A Wishaw teacher is certainly made of the write stuff.
St Aidan’s High English teacher James Connarty’s story is one of nine chosen to be part of a collection to be released by Candy-Jar Books later in the year.
The company has the licence for the Dr Who spin-off series featuring the character of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart from the Dr Who series.
And for Dr Who fan James, 45, the story, entitled The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, the story was certainly a labour of love.
He said: “It was an international competition so to be chosen as one of nine to be featured in the book is fantastic.
“Writing has been a hobby for the last 10 years and I’ve had a few stories published in magazines but this is going to reach a wider audience.
“I’ve been watching Dr Who for a long time and managed to meet some of the doctors at events such as Peter Capaldi, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy.
“It has been a big thrill just being able to be part of this.”
James, who has been teaching at St Aidan’s since 1998, is keen to develop his love for writing short stories but hasn’t ruled out penning a novel in the future.
He added: “I grew up reading a lot of sci-fi and fantasy and I’ve always enjoyed writing.
“I did a couple of creative writing courses a few years ago and that really helped me.
“Most of my stories have been about real life so this was a change for me.
“I’ve always got plenty of ideas.
“Whenever I have an idea I write it on my notepad on my phone; it’s full of them.
“When I started doing creative writing I always thought of myself as a short story writer but I would love to challenge myself and write a novel.
“I don’t see as many collections of short stories so that might be something I would like to do as well.”
