A YORK man, who went into writing following a redundancy last year, said it feels "amazing" to launch his first book.

Stephen Jackson decided to turn to writing after he was made redundant from Aviva last year.

After a lot of hard work, his first book titled 'Dark Swans' - which is a techno-thriller based in York - was published this week.

Stephen said: "After redundancy from Aviva last year, I decided to pursue a lifetime ambition to write a book. It’s been a steep learning curve, but definitely worth it. I’m now writing my second book.

"It was really exciting when the first proof copy came through the letterbox - and it feels amazing now that it’s been published. I can't quite believe it when I see my book in the Amazon store."

In Stephen's first book, York provides the atmospheric setting as character Jamie finds answers to the questions that have haunted him for so long.

The book can be purchased on the Amazon store.