Woman has debut novel published after being inspired by story in the Northumberland Gazette

Joy Eckert was flicking through the Northumberland Gazette last summer when she read about a new children’s book by Margaret-Ann Maxwell, of cheese and ice cream makers Doddington Dairy.

It set her mind racing and months later she now has her 350-page drama/thriller, Higher Love, on sale in local shops.

Joy has always loved writing but it has often had to take a back seat due to living and working in the leisure and hospitality business with husband, Tim, and their dog, Rosie.

One day, however, she found herself at a loose end when Tim was on night shift and it all came together.

“Believe it or not, I had a dream about a woman wandering around Berlin trying to get revenge on a man,” she revealed.

“From that I used my imagination and then I came up with Higher Love.

“I have been writing for years but never found the correct content for the one that I thought should be published.

“So, I was looking through the Northumberland Gazette one afternoon in Barters books café and read an article about Margaret-Ann Maxwell and her children’s book.

“I took it upon myself to get in touch with her and the local businesses that she used to get it sorted.

“So I did all that and now I have it for sale in WH Smith and House and Home in Alnwick and also The Northumbrian Hamper in Seahouses.”

Joy was born in Newcastle and moved to Germany when she was 30. Later she moved to the USA with her American husband for 16 years before returning to the UK in 2001 with their daughter, Sara.

She would like to thank the following for their help in producing the book: Bob Randall for typesetting and help with editing; Thomas McFall at Tom Tom Designs for the cover art work; Mark at Lazy Grace for the cover design and Martins the Printers in Berwick.