Clitheroe man pens book during commute time saved by working from home in aid of the Stroke Association

He used what would have been his commute time to write his first fiction book, Insurrection, to raise funds for the Stroke Association, inspired by his wife Lynne.

The 58-year-old explained: "My job involves being innovative and creative and I didn’t want to lose that while working from home, so I decided to use my commuting time to write my first novel.”

While working from home, Paul could hear his wife Lynne speaking to her colleagues, stroke survivors and volunteers in her role as a Stroke Support Coordinator for the Stroke Association. He was inspired to not only donate profits from his book to the charity as a result, but also made his lead character a stroke survivor.

He added: “While working from home I could hear Lynne on her conference calls and realised how devastating stroke can be. I was so inspired by all the great work that the charity is doing. Obviously, I haven’t been around for confidential conversations, but hearing Lynne and her colleagues never complain and always focus on how they can best support stroke survivors has motivated me to donate funds and include stroke as part of my lead character. Really it was a silver lining in a cloud; if I hadn’t been at home I wouldn’t have seen it first-hand.

“The supernatural novel features the main character and stroke survivor Thomas, who becomes intrinsically linked to the ancient Roman Empire. He joins forces with a ghost and a mystic with supernatural powers in order to prevent a disaster of Atlantean proportions.”

Paul will donate 10 per cent of the sales of his book to the Stroke Association and 10 per cent to the Ribchester Museum.

Helen Latham, Regional Fundraising Manager at the Stroke Association, said: “We’re incredibly grateful to Paul for choosing to support the Stroke Association. Every five minutes, stroke destroys lives. The money raised by Paul’s book sales will go a long way in stroke survivors and their families to rebuild their lives.”

Insurrection is now available at www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08L3NRTY7 and www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08L41B63D