AMBITIONS to turn a lifelong hobby into a successful career are within touching distance for one up-and-coming author, who will publish his third book later this month.

Jim Ody first caught the writing bug a few years ago and since then, he has gone on to achieve unprecedented literary success with two books.

Now, the 41-year-old is getting ready to release his new psychological thriller called ‘A Cold Retreat’.

The book is a chilling tale of revenge that explores the impact of not being able to say no, particularly within relationships.

Father-of-three Jim said: “Things have progressed well since I published my first two books. “They were almost self-indulgent in that I didn’t know the market and I was writing stories that I liked. But now we’re a couple of years down the line, I’ve been able to get to know other authors and book lovers, making good friends and getting an understanding of the market to see what sells and what direction I should be going in.

“My new book blurs the lines of right and wrong. It centres around a female and her relationships from when she was growing up to where she might have done things she didn’t want to. It turns into a revenge plot and I have tried to show the story from different views to the point of where you don’t know which is right or wrong.”

Jim’s first book was so successful that he was able to sign with Zombie Cupcake Press in August.

He now has plans to start a series of comedy/crime novels and a psychological/thriller called ‘A Stolen Truth’, a couple more short stories as well as co-writing a novel with another psychological/thriller writer.

Jim, who is a full-time business analyst at Arval UK, says since he first penned his debut novel, he tends to write six days a week and has become accustomed to juggling family life with storytelling. “I wait until everyone goes to bed to write.

‘I started off writing once or twice a week but now I’m getting good feedback and being friends with lots of authors, I have become almost addicted to writing every day. People can see that I don’t just want to write as a hobby anymore, but I want to have this as a career and vocation.”

A Cold Retreat is published on January 27.