First time author nominated for prestigious prize (From News Shopper)

Richard Gardner nominated for prestigious prize

11:35am Monday 16th January 2012 in Freetime By Rachel Conner

A FIRST time author is delighted after being nominated for a prestigious prize.

Richard Gardner, 65, fulfilled his lifetime dream of having a novel published in November when his first book “Righteous Release” appeared on bookshelves.

The book, which took three and half years to write, has now been nominated for the Desmond Elliott award, a prize for new authors worth £10,000.

Mr Gardner, of Priorsford Avenue, in St Mary Cray, said: “It has been a lifetime dream to get something published. It’s always been at the back of my mind but it’s difficult to get started.

“One day I sat down with a pen and paper and it really fired my enthusiasm. It became an obsession, I was surprised by how much to took over my life.

“I was over the moon when they decided to publish it and it was a bonus being nominated for the prize.”

Mr Gardner has already started working on a sequel and hopes to become a full time writer when he retires from working with a furniture company in St Mary Cray.

The longlist of nominations will be announced in March and the prize will be awarded in June.