A political thriller set in the Far East provides the story for a former regional editor’s debut novel.

Gerry Sammon, who spent 35 years in the industry before leaving in March to concentrate on the project, entitled The Royle Deception.

Gerry spent 20 years as an editor on MEN Media’s regional weeklies, including the Rochdale Observer and Middleton Guardian.

The Royle Deception spans 30 years in the life of British Special Forces soldier Tom Royle, and Gerry travelled to China and Vietnam to conduct research for the book.

Royle is a university lecturer teaching South East Asian history when a burglary at his home leads to his MI6 status being reactivated.

What follows is a worldwide manhunt for an elusive double agent, treachery and action.

The book’s publication comes a month before Gerry begins a new post tutoring media law at News Associates, in Manchester.

The Royle Deception is currently available from Amazon in paperback and on Kindle.