A young Silsden woman with a lifelong passion for writing has had her first book published.

And Nicole Varnam, 26, admits that seeing her novel on bookstands has still not quite sunk in.

“It’s a bit surreal – but very satisfying!” she said.

Miss Varnam, who works full-time as a care assistant, took about a year to write the book – “Noah Moon: The Return of the Vampires”.

“I’ve always loved writing – I wrote short stories when I was younger – and wanted to do a book,” she said.

“I had an idea in my mind and it just grew from there.”

The plot centres around a boy who, on turning 17, discovers that neither he nor his family are what he thought they were.

While he struggles to come to terms with who he is, the town of Sandford is in danger from an old enemy.

“When I’d finished writing I sent the completed work to a few publishers,” said Miss Varnam, of Hillcrest Avenue.

“I then saw an advert for Olympia Publishers and sent it there – and they liked it.

“It’s only been out for a week or so but the feedback I’ve received from people who have read it has been good.”

She is already working on a second, follow-up book which she hopes to complete by the middle of next year.

“It is an extension of the first and features some of the same characters,” said the ex-pupil of South Craven School, at Cross Hills.

“Noah Moon: The Return of the Vampires” retails at £5.99 and is available through Amazon, and from leading bookshops or the publisher at olympiapublishers.com.