A HEADTEACHER is enjoying success as an author after pursuing his passion for writing.

Andy Lucas is headteacher of Parkwood Academy, in Melbourne Avenue, Chelmsford, and also the author behind a range of action-thriller and science fiction books.

The 48-year-old from Wickford describes the books as James Bond-style action adven - ture books, and many of them come in a series with the same characters.

Mr Lucas has been working as a headteacher for about five years in various schools across the country.

He said Amazon has given his the chance to reach out to an audience and fulfill a passion for writing.

He added: “I have been teacher for at least 10 years now, but I worked as a interim headteacher at schools across the UK for five years.

“I used to go to schools that needed some help improving and would act as headteacher for a short time, but this is my first full-time position as a headteacher.

“I have been an author now since 2012 and have now written seven books in total.

“Due to the pressures of work, I have always written little and periodically.

“When I started, I was about 17 years old and in those days the only way to be a writer was through mainstream publishers. I was not so lucky and has almost given up on the dream of being an author and I didn’t write at all for a long time.

“Then, with the increasing popularity of self publication and promotion thanks to Amazon, I found my passion again and became an author.”

Amazon runs a self-publishing service that creates books for print, audio and Kindle.

Mr Lucas added: “The books I write are in two parts, as I have found one book is not enough for the kind of stories I write.

“I am currently working on two up-and- coming books one is a contemporary thriller with a historical influence in the form of Vikings, but also with a contemporary feel.

It is called Val Halla: Shadow Land.

“The second book is Underworld Final which is a my take on the Bermuda Triangle, with reference to part of the North Atlantic Ocean, where aircraft and ships are said to have disappeared. It should be out in time the for summer.”

To find out more, visit www.andylucasbooks.com