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Tin Man debut for Martin

While many journalists are happy churning out story after story, one Aberdeen reporter has set his sights on becoming the next big thing in the literary world.

Martin Shannon, of the Aberdeen Independent, has written his first novel, The Tin Man.

The novel is set in Aberdeen and tells the story of an eight-year-old boy, obsessed with the cold war, growing up in the 1970s.

Martin explained his inspiration for writing the novel: “I wanted to write the kind of book I’d like to read. I know it sounds downbeat but it’s ultimately meant to be optimistic and there’s plenty of laughs in it too – honest!”

But he said it wasn’t easy getting his work accepted by publishers.

“I sent the novel to a publisher in London and they phoned me up to say they liked it and would have taken it on if it had been set in Brighton or Hampstead.

“It was as if they were saying that Aberdeen was too obscure for readers in the south of England,” he said.

However, the novel was better-received by the Lottery-funded Scottish fiction imprint 11-9 and is now on sale.

  • To read an extract from The Tin Man, visit the 11-9 web site at www.11-9.co.uk

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