Writing a book is a dream for many people.
And 30 years after picking up a pen, Julie Conrad says the coronavirus lockdown helped her finally complete her first novel.
High Places, a psychological thriller featuring an affair between an MP and his secretary, has been a long held passion project for Julie, from Altrincham.
"I decided when lockdown first started that I needed to get it finished, so that's what I did," she said.
The book, which she first started writing in the early 1990s, is inspired by political scandals which occurred at the time.
"I just sort of shelved it and forgot about it. I was carried away with painting at the time, but when lockdown came I thought this is the ideal time."
Julie, a retired social worker originally from Bolton, always dreamt of writing a book but found the pressures of working life left her with little time to devote to her passion.
"When you are doing that type of work, it's very hard to switch off from that way of thinking," she said.
"Creative writing is something you really need to be able to switch off first.
"By the time you come home, you never really got any time to set aside."
But Julie, who worked in social services in Bury and Wigan and was later an inspector in care homes, says her career also assisted with the creative writing process.
She said: "I really do find it helpful now when you are developing characters, because you can really get inside their heads.
"You can create characters because you know what makes them tick."
A keen artist and member of the Altrincham Society of artists, Julie says she has got the writing bug and is now working on other projects.
She said: "Since I've done that, I've also resurrected another book I started in 1990, and then this year I started a brand new one, and I just can't stop!
"It's like something has triggered off and I just can't stop writing, I'm really enjoying it."
High Places is available to buy on Amazon.
