Budding Hartlepool author publishes debut werewolf thriller

Anthony Stamp, a semi-retired control engineer for chemical manufacturing company Solenis, has published his first novel and supernatural thriller Stay Away.

It follows the story of Sally Bowers who, after suddenly transforming into a werewolf, vows to never kill and moves to a quiet village to hide from others like her.

When she is found by a group of other werewolves however, she must rescue someone she loves, all while staying true to herself.

Anthony said: “I’m thrilled to have Stay Away out there in the world, which is the culmination of many months and years of work.

"It’s a novel I’m immensely proud of and, as well as its darker side, I believe it carries an important message of hope for anyone reading it."

Anthony loves writing and has “always had a passion for it”.

He said: "While working away a lot over the last ten years, I found myself stuck in hotel rooms with very little to do.

"After reading an article in The Writer’s Magazine, I decided to take an online short story course to help pass the time.

"One of the assignments I had during that course gave me an idea I thought I could extend into a full novel.

"That is where Stay Away came from.”

Writing for Anthony used to be “just a hobby”, using notebooks to scribble down ideas when he had a few spare moments at ICI where he worked as an apprentice.

He said: “I never intended to publish anything, but after my wife read some of the Stay Away draft, she asked what I was going to do with it.

"I said, ‘nothing really, it’s just a bit of fun.’

"Her, and a few other people, eventually talked me into going down the self-publishing route. I did, and here I am with a novel in my hand.

"I’m quite pleased the way it turned out, and I’ve had a lot of fun doing it.”

Anthony, who is currently working on another novel, added: “This certainly won’t be the last book.”

Stay Away is available now in paperback for £11.99 or as an e-book for £5.99.