Garth ApThomas

The adventures of a young newspaper reporter who strikes a deal with a professional psychic have been chronicled in the second instalment of an e-book series penned by a local journalist.

Garth ApThomas has worked as a local reporter for 20 years and wrote the book in his spare time, fitting it around his main job as a journalist for the Leader series of newspapers in North Wales, owned by NWN Media.

The comedy-thriller follows reporter Maddie Jones, who enlists the help of stage psychic Simon Hall in understanding the motive behind a grisly murder in a small Scottish village.

Garth, aged 50, said he was pleased with how the books had been received so far – and said he hoped to pen more in future.

“It has been great – the first one went down well and got some really positive reviews,” he said.

“It’s a combination of my love of journalism and the fact I have always been rather interested in the psychic industry.

“I think there’s a bit more juice left in the idea so hopefully I’ll be writing more soon, though if I get inspiration for anything else I will definitely give that a go.”

Garth worked on the Chester Chronicle series during the early 90s, before moving to the Vale Advertiser in Denbighshire from 1998 to 2006.

He said the process of writing the book had taken around four months.

“I had the idea bubbling in my head for ages, but finding the time is difficult when you are also a full-time journalist,” he added.

“But I really liked the idea of doing a comedy-mystery story, and so I made the time.”

The book is the second in Garth’s Am I Psychic? series, which is available on Amazon.

The cover for Garth ApThomas's latest e-book, Spooky Man