 at 7pm.

Synthesis:Weave is available on Amazon Kindle, Google Play, Kobo, and Nook, and in print from local bookshops.