A new crime thriller has been penned by Largs man Iain Mills which takes the reader on a journey between the west coast of Scotland and New Zealand.
The novel ‘West Coast West Coast’ has been published on Amazon and the plot revolves around the main character, Ross Wilson, who lives in a town which bears a strong resemblance to Greenock.
Iain said: “Ross’s life falls apart around him after a series of devastating events. Several years on, the same thing seems to be happening again. The novel evokes a strong sense of place and builds up remarkable tension around the main characters as the story unfolds.
The novel is primarily available as a Kindle download. The main Amazon page for the book has links to easily downloaded apps that allow it to be read on tablets and i-pads as well as Kindles:
‘It’s easy to find the book on Amazon. Just go to the Amazon site and search for either ‘Iain Mills’ or ‘West Coast West Coast’. It’s currently available for £1.99. Alternatively, you can access it via www.westmillmedia.org .’
Iain has visited New Zealand’s South Island on a number of occasions, and the very strong connections between Scotland and that part of the world have influenced the novel:
‘The west coast of South Island is a stunningly beautiful area, but it’s an area so rainy that it makes Scotland seem arid in comparison. Dense, temperate rainforest climbs to the mountain-tops, and there’s almost three times the rainfall in a year as in Largs. This is the landscape that the second half of the book is set in. The area has many Scottish links, with towns named ‘Clyde’, ‘Fairlie’ and ‘Airdrie’ and a long history of Scots migrating to it. Many of the book’s New Zealand characters have Scottish surnames.’
This is the second not-for-profit book released by Iain with the specific purpose of raising money for charity, following the 2013 release of his successful ‘Clydescapes’ collection. Iain is currently fundraising in aid of Cancer Research UK:
‘It’s good to be able to combine my love of writing with supporting a very worthwhile cause. Hopefully sales at home and abroad will raise a significant sum.’
Iain has lived in Largs for a number of years. He formerly worked in education in Renfrewshire, Glasgow and Inverclyde.