A LIFETIME'S dream is about to come true for a Craven woman when her first novel is published later this month.
Jane Gibson, of Lothersdale, started writing in earnest when her two sons Thomas, now 17, and Ryan, 15, were small. Now she hopes her debut novel A Different Reflection will put her firmly on the path to a literary future.
And Keighley-born Jane is already working on her second novel and has plans for a series of children's books.
Jane said: "I loved English at school and I have always loved writing. But as any mother will tell you, raising children is a full-time job so I have had to fit writing in where I could. I have also helped my husband Russell to run the family engineering firm, so writing had to take a bit of a back seat.
"Then in 2011 was diagnosed with breast cancer. I found that I was given back some of my time to write during my treatment, as I had to stop working to recover.
"It re-ignited that passion and now that I am well and healthy I wish to continue this passion as a career."
Jane started her working life in travel and tourism, later re-training to become a nursery nurse.
She still helps to run the family firm, but can find "a couple of hours a day" to write.
Jane said: "I think that most people’s perception of an author is that they think of a story, write a book, and then it gets published.
"However there is such a bigger process involved from the manuscript that is submitted, initially after re-work. It has certainly opened my eyes as to how the world of publishing books works, from the editing and re-editing, cover design, font choice, overall typeset and much more to get the finished product.
"Having said that, working with the publishers Troubadour has been an absolute pleasure - their advice and expertise has been second-to-none. I would not have managed to get this far had I not approached them and gained their help."
A Different Reflection is described as a modern-day fairytale. It captures the life of Kat, who works for a London magazine and loves her job, but feels that her life is missing something. When she is assigned a new set of stories she interviews George, an old butler alone in a large house for sale that her friends viewed and she is captivated.
As he gains her trust he lets his story unfold – telling her that he is not alone in the house, and that witches, spells and magic play a part in their lives to this day.
Jane's book - under the name Jane L Gibson - will be available from May 28 through Troubador’s website, Amazon, Waterstones and Blackwell’s. It will also be available as an ebook from the same date.