A YOUNG author has seen his dreams become reality after his debut book was picked up by a publishing company.

Antony Hudson, of Trinity Road, in Mistley, first had the idea for sci-fi thriller Sector 22: Zoey when he was in Year Ten at Manningtree High School.

Now the 20-year-old, who was inspired by JK Rowling’s Harry Potter saga, is hoping to write more stories and turn the novel into a series.

“I am hoping this will be the first of four books because after I had the idea, I thought it would be too big to go into straight away,” he said.

“I never intended on getting it published, but when I was at Suffolk New College in Ipswich, my tutor read it and liked how it had come together.

“She recommended the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook Guide to Getting Published, which is a detailed book explaining the best way of doing it.”

Antony added: “Then I heard how Sky Cat Publications were looking for new material, so I thought ‘Why not give it a go?’ They said to me if I could extend it to between 60,000 and 90,000 words, then they would publish it.

“It is like a dream come true.”

The book is available on Kindle from Amazon, online from Waterstones or from Evie’s at Manningtree, in the town’s High Street.