A county pool team manager has dramatised her experiences of the game in her first published novel.
Myella Jayne McCarthy of Grovehill said her love for writing was influenced by Call The Midwife author Jennifer Worth, a friend long before the BBC adaptation of her novels made her a household name.
Myella, who works as a holistic therapist and hairdresser, said: “I did draw some inspiration from Jennifer, as she was very passionate about her writing. I would love to write for a living and do it as a full time job.”
Her first official release, Break, is a gritty thriller, loosely based on real-life characters she has come across over the years while playing county-level eight ball pool.
Myella added: “I always thought it would make a good idea for a story because people come together from all walks of life to play pool. It attracts all sorts of people.”
Myella stresses the dark themes of rivalry, instability and drugs were devised for the plotline of her book, and said her Hemel roots may help attract readers to her story.
“The very fact that I play for Herts county means there is a bit of a local connection for readers here. Lots of people have shown interest because it’s about an unusual subject, there’s not much focus elsewhere on pool.”
Myella, who has taken creative writing courses at Dacorum College, is already working on a sequel to Break and also hopes to publish a book of short stories.
Myella will appear at Waterstones in Hemel Hempstead from 11am to 1pm on Saturday to launch the book, which was commissioned by a small publisher for sale in store and on the Amazon Kindle market.
Break is priced at £6.99.
