A fictional regional newspaper advertising department forms the backdrop of a former editor’s latest novel.

Chris Hill’s book The Pick-up Artist is a romantic comedy set at a fictional newspaper office in Cheltenham.

Chris is a former editor at the weekly Gloucestershire News Series and had his debut novel, Song of the Sea God, published in 2012.

During more than 20 years in the regional press he also worked as a reporter at the North West Evening Mail and was news editor at The Citizen, Gloucester, between 1994 and 2000.

His latest book features the tale of Rob Thompson, a 22-year-old advertising executive who is excruciatingly shy and supremely unsuccessful at dating.

In a desperate attempt to find a girlfriend, his best friend Sam advises him to seek the advice of a web community called The Pick-Up Artists who use psychological techniques to help their members appeal to the opposite sex.

He battles to weave their advice into his chaotic social life, in a world where women are far more complex and sophisticated than he could ever be.

Chris, pictured above left with the book, said: “I set the story in a local newspaper office in Cheltenham because I’ve spent a lot of my working life in them but it’s very much a fictional story.

“I based it in and around Gloucestershire because I know and love the area well.”

The Pick-Up Artist is available from all independent, High Street and online bookshops, including Waterstones Gloucester and all libraries.