AN Alva man has discovered a passion for writing, after penning his very first book.

Having always enjoyed reading, Kenneth Graham had long wondered if he could write and one day set himself a challenge — resulting in his debut novel ‘Friends or Foes’.

The 51-year-old explained: “I like reading and always wondered if I could write something. One day a couple of years ago I had just finished a book by a former SAS soldier and was less than impressed with the story, yes it was full of detail but the story was weak. I thought to myself I could do better than that. So I challenged myself to sit down and try.” Kenneth, a former Alva Academy pupil, found inspiration for the tale in the conspiracy theories which surround Machrihanish Airbase.

He said: “The story in my book is told through the eyes of a retired soldier who has a chance meeting with a girl on a remote beach on the west coast of Scotland. The chain of events that follow put him in more danger than he faced as a soldier in either Ireland or Iraq during his military career. The deadly situation that follows places one man and his pursuit of justice between two of the worlds most powerful and cunning intelligence agencies.” Kenneth — who is a workshop supervisor at Morrisons Land Rover in Stirling — has already started work on the sequel to his novel and has also carried out research for a third book, which will be written through the eyes of a female pilot in the Air Transport Auxiliary and set in WW2.

He is enjoying the positive feedback from his new career and admits to having caught the writing bug.

He added: “I just received notification from Amazon books, who are my publishers, that I have just sold my first book in Japan which to me is mind blowing. I find it hard to believe that people all over the world are reading something that I have written. In my head I am just a mechanic who thought he would see if he could write something.”